While almost all steam locomotives have long ended up in museums or on model railways, in Banovici, one of them still works every day.
It is a steam engine used for the needs of the Brown Coal Mine Banovici and is considered the last or one of the last active steam locomotives in industrial use in the world.
The locomotive of series 83-159 has been transporting wagons full of coal on the mine’s tracks for decades and represents a living monument of industrial heritage.
Although modern diesel and electric machines have long been introduced in many mines, this steam engine is still regularly operated, not for nostalgic reasons, but because of its reliability and ability to work in difficult mining conditions, ensuring wages for workers.
Experts and railway enthusiasts from all over the world often come to Banovici to witness it in operation.
Banovici has become one of the rare places in Europe where one can still experience the authentic sight of a locomotive releasing steam and pulling a train full of coal.
The mine’s director previously emphasized that the steam locomotive will remain in operation for as long as it can endure, because it is part of Banovici’s identity and proof that industrial history can live even today, Klix.ba writes.
