The Madaya Light Railway

In Part 3 of Hugh Hughes excellent guide to railway locomotives in India (introduced here), there is the following brief information about the Madaya Light Railway in Burma (now Myanmar).

The Madaya Light Railway was a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway that terminated in Mandalay, Burma. The first section to Toungbyon, 8 miles long, opened in 1912. The railway was extended a further 8 miles to Madaya in 1917. The company operating the line went into liquidation in 1919, and the railway was taken over by the Government. The line was closed in 1927 when it was replaced by a metre gauge line

The first four locomotives for the line were obtained second hand from the Thaton – Duyinzaik Railway.

Locomotives 1 & 2 were 0-4-2 Saddle Tanks built 1882 by Barr, Morrison and Company.
Locomotive 3 was a 6-coupled well tank built 1885 by Dick Kerr and Company.
Locomotive 4 was another 6-coupled locomotive built in 1901 by Dick Kerr and Company.

Statistics for March 1921 listed seven locomotives but no information is available about the additional three locomotives.

Further details of the first four locomotives are given in the post Thaton – Duyinzaik Railway.

Myanma Railways still operate a passenger service on the metre gauge line from Mandalay to Madaya.


Owe Boe station on the metre gauge Madaya line looking towards Mandalay in 2013.

Pictures of Owe Boe station

Owe Boe Station, Mandalay.