The Burma Mines Railway is a gauge railway in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

for the transportation of locally mined silver and lead ore to a smelter at Namtu. The line runs from Namyao, on the Mandalay - Lashio branch of

Myanmar Railways Rail transport in Myanmar consists of a railway network with 960 stations. The network, generally spanning north to south with branch lines to the east and west, is the second largest in Southeast Asia, and includes the Yangon Circular Railway ...

, via Namtu to Bawdwin and is long.

History

The Burma Mines, Railway and Smelting Co Ltd was founded in March 1906 and the construction of the railway started in 1907, to reach the Tiger Camp mining area in 1908, with a extension to the Bawdwin mines and included a Z-reverse at Wallah Gorge, just before Tiger Camp, which was later replaced by a

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, ...

Burma Railways was moved from Manpwe to Namyao, a short distance to the east. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the local Burma Corporation Ltd took over operations and built an electrified underground railway at Tiger Camp and 100

hopper cars A hopper car (US) or hopper wagon ( UIC) is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, and track ballast. Two main types of hopper car exist: covered hopper cars, which are equipped with a ...

were ordered from the American

Pressed Steel Car Company The Pressed Steel Car Company was a builder of railroad cars and equipment based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that was founded in 1899, and had facilities in Pittsburgh and Chicago. It operated until 1956. Early history The Pressed Steel Car C ...

. In the 1930s the line experienced its peak traffic. Steam was largely replaced in the 1970s and 1980s but today two steam locos remain in working order.The Burma Mines Railway in Namtu
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Present day

In present day, the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

for the smelters and the finished products is transported by road. Ore transport from Bawdwin to Namtu is still done by rail. The section from Namyao to Namtu sees little traffic. Namtu is a security area and restrictions are placed on visiting the railway, mines and smelters, except on official tours.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Namtu Mines Railways - A set on Flickr

Burma Mines Railways - A set on Fotocommunity
2 ft gauge railways in Myanmar Railway companies established in 1906 Mining in Myanmar Mining railways Railways with Zig Zags 1906 establishments in Burma

History

Present day

See also

References

External links