Kuala Lumpur - Penang - Medan - East Java

2008

Friday 25^th July 2008 The state museum (Muzium Negara) in KL and the state railway at Port Kelang were on my schedule for today. The Muzium Negara is situated not far "behind" the KL Sentral Station, from where I did the five minute ride by a taxi. The three monuments are placed at the entrance, so it is not necessary to visit the interesting museum, if one could not be inspired by oneself.

Because I found the yards near Port Kelang very busy two years ago, I went to the harbour, ... not so this time ! Immediately I turned back to the station Jalan Kastam at the line, where a class 19 loco, a class 23 and some parked wracks of Class 24 could be found. The fare for KL Sentral - Port Kelang is just 8.60 Ringgit PP and you can discontinue at every station on your way as long as your ticket is valid and You do not go outside the stations. Passing Padang Jawa I saw an interesting elder green Cdm Diesel Locomotive at a kind of refinery and a newer CoCo-de Diesel Locomotive at Lafarge Cement, but no idea how to take pictures looking at the all over present fences.

Saturday 26^th July 2008 Last evening I arranged my attendance of the ERL depot at Salak Tinggi, where I had seen last time some German diesel locomotives when passing from the international airport to the centre, but was not allowed to come in and take some shots. Via the KTM railway forum I got in contact with the cooperative stuff of YTL. YTL does the maintenance and did the construction of the high-speed railway also. I was proposed to have a short look at the Sentul KTM Workshop in the morning and come to see the ERL depot in the afternoon. So I went first to Sentul to meet my new friend and look a little around the outskirt area of the work.

As proposed I startet at 12:33 p.m. from KL Sentral by the so-called ERL Tansit train to Salak Tinggi, nearly as far as the International Airport, but just 12.50 Ringgit using that kind of train for one way. The weather was rather cloudy, but no possibility to change my route ! As later turned out to identify the locos was not easy, because the 346 007 was conveyed to be scrapped, one of the Jung locomotives were altered using another body at least and the old Henschel did not bear it's builder plate, just a number given by newag (Newag 00/1311, year 2000, type Recon), which does not help. YTL RL 001 and 002 were already out of use.

Not before coming home I realised, that there went much more locomotives to Kuala Lumpur at the time, the high-speed railway was build, no idea, where they all went to. In the evening I looked for the location and hours of opening of the Selangor State Museum in Shah Alam (Monday closed!), which I planned to visit next day. The only survived Class 20 was reported to be exposed there.

Sunday 27^th July 2008 One alternative to come to Selangor State Museum, I got from the Internet : "... the other way is to take the KTM Komuter train and disembark at Shah Alam Station. From here, take a taxi and you will reach the museum in approximately 10 minutes". This was, what I did. The Komuter train to Shah Alam was 2.60 Ringgit. With the description I wrote down last evening (Muzium Sultan Alam Shah, close to the blue State Mosque, Jalan Perdangangan) handing to the friendly taxi driver, it was no difficult action to find the museum, where the Class 20 were placed outside in a little kind of housing. It was helpful to keep the taxi drivers business card, by reason that there was not one free taxi at the museum's area, when I wanted to come back to the Komuter Station ! Nevertheless the driver charged me fair (5 ringgit) and refused a tip ! This often happened in the area of KL.

In the afternoon I went to Serendah first, but the situation to take pictures sensed not suitable, so I got back to Rawang, to hunt the Blue Tiger (KTM 26.114). Passing Serendah I saw the yard of EMRAIL track constructor, where I watched three locomotives from the train, later I found two of them at the Web (http://keretapi.mymalaya.com/details.php?image_id=590).  The railway of the cement factory at Rawang seemed abandoned, their diesel locomotive was dumped in the shed. On my way home to KL I took another stop at Kuang (nearby Rawang), where I shot the Blue Tiger (KTM 26.101) again and found a little critter at the cement factory besides the station. It was a D-125 build by Unilok (Ireland).

Monday 28^th July 2008 I intended to do some shots at rawang again, which seemed a nice location, when I passed two years ago and in the afternoon I took a walk in the fair and beautiful bird park of KL. At 8.45 p.m. the night train to Butterworth started punctually at KL Sentral.

Tuesday 29^th July 2008 Just half an hour delayed we reached Butterworth in the early morning about 6 a.m. I went further on to Penang by ferry, doing an exhausting retrieval for a hotel, but getting only a ugly room. I heard in advance, that the funicular railway to Penang Hill, which I intended to visit, was out of use some months for overhaul, but it is still used for local residents - so it was ! Besides that I visited the scaffolded Kek Lok Si Temple, which was also  under revision. Because of my unedifying accommodation, I decided, not to explore the island of Penang the next day even more, but rather continue to Medan . So after going back for some shots at Butterworth I checked the location of the ferry to sumatra.

Wednesday 30^thJuly 2008 Ferry to Medan : The office and departure is located right beside the tourist office. It is recommended to buy the tickets one day in advance. We left Penang punctually at 9.30 a.m. For those, who had decided to go by ferry rather than by plane, it is better not to have a breakfast.

 After my arrival in the afternoon at Medan I spent the little rest of the day at the main station, to take some pictures and check the possibility to do some trips by train. The Monument DSM 28 was still at it's place and some state railways locomotives at the station in Medan could de shot.

There are still several trains named KA Sribilah serving the line from Medan to Rantauprapat in the south, starting at 8 in the morning and two trains named KA Dolok Martimbang running the branch line to Pematangsiantar. The actual timetable should be availiable at http://www.infoka.kereta-api.com/jadwal_dan_tarif/artikel.php?ka=sribilah respectively at http://www.infoka.kereta-api.com/jadwal_dan_tarif/artikel.php?ka=SIANTAR+EKSPRES. The situation during my visit was as Jadwal Sribilah and Jadwal Siantar .

Thursday 31^th July 2008  Afraid of fully booked airplanes I decided to stay here another 5 days and bought my ticket to Semarang with Lion Air  (Medan - Jakarta : 999.000 Rp (75 €), Jakarta -Semarang : 769.000 Rp (58 €) at the travel agency PT Sam Travel located right besides my hotel. And it was time to buy the ticket !

Now it was time to look for the modality to find the factory Sawit Sebrang (also Sawit Seberang) near the town Stabat. The location was approximately known, but not how to come by public transport to there. So after reaching the terminal in the north of Medan (Terminal Bis Pinang Baris di utara) I ascended one of the widely spread motorized becak and trusted in the drivers statement, he knew the location.  And he knew it in round terms, but after a two hours strenuous ride and a claim for 125.000 Rupiah I had to transfer again to an ojek (motorbike taxi) and pay 30.000 Rupiah more, tired to bargain always, when the distance was not known to me. Later in the afternoon I returned from that place by a public bus, which stopped right besides the factory (at 8000 Rupiah and also 2 hours). In advance I did not imagine, one of the greater busses would head for this tiny village.

The palm oil plantations and factory of PKS (Pabrik Kelapa Sawit) Sawit Seberang, which is owned by the PT PN II company,  is located about 12 km air-line distance northwest of Stabat (which is 35 km north of medan). Without permission of the HQ in Tanjungmorawa it was possible to have a look at the shed and the plantations, accompanied by a policeman and his machinegun we went to the plantation by motorcycle and searched for the diesel locomotive, which was collecting the palmfruits and coming back to the little factory in the afternoon. The acceptance was very friendly, even if there was a theft of palmfruits by means of a truck just a month ago. I was assured by locomotive stuff and my escort, there were still two Japanese diesel active on the plantations. It was rather difficult, to search for one of the locos in the wide plantation and more difficult again, to find it. Trucks are also used to bring palmfruits to the factory, were the fruits were reloaded to wagons and pulled and pushed by capstan and fork-lift.

I took pictures of the D 16 II Hoku 6142-2/1985, 4wDH, HDB-6LS.The other active reported Japanese diesel locomotive I did not see. As a monument still exists : 6 OK 12247/1933, 0-4-0 50 HP. In the shed were the wrecks of D 04 Schöma 2927/1966, D 05 (former D 13 II) Diema 4428/1980 and D 24 Schöma 4206/1977.

Friday, 1^st August 2008 In the  early morning I relocated to Hotel Angel (Jl. Sisingamangaraja No 76. Medan) in the neighbourhood, a nice but cheap place, which was fully booked on my arrival. After that I went by train pulled by PTKA BB 302.05 to Tebing Tinggi (35,000 Rupiah) leaving Medan at 8 a.m. . At Tebing Tinggi I had to transfer to a mini bus, which brought me to Bah Jambi (near Pematang Siantar). Because I found the document http://database.deptan.go.id/agrowisata/viewdata.asp?id=3  on the Web (JPEG), I went to Bah Jambi, expecting the Headquarter of PTP VII near that factory and perhaps some items in a museum-like quality (lokasi wisata agro) : ...there was nothing but the monument of the 104 in a kind of vitrine, which I were not allowed to take pictures by the security. The headquarter had relocated to Medan and all PTP VI to PTP VIII companies joined about 2003 to PT Perkebunan Nusantara IV (www.ptpn4.co.id) with its Headquarter (kantor pusat) at Jl. Letjend Suprapto No 2, Medan 20151, not far from my hotel !

On my way back I found a throughout - but of course often halting - minibus and paid 23.000 Rupia. About four hours later we arrived in Medan.

Saturday, 2nd August 2008 Nothing, just to the cybercafe Sunday, 3rd August 2008 Even if I suspected closed offices I tried to visit PT Bakrie  Sumatra Plantation (http://www.bakriesumatera.com) just two miles outside Kisaran before the village Bunut. No chance to come in without an official admission from the headquarter, which is located in the town Kisaran. Of course, as I experienced later, You can shot the daily train outside the factory area, if You know the localities of their railway lines. Nevertheless it is better, to have an official permission. So I leave for Pulu Raja (also Pulau Raja, former PTP VI) and Gunung Malayu (also Gunung Melayu) both about 40 miles south of Kisaran in the area of Ulakmedan, where I assumed from literature the existence of two monuments (Pulu Raja : OK 10309/1922, Cn2t, 600mm / Gunung Malayu : OK 12814/1936, 1'Cn2t, 600mm), which were still at their places. The first location I reached by bus, to the second I passed on by motorbike. For Pulu Raja it required a little persuasion and money to come close to my object (You can see it from the main street), at Gunung Melayu which belongs to PT PP Lonsum, the security let me in without any discussion. The locomotive - I was told - gets a new coating every year. At both places seemed to exist no (?!) other relicts of the plantation railways, which were closed a long time ago. Concerning Pulu Raja I already read, that the locos were scrapped

Monday 4^th August 2008 After a barely effective week-end with just the two monuments at Pulu Raja and Gunung Malayu I had a little more luck on the following 4th August 2008 at the PT Bakrie rubber factory (the name derives from the owner) nearby Kisaran (www.bakriesumatera.com). With the 8 a.m. train I went to Kisaran (arrival 10:47) and to the office in the town - last Saturday I found the address (http://fs5.directupload.net/images/user/160114/836laxq8.jpg) at the Web on an old version of their homepage "PT Bakrie between Kisaran and Bunut". After registration at the office in Kisaran and a very friendly acceptance, I could freely take pictures at the factory, which is just a few miles outside Kisaran, and they still use their light railway to carry the natural rubber ! Later in the afternoon I returned, to see the loaded trains coming back from the plantation. Besides the monument OK 7067 I counted 8 diesel (or diesel wrecks). There were two trains leaving the factory noonday and coming back together from the rubber plantation between 4  and 5 p.m. A third loco was helping weighing and shunting the wagons. The connection to the state railway PTKA is still in use.

Ray Gardiner already identified the locos :

derelict     : 7 (Ruston Hornsby 349498) , 10 (Ruston Hornsby 441569)
out of use : 12 (Diema 4140) overhaul , 14 (Schoema 4438)
in use       : 9 (Ruston Hornsby 425331), 11A (Schoema 4872), 15 (Schoema 4713) and the 1067 gauge loco 16 (Schoema 4950)
 

In the nineties the company began to convert parts of their rubber plantations even at Kisaran to palm oil plantations, which are served only by trucks nowadays. Before I returned to PT Bakrie to see the incoming trains with the natural rubber I went by bus to Air Batu, about 17 kilometer south of Kisaran (near Hengelo PT KAI station), which belongs now also to PT PN IV. From the bus stop at the main street it is necessary, to take a motorbike for a short way to the factory.  They were conveyed to possess about ten old diesel, the last delivery was in 1972, but ... nothing left ! Reportedly from security, the rest had gone to Kebun Ajamu I - II, also part of PT PN IV. The location I did not found on my bad map.

Tuesday 5^th August 2008 At first I went to the head office of PT PN IV to ask for a photographers permission and whether there is still any railway activity on their palm oil plantations. I was told, there is nothing left besides Kebun Ajamu I - II . Security at Bah Jambi explained the location to me last Friday as : About 100 kilometers south of Rantauprapat passing the town Aek Nabara in the district Negeri Lama. A little helpless because of short time, a little exhausted from travelling on public transport and because of the expectance to find not much worth about light railways besides perhaps a monument at some places I dropped my idea to have a look at Pabatu near Tebing Tinggi, which should have just diesel locomotives, and Mayang near Perlanaan, both are factories of PT PN IV.

Wednesday 6^th August 2008 During heavy rain I went to the airport and departed punctually at 9 a.m. from Medan for Jakarta arriving at 11.20. Leaving again at 1.45 p.m. and came to Semarang about 2.45 p.m.. After some fully booked hotels cause of a meeting of Pertamina in Semarang I got a nice room in the Telomoyo Hotel, Jl. Gajah Mada No. 138. There were never problems with taxis in Semarang, all had taxameter and they usually use it. For the next day Ambarawa and the sugar factory Cepiring were on my schedule, the latter reopened again recently, but their light railways were not reopened, so just some shots at the shed.

Thursday 7^th August 2008 The public transport again upset my plans ! I woke up in the early morning and got a comfortable great bus (Patas Nusantara) from the Terminal Terboyo to Ambarawa at just 20.000 Rupiah, which runs about every our between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. (to Yogyakarta). But after a short distance the bus got a defect and the passengers had to wait and wait and wait... and finally transfer to another bus.  So I arrived a little late at Ambarawa, the sun was already high and the time to go further on to the Sugar Factory Cepiring was a little tight. The visit of the railway museum is still a cheap pleasure, you have to pay just 3000 Rupiah, as it is the entrance of the nearby military museum, the place of the Esslinger rack locomotive B 25.01, at just 2500 Rupiah. The only luck was the attendance of a German tourist group, so I could see the E 10 60 in action. But the time to Cepiring was too short now, so I went back to my hotel, using another great, but cheaper and much less comfortable bus at just 5000 Rupiah.

Friday 8th August 2008 Yesterday was the end of the first part of my journey and I went to East Java  to have a rest. On the train number 50 "Rajawali" to Surabaya (Rp 100.000) I left Semarang/Tawang Station at 8.25 a.m. and arrived at Surabaya/Pasar Turi at 1.27 p.m.. It remains of some short visits to some factories in East Java during the following remaining holidays in Java.

Thursday 14^th August 2008 On my way to Bali I did a first stop at the sugar factory PG Pajarakan, which I had never visited before. There was an information about an unidentified old diesel locomotive and a modified Schöma. Unfortunately  I lost my notepads, so I did not find these two. Nevertheless it was nice to see and shoot the rest and to observe, they still use their little armada consisting of two Schöma and two Japanese Builders still along the main road up to the fields. Late afternoon I arrived at Olean, some minutes too late - the administration was already closed. So I stayed at a hotel one night in Situbondo, to return the early next morning.

Friday 15^th August 2008 I came back to the administration of Olean to pay 92.000 Rp. for the entrance permission. There was just one steam today, after it left the factory with the empties at 9 a.m. we went further on to PG Asembagus, where I paid 50.000 Rp for the permission. There was still a lot of diesel locomotives in action, one steam was reported to be prepared for the afternoon, but I did not wait for it. In the evening we arrived at Tuban (Bali) and started a strenuous search for a hotel, after nearly two hours we grounded at until Harris Hotel Tuban, Jl. Dewi Sartika, Tuban. There we stayed again from 19^th to 21^th August and returned to Malang afterwards.

Wednesday 27^th August 2008 Daytrip from Malang to Gempolkerep and Gresik : At Gempolkerep (PT PN X) I was a little bit disappointed. They charged me 15 US$ (135.000 Rp), but not much to see besides four identical busy japanese diesel (and get a ride on it) and two other Schöma. Only two steam engines left in action : One of the big Luttermöller and an OK 0-8-0 was heated up, but the latter only standby and the first one did not move, pulling the lorries to the mill. At PT Semen Gresik (persero) tbk, Jl veteran at Gresik, it was in need of some time, to find the location and convince an employee of my important request, to take a picture of their industrial locomotive. At first he refused, to own a locomotive, but I persisted on that fact, because I had an relative actual information from the web. Later I identified it as a Skagit, perhaps of type zm15 (or so...).

Monday 1^st September 2008 Another daytrip carried me to PG Pajarakan again - now I had my detailed information to search for the two locomotives, mentioned above. And I found them and a steam engine dumped in the shed. After a visit to PG Wonolangan, the driver and me started to search for a Vollert shunter at Pabrik Kertas at Leces, which I just knew from list of delivery. There was no recent report and no answer from the German Vollert. Last week I did some unsuccessful calls to the bureaus at Probolinggo and Leces to come know, whether the shunter still exists and whether it would be possible to make a picture of it. It was not possible to enter the yards, but I was allowed to take pictures through the fence and  it happened, what I did not really believe : It still existed, we found it and I got a picture (from outside) of it ! Staff told, there was a second Vollert, but dumped inside the yards and not accessible from outside. The railway was closed about ten years ago or more ! My last stop for the day counted the sugar factory PG Jatiroto. All sugar factories from this day belong to PT PN XI, intensively use several field lines and two of them charged me 50.000 Rp