Foreword

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    Note: this text was edited by Jean-Patrick Charrey
    using several emails posted by Robin Lush. 

    These pictures were taken during four consecutive trips to Turkey from 1974 to 1977.

    Steam finished in Britain in 1968 and British photographers started to go abroad to chase the last remains of steam. First they moved to European soil, to Germany, Austria, France, Spain and Portugal. When steam had virtually died out also in those countries they looked further a field and found Turkey was reasonably accessible. The other option for steam was Eastern Europe, which was less appealing for various fairly obvious reasons.

    I knew of two people who had travelled in Turkey in 1969 and 1970. Pictures of the local steam service out of Izmir to the south with the backdrop of all the houses covering the hillside stuck in my mind. At the same time, tour operators started offering cheap package holiday to Istanbul.

    Our first trip to Turkey in early 1974 cost under £40 for a round trip by plane to Istanbul and including a week in a hotel, which we didn't use except for the last night. The hire car was expensive but it took us from Ankara right down to Adana by way of Samsun and Kayseri and back via Cankiri. Good value for us! I know of at least two people who drove overland from England all the way to eastern Turkey on a number of occasions.

    In all four trips we hired a car and covered most of the country except the extremities like the far end of the Kars line and the Diyarbakır line beyond Ergani. Istanbul and Ankara were also ignored because by that time steam was very patchy in those areas. I have never seen the railway in Ankara on each occasion we passed through heading for Irmak on the understanding there was no steam in the capital at that time. I have never seen a Turkish electric!

    On the same assumption, I never went to Bilecik, most probably never knew about the banking there or if it was still steam worked. Hindsight is a wonderful science! Seriously obtaining information back in 1974 was virtually impossible. Apart for the two people I knew, we had no information. In particular, we had no idea when lines would be dieselised. For example, when we went to the Taurus in 1975, we didn't know that that would be our last steam sighting on the line. The only maps we had were the standard all Turkey roadmap and a lot of guesswork and good fortune were needed.

    None of the accommodation was prebooked. The itineraries were very loosely organised and were based on finding a train and staying with it unless the scenery became boring or the weather worsened. In bad weather we tended to keep moving, hence the reason we never covered the line between Adana and Malatya and on to Elazıg, which had been planned for the 1976 trip. On most occasions out in the country, when we found a steam train we would stay with it for maybe all day or until we found something else at a passing loop when we might then chase that back.

    We always travelled as a party of four to reduce the costs and because it was not always the same four people a certain amount of repetition took place over the years. Sadly because of the shortness of the trips (due to business and family commitments) little time was spent exploring newer areas or seeking out the more unusual locomotives.

    These times in Turkey were very enjoyable with very friendly people who helped us out on numerous occasions when we had problems with our hire cars. One replacement car was driven to us in Sivas overnight from Izmir!!! To this day I don't know how the driver did it. Numerous punctures were repaired free of charge or in exchange for some English cigarettes.

    Whilst I have been back to Turkey on numerous occasions since, they have all been to the tourist spots in the south west and I have never set eyes on TCDD since 1977. I often wonder what the places are like nearly thirty years down the line but I suspect they will have changed out of all recognition and basically I prefer to remember them as they were.

    After Turkey many photographers moved on to South Africa, South America, India, Pakistan and Indonesia. Since China opened its doors in the mid 1980ies more and more people went and explored China. In the sugar beet season people go to Cuba for genuine American turn-of-the-century steam.

    One last word regarding the camera gear used in those days: Pentax Spotmatic SP500 and a Pentax S1a with lenses of 35, 50, 85 135 and 180mm lengths. The film used was Kodachrome 11 (called two, but always printed as 11 never 2) and the film that replaced it sometime in the mid 1970's Kodachrome25.

     

      

     

    1974

     

    Friday

    29 March 1974

    London to Istanbul and forward flight to Ankara. Night in Ankara.

    Saturday

    30 March 1974

    Cankiri, Irmak, Night in Samsun

    Sunday

    31 March 1974

    Samsum Ladik Amasya, Night in Sivas

    Monday

    1 April 1974

    Sivas, Hanli, Tuzla, Kayseri, Night in Mersin

    Tuesday

    2 April 1974

    Posanti, Yenice, Ulukisla, Mersin, Tarsus, Night in Mersin

    Wednesday

    3 April 1974

    Posanti, Yenice, Ulukisla, Night in Cankiri

    Thursday

    4 April 1974

    Korgan, Cankiri, Germece, Irmak, Ankara flight back to Istanbul, night in Istanbul

    Friday

    5 April 1974

    Flight back to London

     

     

     

     

    1975

     

    Monday

    7 April 1975

    London to Istanbul and forward flight to Ankara. Night in Ankara

    Tuesday

    8 April 1975

    Ankara, Cankiri, Tuney, Irmak, Night in Yozgat

    Wednesday

    9 April 1975

    Yildizeli Sivas, Night in Sivas (waiting for replacement car to arrive from Izmir overnight)

    Thursday

    10 April 1975

    Erzincan, , Night in Elazig

    Friday

    11 April 1975

    Yolcati, Elazig, Palu, Night in Elazig

    Saturday

    12 April 1975

    Ergani, Maden, Sivirice, Elazig, Yolcati, Night in Adana

    Sunday

    13 April 1975

    Posanti, Ankara, Should have been Ankara, but stuck with two punctures at dusk north of Ulukisla and couldn't get it sorted until after midnight. Then drove through the night to catch an early flight from Ankara on the

    Monday

    14 April 1975

    Flight Back to Istanbul & London

     

     

     

     

    1976

     

    Friday

    19 March 1976

    London to Istanbul. Night in Istanbul

    Saturday

    20 March 1976

    Flight Istanbul Izmir, Izmir, Selcuk, Camlik, Catal, Tire

    Sunday

    21 March 1976

    Izmir, Night in Usak

    Monday

    22 March 1976

    Eregli, Ulukisla, Karaman, Night in Mersin

    Tuesday

    23 March 1976

    Yenice, Fevzipasa, Kmaras, Malatya, Night in Elazig

    Wednesday

    24 March 1976

    Elazig, Palu, Erzincan, Night in Elazig

    Thursday

    25 March 1976

    Maden, Night in Elazig

    Friday

    26 March 1976

    Erzurum, Pasinler, Night in Erzincan

    Saturday

    27 March 1976

    Demirkapi, Tanyeri, , Night in Yozgat

    Sunday

    28 March 1976

    Irmak, Ankara, flight to Istanbul

    Monday

    29 March 1976

    Istanbul, flight back to London

     

     

     

     

    1977

     

    Friday

    4 March 1977

    Flight from London to Istanbul

    Saturday

    5 March 1977

    Yeniköy, Bandirma

    Sunday

    6 March 1977

    Izmir, Torbali, Camlik, Ortaklar

    Monday

    7 March 1977

    Izmir

    Tuesday

    8 March 1977

    Usak, Karakuyu, Dinar, Egirdir

    Wednesday

    9 March 1977

    Egirdir, Günüsgün, Dinar, Burdur

    Thursday

    10 March 1977

    Konya

    Friday

    11 March 1977

    Kayseri, Nigde,

    Saturday

    12 March 1977

    Maden, Sivirce (bad weather day)

    Sunday

    13 March 1977

    Demirkapi, Tanyeri, Elazig, Caglar

    Monday

    14 March 1977

    Demirkapi, Tanyeri, Erzincan

    Tuesday

    15 March 1977

    Sivas, Kalin, Yildizeli, Amasya

    Wednesday

    16 March 1977

    Cankiri / Karabuk (bad weather day)

    Thursday

    17 March 1977

    Karabuk, Eskipazar

    Friday

    18 March 1977

    Istanbul, Flight from Istanbul to London

     

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