International Railroad Discussion > Riding the cartops in Iran

I was in Iran in May, a country not known for its openess to railfans, but in fact our group was made to feel extremely welcome and safe.   One of the sights that is increasingly rare was this train loaded with sheep; the attendants for the animals rode with them but chose to ride the cartops for the most part.   This was one place where photography was unwelcome, the suggestion being that some of the shepherds were probably in the country illegally (sound familiar?).   The motive power was a pair of EMD GT26CW's, the lead loco being #60-541 and the location is Chamsangar in Lorestan province (33.166509, 48.763391)

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It's been a long time since we had a picture from Iran on TO. This picture here was totally worth the wait! It is interesting in many ways. 

Jim

I can't understand why so many rail tour and general tourist groups are going to Iran. In doing so they are supporting the World's leader of state sponsored terrorism. There have been two Americans "detained" just in the two weeks following the ransom that was paid for the four who had previously been held. Now that the precedent has been set for  ransom being paid for hostages,  it's open season on holding Americans and God knows who else for no reason other than another pay day to this savage regime. I would also put North Korea in the same category. Probably even worse. There are plenty of places in the world to spend your tourist/railfan dollars without supporting these radical terrorist governments who's main aim is to destroy the U.S. That said, glad you made it out ok.

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> I can't understand why so many rail tour and
> general tourist groups are going to Iran. In doing
> so they are supporting the World's leader of state
> sponsored terrorism. There have been two Americans
> "detained" just in the two weeks following the
> ransom that was paid for the four who had
> previously been held. Now that the precedent has
> been set for  ransom being paid for hostages,
>  it's open season on holding Americans and God
> knows who else for no reason other than another
> pay day to this savage regime. I would also put
> North Korea in the same category. Probably even
> worse. There are plenty of places in the world to
> spend your tourist/railfan dollars without
> supporting these radical terrorist governments
> who's main aim is to destroy the U.S. That said,
> glad you made it out ok.

Nice work Anderson. I think you copy and pasted it from your remarks the last time I posted pics from the DPRK.

Who did you travel to Iran with? Looks like it might have been a tour with a bit of a rail enthusiast emphasis?
I'm planning on visiting Iran next year with Young Pioneer Tours.
Nice picture thanks for sharing. 

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> I can't understand why so many rail tour and
> general tourist groups are going to Iran. In doing
> so they are supporting the World's leader of state
> sponsored terrorism. There have been two Americans
> "detained" just in the two weeks following the
> ransom that was paid for the four who had
> previously been held. Now that the precedent has
> been set for  ransom being paid for hostages,
>  it's open season on holding Americans and God
> knows who else for no reason other than another
> pay day to this savage regime. I would also put
> North Korea in the same category. Probably even
> worse. There are plenty of places in the world to
> spend your tourist/railfan dollars without
> supporting these radical terrorist governments
> who's main aim is to destroy the U.S. That said,
> glad you made it out ok.

Pretty obvious really, it's an amazing country, geographically, scenically etc. etc. Iran has also changed significantly in recent years and 'softened' towards the west and it would be madness not to try and forge links with a nation which is keen to do the same. North Korea is utterly different.

Such a terrible nation....wonder where they got the EMD diesels and continuing spare parts when needed?   A big lol to our usual Mr. Negative

I travelled with FarRail Tours of Berlin.   They can be easily found by Google.   We had special permission from Iranian Railways to go where we wanted and photograph anything, and an escort was provided by the railway to show the paperwork to the very few "jobsworths" who wanted to stop us.

Iran's railway system is one of the most rapidly expanding networks in the world, practically doubling its network in the last ten years.  

The EMD's and clones were made not only in USA, but also Canada, Korea and what was Yugoslavia.  There are many countries happy to sell to them nowadays, which is why their latest locos are a German-Iranian collaboration headed up by Siemens.  The "Iran Runner" is very similar to the Siemens locos being built in Sacremento for various agencies around the US.

My own abbreviated view is that travelling to these places furthers my understanding of what's really going on - the stories that 20-second sound bites on TV won't tell you.  The ordinary people of Iran are charming, friendly, curious and open.  And that applies not only to civilians but to railway officials, police and military personnel that we met.    They can't control how their government behaves just like I can't control mine.  End of discussion.

johnmday Wrote:
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>
> My own abbreviated view is that travelling to
> these places furthers my understanding of what's
> really going on - the stories that 20-second sound
> bites on TV won't tell you.  The ordinary people
> of Iran are charming, friendly, curious and open.
>  And that applies not only to civilians but to
> railway officials, police and military personnel
> that we met.    They can't control how their
> government behaves just like I can't control mine.
>  End of discussion.

Thank you.  A  voice of reason on TO.

Please post more photos from this trip if you can!

What is their track gauge?  The couplers on the locomotive look to be both "hook-and-link" and the Russian automatic coupler style.

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can't understand why so many rail tour and
> general tourist groups are going to Iran. In doing
> so they are supporting the World's leader of state
> sponsored terrorism. There have been two Americans
> "detained" just in the two weeks following the
> ransom that was paid for the four who had
> previously been held. Now that the precedent has
> been set for  ransom being paid for hostages,
>  it's open season on holding Americans and God
> knows who else for no reason other than another
> pay day to this savage regime. I would also put
> North Korea in the same category. Probably even
> worse. There are plenty of places in the world to
> spend your tourist/railfan dollars without
> supporting these radical terrorist governments
> who's main aim is to destroy the U.S. That said,
> glad you made it out ok.

"Open season" is quite a stretch. You really have to go out of your way to make yourself unwelcome before being held is any sort of real concern.

You seem to be living in some kind of fantasy in which Iran is the epitome of evil. That is simply not the case. Nor is it the "World's [sic] leader of state sponsored terrorism". While there are arguably a number of contenders for that title, a much stronger case could be made for Iran's regional arch nemisis, Saudi Arabia. And where does a great deal of that country's money and support come from? Oh, right -- the U.S.

The other fallacy in your comment is the idea that 100% of every dollar spent in a foreign country goes toward supporting (or can be viewed as a vote for) that country's worst policies. In fact, most of the money spent on a tour goes to local people, many of whom a) do not support said policies and b) may actually have their opinion of the U.S. improved after having a positive interaction with an American tourist. For many people in many countries, Americans are evil boogeymen. Every positive experience helps chip away at that stereotype.

The fact is that the world is not as black and white as cable news would have you believe. In fact, most of it is a messy gray. And very few can claim the moral high ground throughout their history. With few exceptions, it is a fool's errand to try to paint individual countries as "good" or "evil". The world is simply too complex for that. 

lynnpowell Wrote:
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> What is their track gauge?  The couplers on the
> locomotive look to be both "hook-and-link" and the
> Russian automatic coupler style.

Standard gauge.

I was very tempted when I saw the Far rail tour blurb, rather sad I didn't now. Maybe next time.

There also private operators running over state owned rail. Not open access, but I guess a foot in the door

It is a bit hard to put a total number on private loco imports, however it appears that Alborz Niro (?) have at least 77 ex Korail GT26C
http://www.alborzniroo.ir/
Their loco numbers reported from European sources are from 90-7001 upward

For those with the tenacity, there are a number of photos of locos in transit on this shipping company site http://www.etamad.com/







 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/16 16:48 by jmt.

Nice to see trains pics made by Railfans in countries nott so famous for tourism. More pics, please.

Pedro

Pedro Rezende
Vespasiano MG,
https://youtube.com/c/minasgeraisrailways1

There is an English language equivalent site at http://www.alborzniroo.ir/en/home

AFAIK I did not photograph any of those particular locos.   The photos on the company's website show several of them; the number series starts with "60", not "90"; the farsi 4, 6 and 9 all look quite similar.  It does appear as though they are numbered from 60-7001 on up.  (or maybe 60-7000?).   All six-axle EMD's, and some other locos such as those built by Electroputere, are numbered in the "60" series.  And, guess what, the G12's are in the "40" series. 

I've attached a shot of G12 #40-119.  It has been substantially rebuilt (cab moved to where short hood used to be, for starters) and is on a local passenger train made up of ex-Danish coaches.

The second photo is 60-954, a 1984 GMD (Canada) built GT26CW-2, just starting up after overhaul at Tehran central workshops.  Not the best photo, the afternoon light was fierce.  






 

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andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can't understand why so many rail tour and
> general tourist groups are going to Iran. In doing
> so they are supporting the World's leader of state
> sponsored terrorism. There have been two Americans
> "detained" just in the two weeks following the
> ransom that was paid for the four who had
> previously been held. Now that the precedent has
> been set for  ransom being paid for hostages,

No ransom paid for hostages. Turn off Rush and Fox News and get the truth for once. Repeat NO ransom was paid.  This was IRAN's money that was held after the hostage crisis. The international court was prepared to rule in Iran's favor and the US would have been required to relinquish the funds with interest that would have cost substantially more had the US not acted. Get over it. The Obama Administration did the right thing. Duh.

>  it's open season on holding Americans and God
> knows who else for no reason other than another
> pay day to this savage regime.

Yawn.

I would also put
> North Korea in the same category. Probably even
> worse.

Probably? Ya think? There is no comparison with the courtry run by the crazy Little Man, who HAS nuclear weapons, versus Iran, which does not. 

There are plenty of places in the world to
> spend your tourist/railfan dollars without
> supporting these radical terrorist governments
> who's main aim is to destroy the U.S. That said,
> glad you made it out ok.

"...glad you got out ok"...Nice little touch after that diatribe about Iran and your false narrative about the "ransom".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/16 06:02 by ATSF3751.

ATSF3751 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> andersonb109 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I can't understand why so many rail tour and
> > general tourist groups are going to Iran. In
> doing
> > so they are supporting the World's leader of
> state
> > sponsored terrorism. There have been two
> Americans
> > "detained" just in the two weeks following the
> > ransom that was paid for the four who had
> > previously been held. Now that the precedent
> has
> > been set for  ransom being paid for hostages,
>
> No ransom paid for hostages. Turn off Rush and
> Fox News and get the truth for once. Repeat NO
> ransom was paid.  This was IRAN's money that was
> held after the hostage crisis. The international
> court was prepared to rule in Iran's favor and
> the US would have been required to relinquish the
> funds with interest that would
> have cost substantially more had the US not
> acted. Get over it. The Obama
> Administration did the right thing. Duh.
>
> >  it's open season on holding Americans and God
> > knows who else for no reason other than another
> > pay day to this savage regime.
>
> Yawn.
>
> I would also put
> > North Korea in the same category. Probably even
> > worse.
>
> Probably? Ya think? There is no comparison with
> the courtry run by the crazy Little Man, who HAS
> nuclear weapons, versus Iran, which does not. 
>
> There are plenty of places in the world to
> > spend your tourist/railfan dollars without
> > supporting these radical terrorist governments
> > who's main aim is to destroy the U.S. That
> said,
> > glad you made it out ok.
>
> "...glad you got out ok"...Nice little touch after
> that diatribe about Iran and your false narrative
> about the "ransom".

Well put ATSF

Thanks much for doing the trip (my wife and I looked at it, but decided not to).  And thanks for posting the pix.

There's another one running April-May 2017.