During my earlier business trips to Thailand, I'd met Sanpasiri Viriyasiri who was involved in the Thai Railfan Club. He was carrying out an ambitious plan to open a railway museum in an existing warehouse building in Chatuchak Park, Bangkok. I'd agreed to go out there in the last few days before the official opening to try to lend a hand. It was a remarkable visit.
The first thing that struck me on visiting the museum was that it was a rather large building for the number of exhibits on hand. Sanpasiri assured me that more exhibits were expected imminently. He had high-level contacts in the Thai State Railway and had used them to good effect. But it was agreed that I would be despatched to the railway to seek out further exhibits of signalling equipment. Arrangements were made for me and I met the General Manager of the railways, who spoke excellent English. My friend Sanpasiri did not accompany me, because there were so many other arrangements to be made, but it was clear that he was regarded with great respect.
I was received with all courtesy and, at the end of a pleasant interview, I was taken to the Signalling Workshops to make detailed arrangements, with the full backing of the General Manager. There followed a fascinating tour of the workshops, where I felt rather like a child in a sweetshop. My eyes would light on something and I would stop and say "that would make a suitable exhibit!". My idea was to re-create a simple signal box, so that the method of signalling a train could be interpreted to museum visitors.
Most of Thailand then used semaphore signals, manually worked by wire from a lever frame in a signal box or station building. The equipment largely followed German practice. Points were double-wire operated from the same 'turnover' lever frame as the signals. In general, the section of track between stations was single, with electric tablet instruments at each end of the section interconnected over an open wire telephone route. The tablet instruments ensured that only one tablet at a time could be extracted from the pair of instruments as authority to a driver to enter the single line. This tablet had to be replaced in either of the pair of instruments before a further tablet could be withdrawn to allow a second train to proceed. At a regional level, the sequence of trains was controlled by a Train Despatcher who was in telephone communication with every signalbox and station in the region over the open wire telephone route. The Train Despatcher telephone equipment had originally been supplied by Standard Telephones and Cables in England but, by the time the museum opened, this life-expired equipment had been replaced by Ford Electronics equipment installed by G.E.C.
It was agreed that the Signalling Workshops would recondition a couple of tablet instruments, a small lever frame and a number of associated artefacts to form one of the displays in the museum. It was the first (and only) time I'd had the authority to commission work in this way.
I had another idea to 'decorate' the museum and this involved me directly. We agreed to paint a full-sized mural of the front view of a British locomotive on one of the end walls of the hall, hopefully to look as if the engine was just entering from outside. We purchased a number of sheets of plywood and fixed these to the end wall to form a 'doorway'. In a magazine I'd brought with me for my Thai friends, there were scale plans of an LMS 0-6-0T shunting engine, the ubiquitous 'Jinty'. I scaled up the front view to full size and drew the outline on the plywood in pencil. Then, using poster paints, I produced the mural, assisted by one of the members of Thai Railfan Club. It was, literally, a huge task. I had never produced a mural before - certainly not a full-size representation of a locomotive! When we were finished, I was amazed at how impressive it looked. The mural survived for a number of years, but when I went back last, it had gone.
Meanwhile, Sanpasiri had achieved tremendous results and artefacts were arriving and being set up hour by hour. The nationalised railway had made a splendid effort with the signalling display and the whole hall took on the appearance of a rather jolly museum. Just as well, as opening day was upon us and all sorts of celebrities were expected.
The opening ceremony was to be just outside the hall (Thai weather is usually rather more reliable than England, except in the rainy season). Microphones were set up, facing a row of huge leather armchairs for the VIPs. Behind the armchairs, a number of rows of folding chairs were provided for the 'lesser lights'. Everyone else was to stand. A number of television news crews were on hand, with Sanpasiri moving effortlessly from one to another giving interviews. To my astonishment, I was to participate in one interview. Since I neither understand nor speak Thai, my contribution was limited to nodding frequently in what I hoped was an intelligent manner whilst studying a plan of the exhibition.
As the VIPs arrived, I was solemnly introduced to each one. They all seemed disproportionately impressed by my presence but I never found out what they had been told. My final embarrassment was when it was made clear that one of the armchairs was for me. I sat through the opening ceremony, completely oblivious to what was being said, apart from the occasions when my name was spoken with far to much respect, for my contribution had not been great. But everyone was happy, we had a great day and, like Sanpasiri, I believe that anything which encourages people to delight in railways, particularly steam railways, is a good thing!
I still prize the Thai Railfan Club tee shirt they presented me with as a souvenir. It has a picture of one of the preserved Japanese-built 'Moguls' on the front and 'I LOVE TRAINS', in English and Thai, on the back.
My pictures
I have a few photographs of this wonderful visit. They were on 35mm film but they have been scanned and you can find them at Bangkok Railway Museum (1990).
[Photograph link added 29-Oct-2015]
