Observation Car E1719E

E1719E in Platform 2 at Shackerstone

The Coronation of King George the Sixth was held in Westminster Abbey on the 12th May 1937. In the same year, the London & North Eastern Railway introduced a new high-speed service between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh and it was logical that the service should be called the 'Coronation'. Gresley's streamlined 'A4' Pacifics provided the motive power for the specially-built lightweight, fixed-formation trainsets. Two streamlined Observation Saloons were built at Doncaster to form the last vehicle of these striking trains. The saloons were called 'Beavertail' because of the original bodyshape.

After less than two years of very successful operation, the outbreak of War suspended the 'Coronation' service and the trainsets were stored. In 1948, various vehicles returned to occasional service.

The observation cars were transferred to the West Highland Lines in 1956 as a tourist attraction. The 'Beavertail' observation windows gave a rather limited view and Cowlairs Works rebuilt them with a more functional (but arguably less attractive) profile. In this form, 1719E remained in use until 1968.

This poster for the Battlefield Line is adapted from an original British Railways poster advertising the Observation Car trains

Observation Car E1719E was acquired by Railway Vehicle Preservations Limited and restored to its 1959 condition. The Observation Car is spending part of 2010 at the Battlefield Line.

More pictures here.

Traffic Movements at Sedgeley Junction 1962-1963 (Part 6)

This is one of a series of posts describing traffic movements I observed whilst unofficially working Sedgeley Junction signal box.

As described in Part 1, you can find the passenger timings here and the freight timings here. The notes are intended to go with a copy of the Train Register Book which is missing so, forty seven years later, the meaning of some of the original notes is not very clear. The original notes appear in italics with minimal editing, sometimes followed by my recent comments attempting clarification. The numbers in brackets have been added to assist in locating entries.

Sedgeley Jn. Sat 23rd February 1963

(1) The down ‘Western’ at 7.25 a.m. is set 317.
(2) The up Local gets the full treatment – red flag, red handlamp. He just manages to stop in time. The driver and guard are verbally informed [of what?]. The Dudley end of the unit is number 56184.
(3) The down Dudley Port local is set 108 – today, a Driving Trailer with a ‘Bubble Car’ at the rear.
(4) The ‘Western’ comes up – a 3-car unit on set 312. Dudley shows that he knows the ‘3 pause 3 pause 5’!
(5) Dudley takes the returning up Dudley Port with the ‘3 pause 5 pause 5’ (‘Under the Warning’). The train seems to get lost while we are waiting to warn him, eventually appearing and hooting crossly as he passes the box.
(6) The ‘Western’ (set 312) goes down.
(7) The up Walsall at 8.32 is slowed as we wait for the road from Dudley but nonetheless, the driver acknowledges us in a friendly fashion as he passes.
(8) The Parcels comes up with the road set towards the loop but Dudley decides to take him up the main ‘Under the Warning’.
(9) On the down 48733, a ‘Class 8’ with a Fowler tender, is the engine off T39 running tender first.
(10) Behind him is another down light engine – 48539 facing Bescot.
(11) The Western Parcels comes up but Dudley is not yet in a position to ‘Take’ him. We attempt to bring the Parcels ‘Under Control’ at the up Home, then clear the signal and display both a red flag and a red lamp at the box. The Parcels sails right by but the guard notices and waves to us then the driver stops and sets back to wait at the box. Adding insult to injury, while this is going on Dudley now accepts the train ‘Under the Warning’, so we’re able to give the Parcels a green flag and watch him disappear towards Dudley.
(12) The down ‘Walsall’ is stopped while the two light engines clear the down line at Great Bridge. The DMU guard carries out ‘Rule 55’ and “signs the book”.
(13) T47 is to go up the Loop. 44910 is the train engine sounding more like a ‘Super D’ with a very odd exhaust. In contrast, 48733 (T39) banking sounds like a real engine with a crisp exhaust.
(14) The nine o’clock down is set 108 again.
(15) The up ‘Walsall’ is now vehicle 56162.
(16) We refuse the Parcels (from Dudley Port?) until the down ‘Walsall’ has passed. Then we accept the Parcels and bring it to our home, refusing the down freight until we’ve had ‘Obstruction Removed’ (from Dudley Port?). We get the Parcels away (to Dudley?) – 46457 with one ‘BG’.
(17) The down freight initially refused above is ‘WR1’. A handful of wagons, double-braked with two BR brake vans and 48734 on the front.
(18) The Parcels goes down to Dudley Port fairly early.
(19) The ‘Walsall’ goes up.
(20) The ten o’clock down runs by late (set 326, a 3-set).
(21) The up ‘Western’ is set 108.
(22) T39 goes down to Great Bridge with three Ferry wagons, BBCs, Plate, ‘Hybar’ and an LMR brake.
(23) Set 108 passes on the down, heading for Snow Hill.
(24) 3H47 comes to a stand on the down while we run the Dudley Port – Dudley Parcels (engine, two vans and a ‘BG’).
(25) Since it’s briefly got rather foggy, we refuse the up ‘Walsall’ until the Parcels has cleared Dudley.
(26) The parcels engine returns down and is sent to Bescot, as the up ‘Western’ (another 3-set, set 312) follows the ‘Walsall’ up the bank.
(27) The train of tanks on the down is headed by 92210.
(28) The Engine and Brake on the down is 48459 tender first dragging a BR brake, reported as ‘WR2’.
(29) The 12 o’clock down is set 312 (the 3-car unit).
(30) The up ‘Western’ is still set 108.
(31) T65 goes up with 45263 on the front of a train of scrap, coal, slack, box van, tube wagons and a BR brake and 45336 (T63) banking.
(32) Soon, 45336 returns downhill ready for his next duty.
(33) The up ‘Saturdays Only’ ‘Western’ is set 326.
(34) The one o’clock down is set 108 with one driver.
(35) The light engine on the down is 48516 facing Bescot.
(36) The up ‘Western’ at 1.22 p.m. is set 308, a 3-car unit.
(37) ‘WR1’ goes up with a train of slack behind 48724. 45336 (T63) provides assistance.
(38) A train of ‘Pools’ passes on the down with 44910 in charge and an LMR brake on the end.
(39) T63 comes up with his own train this time – about 10 tube wagons, two loads of coal and an LMR brake.
(40) The 3-car DMU (set 308) forms the two o’clock down ‘Western’.
(41) Set 108 is the up ‘Western’ at 2.20 p.m.
(42) At 2.24, having disposed of his train, T63 (45336) propels his brake down the bank.
(43) ‘WR2’ comes up the bank, into the loop. ‘8F’ 48459 is on the front, emitting plenty of black smoke, but T63 on yet another banking turn is only showing exhaust steam at the chimney.
(44) On the down, the Engine and Brake is T65 (turned), blowing steam from the injector overflow, dragging his LMR brake.
(45) At three o’clock, set 108 heads downhill once again for Snow Hill.
(46) Set 308 (the 3-car unit) comes up the bank for Dudley.

Sedgeley Jn. Sat 9th March 1963

(1) T39 goes up with 42974 hauling four vans, an open wagon, one load of scrap, three ‘BBCs’ loaded with square-section bar, a tube wagon and a BR brake.
(2) The down ‘Western’ at 7.25 a.m. is set 320.
(3) At 7.37, the up ‘Walsall’ comprises vehicles 50402 (Dudley end) and 56162 (Walsall end).
(4) The down Dudley Port local is a Western twinset – set 111.
(5) The 8.00 a.m. up ‘Western’ is set 308.
(6) We manage to get the “back ‘un” off for the up Dudley Port local but there’s not one passenger aboard – he might as well be ‘Empty Stock’!
(7) Control says “There’s trouble at Pleck. Try to ring when the Tanks are offered”. However, there’s no answer from Birmingham Control as 20 ‘Regent’ tank wagons roll downhill slowly behind 92210, with a WR brake van at the rear.
(8) The down ‘Western’ (set 309) is well-patronised this morning. We stop him for about half a minute, waiting for the Tanks to clear.
(9) T39 follows the down ‘Western’. He’s got as good head of steam and is blowing off enthusiastically.
(10) The rain is sluicing down as the ‘Walsall’ goes up.
(11) The up ‘Western’ is offered behind him but, shortly after, the train is re-described as the Leamington. He rushes past towards Dudley.
(12) The ‘Walsall’ heads back to Walsall.
(13) T47 is offered on the up. 48514 is steaming well on the front end. The train has the customary mix of loads but, this morning, the Midland Tar Distillers tank wagons are split into three portions near the front of the train. T39 (42974) provides banking assistance.
(14) On the down, 48407 is the ‘Cuckoo’ engine, turned.
(15) The nine o’clock down is set 111; stopped a while.
(16) The up ‘Walsall’ is initially refused by Dudley while T47 clears.
(17) The Parcels is 46457 with an old-looking BG.
(18) T39 returns downhill to Great Bridge to bank another train.
(19) ‘WR1’ is offered on the down behind T39. ‘Class 8’ 48459 is on ‘WR1’ with four mineral wagons loaded with scrap, then a brake van, a ‘Hybar’ loaded with carboys, scrap in tube wagons, loads of coal and a second brake, ten loaded mineral wagons of coal, opens loaded with wire bales and a final brake van.
(20) A ‘Special’ comes up and into the Loop. 48734 is working well at the front with 40 loads of slack. T39, doing an extra banking turn, is helping at the rear. Great Bridge says “The banker wants water at Dudley”.
(21) The down ‘Western’ is set 302.
(22) 46457, tender first, takes his BG down to The Port, passing the up ‘Walsall’.
(23) The up ‘Western’ is still set 111.
(24) The up Dudley Port Parcels at 10.55 is two vans (detached from the down Stockport) and the BG.
(25) Dudley accepts the next freight up the Loop. It’s T65 with 44873 on a mixed train with a BR brake and T63 putting up a good performance banking.
(26) As T65 blasts uphill, T39 (now watered) drifts downhill tender-first with one plate wagon and a BR brake.
(27) Set 111 forms the down ‘Western’.
(28) Having left his train at Dudley, the Parcels engine, light for Bescot, follows the down ‘Western’.
(29) 48725 (T63) returns downhill, light engine to Great Bridge, after assisting T65 up to Dudley.
(30) Set 309 goes up to Dudley.
(31) The ‘Western’ DPU (3H47) passes on the down, carrying the odd WR headcode ‘P4’.
(32) We take on a ‘mystery’ light engine on the down. When it passes, we see it’s the engine off T47, turned.
(33) At noon, ‘WR1’ goes up the Loop. The fireman is leaning out of the cab gesticulating that he would have preferred main line. The load is 27 slack with a ‘Class 8’ (T63) banking.
(31) The down ‘Western’ is set 309.
(32) A ‘Westernised’ ‘Class 8’ takes his train up the main – a loaded tube wagon, BBC, tube wagon, BBC, tube wagon and WR brake.
(33) Dudley informs us that ‘WR1’ is now ‘stranded’ in the loop until two o’clock, because Round Oak has two trains waiting and no motive power to deal with them.
(34) Set 312 goes up at 12.38.
(35) The down ‘Western’ at one o’clock is set 111.
(36) The up ‘Walsall’ at 1.09 is now changed – vehicle 50534.
(37) The ‘Western’ DMU up at 1.16 is set 302.
(38) The banker (T63) clanks downhill after being stuck behind ‘WR1’ in the Loop. (39) At two o’clock, set 302 returns on the down for Snow Hill.
(40) The other ‘Western’, set 111, passes on the up at 2.15 p.m.
(41) Next, we have a down train of ‘EMWs’ (Empty Mineral Wagons) with a BR brake hurried along by ‘Black 5’ 44873.
(42) On the up, ‘WR2’ is another train of power station slack with an LMR brake. ‘8F’ 48424 is in charge with 48725 (T63) banking.
(43) Set 111 forms the three o’clock down ‘Western’.
(44) We get a telephone report: “WR2 is 2.02 Norton. The 2.0 p.m. special from Great Bridge is starting from Norton and left at 2.44”.
(45) Set 302 puts in another appearance on the up ‘Western’ at 3.20.
(46) The ‘Special’ comes up with a black exhaust from the train engine. It’s a dirty ‘5X’, 45555 ‘Quebec’, with a long train of slack and T63, the banker, really forging away behind the LMR brake van, getting the train up the Loop.
(47) We sneak the Parcels up to Dudley before T63 passes on the down, returning light engine to Bescot after doing two special banking turns.
(48) Another light engine on the down is the engine off the morning ‘Special’.
(49) The four o’clock down ‘Western’ is set 302.
(50) The up ‘Western’ at 4.15 p.m. is set 111.
(51) ‘Quebec’ passes on the down at 4.50, light engine. Control have the engine stopped at Great Bridge so that the crew can be asked if they’re willing to either take the Hartlebury’s forward or, alternately, bank the train which is just making up at Essington. I never found out how the crew responded, as that was the end of my period of observation.

East London Line

Set 378 150 entering Whitechapel with a Down Train

The East London Line has recently re-opened to passengers after a major rebuilding. Formerly operated by London Underground as a short line from Whitechapel to New Cross Gate, it has re-appeared as part of the 'London Overground' network. The route currently extends from Dalston Junction in the north via Whitechapel to New Cross Gate, joining Network Rail so as to allow trains to operate to Crystal Palace and West Croydon. There's a Wikipedia article on the line and its history here.

Bombardier have produced Class 378 trainsets for use on the East London Line and other parts of the London Overground. Another Wikipedia article here describes the variants - 378/0 3-car, 378/1 4-car d.c. and 378/2 4-car a.c./d.c.

My pictures here were taken just a few weeks after an intensive 5-minute headway service replaced the initial trial public running.

I have a professional interest in the East London Line because my firm produces Tunnel Telephone equipment for the Underground. This equipment provides a means of discharging traction current in an emergency and allowing speech between a driver in the tunnel and the line control room. We supplied the East London Line with similar equipment which protects the underground sections of the line.

Happy Birthday Thomas! (part 2)

The Battlefield Line celebrated Thomas's 65th birthday over five days. I've already briefly described the first weekend here.

Saturday, 1st May was the official birthday but I missed that (something about a turntable). I missed the 2nd of May as well, but I was Thomas's driver on Monday 3rd May as Adrian had kindly offered to share the day with me. I arrived around 6.30 a.m. and Adrian and Steve were just lighting up so I started oiling round. There was very little coal in the bunker so Adrian fired up 'Bo-Co' the diesel (actually a Class 25 so not quite right) and dragged Thomas to the north end of the station for coaling. Adrian used the loading shovel to fill the bunker and then propelled Thomas back to the inspection pit where we started from. I was able to complete the oiling and inspection while Thomas 'brewed up'. We were ready for 9.30 a.m. and took Thomas down to stand in the north end of the platform. This allowed 'Daisy' the DMU to follow us into the south end of the platform and load passengers for the first 'Daisy Shuttle' of the day. Once 'Daisy' was out of the way, we moved across to the waiting 5-coach train.

Thomas made light work of the journey to Shenton and back. 'Henry' took the second service to Shenton whilst Thomas was engaged in races and other entertainments around the station. We coupled to 'Daisy' for the third 'Daisy Shuttle' of the day.

Jan collects the Single Line Staff as Daisy pulls the third 'Shuttle' out of Shackerstone (photo: Sam Brandist)

There were more races and diversions whilst 'Henry' was 'down the line' with the third train of the day to Shenton.

By this time, the site was packed with visitors and not everybody had been able to join the Shenton train. It was decided that the following Shenton train would have to be reinforced to six coaches. Once Thomas was joined to 'Daisy' for the next shuttle, we moved onto the main line clear of the crossover. This allowed 'Bo-Co' to go into the DMU siding and attach the vehicles stabled there, including a green-liveried passenger coach buried at the back. 'Bo-Co' carefully 'pulled out' the string of vehicles until the passenger coach was clear of the crossover. With the crossover reversed, 'Bo-Co' propelled the vehicles towards Thomas, waiting with 'Daisy' on the main line. Once buffered-up to Thomas, the coach was coupled to Thomas, allowing the other end of the coach to be uncoupled. 'Bo-Co' could then take the other vehicles back through the crossover, and stable them in the DMU siding. In the meantime, the braking system on the coach was tested, using Thomas to create various levels of vacuum in the brake pipe whilst Adrian on the ground checked for correct response on the coach. Adrian then climbed into the far end of the coach to keep a lookout as the 'boxed in' Thomas propelled the coach into Platform 1, dragging 'Daisy' behind.

Thomas boxed-in by the Green Coach and 'Daisy'

'Bo-Co' came onto the Green coach from the north end and coupled on. Thomas then uncoupled ready for the next 'Shuttle' departure. Once 'Henry' arrived back from Shenton, Thomas and Daisy went down the line to Headley's Crossing. By the time the 'Shuttle' got back, Henry had moved away from the main train and 'Bo-Co' had attached the green coach to the other coaches and moved to the south end of the 6-coach train, ready to take the diesel-hauled round trip to Shenton.

The last Shenton train was 'Tea with Thomas' and Adrian took over as driver, giving me an early finish to a most enjoyable day.

My pictures taken on both weekends (plus a few Sam has let me use) are here.

Anatomy of another 'Jinty' is a collection of detail photographs of 47327. It's interesting to look at the similarities and differences between this locomotive and another member of the same class (47298) shown in Anatomy of a Jinty.

Day Trip to Liverpool

A 'Desiro' photographed leaving Stafford on an earlier trip

On the 15th May 2010 I made a day trip to Liverpool for the Old Locomotive Committee (OLCO) Annual General Meeting. Although a London Midland 'Desiro' Electric Multiple Unit might not be my choice of motive power, honesty compels me to say that it was a fairly comfortable and fast journey.

I'm always a little sad as I recall all the sidings and signal boxes which have gone but I was cheered when passing over the trellis-work of the Runcorn Railway Bridge. Since 1868, this structure has safely taken trains over the Mersey (and, for a shorter time, over the Manchester Ship Canal). Wikipedia has an article on this remarkable feat of engineering.

I'd not been on this line since Allerton station had been totally rebuilt into a steel-and-glass transport interchange opened in 2006 called 'Liverpool South Parkway (for Liverpool John Lennon Airport)'. Once again, Wikipedia has more information. Before setting off that morning, I'd discovered that this new station offered an easier route to my ultimate destination, Bank Hall Station. Accordingly, I got off at the new station and made my way to the platforms on the third-rail electrified Hunt's Cross - Southport line operated by Merseyrail and called the 'Northern Line'. Within a few minutes, I was aboard a (fairly basic) Class 508 for the last leg of my journey to Bank Hall.

Bank Hall, showing my Class 508 leaving for Southport

From Bank Hall Station, I walked to the venue for the OLCO A.G.M. - the Museum Store where 'Lion' is being prepared for display in the new Liverpool Museum now being built.

'Lion' being prepared for display at the new Liverpool Museum. Coupling rods, outside springs and splashers removed.

My attention was drawn to another 'old friend' also in the Museum Store - the Mersey Railway 0-6-4 condensing tank 'Cecil Raikes'. I'd last seen this locomotive some years ago in the now-closed Steamport Museum at Southport. A fleet of these massive Beyer Peacock locomotives worked the service through the Mersey railway tunnel from 1886 until 1903 when the line was electrified. There's more on the Mersey Railway in Wikipedia here. The preserved locomotive is partly dismantled and the cramped quarters made photography difficult but I took a few pictures which are here.

Next to 'Cecil Raikes' was the preserved Mersey Docks and Harbour Board 0-6-0 saddle tank built in 1904 by Avonside. I last saw this locomotive in the Transport Gallery at the old Liverpool Museum in William Brown Street (now called the 'World Museum Liverpool'). Prior to that (when I was quite young) I remember seeing these engines at work around the docks. There are a few pictures of the Avonside here.

One other artefact in the Museum Store seized my attention - the preserved Driving/Motor Car from the Liverpool Overhead Railway. This railway was the first overhead railway in the world to use electric traction and it operated from 1893 to 1956. See the Wikipedia article for more details. My pictures are here. When young, I'd actually travelled on the Liverpool Overhead in cars like the preserved vehicle - there's a brief description here (the 0-6-0 dock tanks are also mentioned in this post).

The OLCO A.G.M. was rather poorly attended this year and I allowed myself to be appointed as Secretary for the forthcoming year. The Museum Staff had been most hospitable in letting OLCO Members study 'Lion' and providing the venue for the A.G.M. Once the Chairman had closed the meeting, the group of Members travelling by train walked to Sandhills Station to catch a train towards the City Centre. The Chairman and I got off at Moorfields and walked to Liverpool Lime Street station where we caught separate trains. I was able to take a Virgin service bound for London. We stopped at Runcorn and then Stafford, where I got off. The speed of this journey was also impressive. My railway pictures around Merseyside are here.

My pictures of 'Lion' are here. To see my various posts about OLCO, click here.

Diesel Multiple Units

Set 538 stands in Platform 1 at Shackerstone Station

Under British Rail's Modernisation Plan in the 1950s, diesel railcars of various designs were introduced, allowing many steam-hauled passenger trains on lightly-loaded or commuter routes to be eliminated. Design was conservative and made use of 'bus and lorry technology. Allowing sets to be worked in multiple made them versatile. In general, these units were successful, having a long life. A number of these Diesel Multiple Units are now in preservation and the Battlefield Line is home to a 2-car unit and a 1-car unit (the latter invariably called 'bubble cars').

I've previously written about training on the DMU (Click here).

When the Diesel Multiple Units were introduced onto British Railways, there was a major training exercise in converting steam drivers to the new trains. I found a copy of the 'Lecture Notes and Drawings' produced in 1958 and used by the British Railways Diesel Training School at Derby. I've scanned it and uploaded it as a PDF here.

As part of the training programme, the Films Unit produced a series of black and white sound films which are available on YouTube. There are four sections:-

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Driving
Part 3: Faults & Failures
Part 4: Procedures

I've uploaded my pictures of the DMUs at Shackerstone:-
2-car DMU
1-car DMU

[Lecture notes source moved: 22-Aug-2016]

Modern Railways in Indonesia (2)

The level crossing leading to the airport at Maguwo Station

Although it was very late at night when I arrived at Yogyakarta, I noticed that, as we left the airport by car, we passed over a multi-track level crossing and what appeared to be a modern railway station. Perhaps that's what encouraged me to make a visit to Yogyakarta main railway station on the 12th March 2010, described in Modern Railways in Indonesia. The next day, I left Yogyakarta to fly to Bali from the same airport and, since we had allowed plenty of time for the transfer from my hotel to the airport, I asked if I there was time to visit the airport railway station. It was agreed we should make the minor detour.

The station was called Maguwo and situated on the route to the east of Yogyakarta. The line runs more-or-less east-west at this point. To the east of Maguwo lies Brambanan (coded Bbn), to the west Lempuyangan (coded Lpn). To the west of Lempuyangan is the station at Yogyakarta I'd visited the day before. Once again, the 3 foot 6 inch gauge track was in good condition - high-poundage flat-bottom rail with modern rail fastenings, concrete sleepers and adequate ballasting.

In contrast to the main station at Yogyakarta which had colour-light signalling, signalling at Maguwo was semaphore using 'German' or 'Dutch' style equipment. In the U.K., of course, we adopt 'left-hand running' with semaphore signals normally mounted on the left (yes, I know railways didn't always put signals on the left). Signal arms always extend to the left of the post, looking at the front. On the Continent, with 'right-hand running', it's logical to mount signal posts on the right hand side, with the signal arm extending to the right. Logical, maybe, but after years of 'reading' British semaphores, I always have trouble when looking at foreign semaphores and it takes an effort of will to convince myself that an arm sticking out to the right is the front of the signal, rather than the back of a signal for the opposite direction).

Conveniently, the signal box was on the platform so I could readily see the 'turnover' mechanical signalling frame with double-wire control of points and signals. The signalman happily let me into the box to take a series of photographs. It was no flattery to tell him I couldn't remember seeing a cleaner installation - everything gleamed.

The line is double-track with right-hand running but loops are provided through the station giving two through lines and two platform loops. The loop on the north side can be used in both directions. The level crossing is situated just at the start of the four-track section to the east of the station and is provided with a gatekeeper's hut. The signal box diagram should clarify the arrangements:-

Click on the image for a larger view

The station buildings and platforms were new and very clean. The main facilities (including the signal box) were on the north side whilst the south side had only simple waiting facilities and a foot crossing for passengers to cross to the north side. Having recorded the signal box, I dashed around the station taking more pictures. By this time, a train was expected from Brambanan direction so we stayed to watch.

The lemon-yellow DMU came slowly into the platform, stopping with a few coaches overhanging the short platform. The driver was happy for me to photograph him and the driving cab. After pausing for a couple of minutes, the DMU departed with a roar and a blast of hot air from the diesel engine mounted in a compartment behind the cab.

The pride of both the signalman and the driver in their work was very obvious. Although I'm interested in the hardware, it's people, not machines, who make a railway succeed.

More pictures

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In a Spin with Pete Waterman

Pete Waterman has been associated with spinning turntables since the early days of his musical career. But on the 1st May 2010 the phrase gained a new meaning as Pete Waterman kindly inaugurated the new turntable at Peak Rail.

It's been a major project to dig out the original turntable pit at Rowsley, re-brick, completely rebuild the turntable acquired from Mold Junction, install, commission and carry out the required inspections but on 1st May 2010 this work reached a triumphant conclusion. Peak Rail had organised a '48624 Steamy Special' day and I was rostered for the morning turn on the '8F' with Dave. 'Royal Pioneer' was shed pilot, with Richard and Robin. We came off shed about 9.45 a.m. and moved to the south end of the 6-coach train via the run-round loop. A long string of immaculate diesels were waiting on the adjacent road for their turn to 'go for a spin'. We hooked onto the stock and John, the guard, gave the load as "six - 225 tons". Pete Waterman arrived and a few photographs were taken.

At about 10.15 a.m., we departed on the first round trip to Matlock Riverside, travelling tender-first to Matlock. By the time we arrived back at Rowsley, there was a large crowd around the turntable and plenty of people elsewhere. We uncoupled the coaches and, once we had the instruction, moved 'light engine' across to the turntable siding. Rob was our shunter and he called us back and 'set' us on the turntable, where we 'screwed down' the handbrake. The 'vacuum tractor' which turns the turntable using the partial vacuum created by the braking system on the lcomotive had been tested with various locomotives but not with 8624. Once the long hose on the turntable had been connected to the front vacuum hose on the locomotive, I started both large and small vacuum ejectors and Pete Waterman engaged the tractor. I fully expected the LMS ejector to be equal to the task but I was surprised at the speed and smoothness of the operation as we were turned through 180 degrees. Pete Waterman made a very well-received speech inviting admiration for the achievements of volunteers all over the country who have re-created steam railways. He then joined us briefly on the footplate and drove the locomotive clear of the turntable, before leaving for another engagement.

I then had the new experience of putting 8624 on the south end of our waiting train with the locomotive facing south. With this new orientation, we took the second service to Matlock Riverside. Of course, a driver will have memorised a series of suitable 'marks' to be able to stop in the correct position at each station but with the engine turned the driver is on the opposite side and a new set of 'marks' are required. We reached Matlock Riverside without incident, where we stood for a while whilst photographers recorded the scene.

After running-round the train, we returned to Rowsley running tender-first. The standard Stanier tender is not ideal running tender-first as far as visibility is concerned, so it's particularly important that the driver and fireman work together as a team.

Once again, we ran round our train and (still a little late) departed on the third round trip to Matlock. Again, we had to run round our train before setting off up the bank to Rowsley. Back at Rowsley, I ran round for the last time before being relieved by Gary, the afternoon driver.

8624 performed flawlessly and the operation of the turntable was a delight. Congratulations should go to all the staff and volunteers whose restoration efforts made this special day possible. More pictures.

Midlands Air Ambulance

The Midlands Air Ambulance, based at Cosford, is a familiar sight overflying Brewood. But, on the morning of 29th April 2010, the noise of the engine was particularly loud and we found the helicopter circling the village before letting down in the field just opposite Brewood Hall. The noise brought out a number of neighbours curious to see what was going on.

The Doctor and Paramedic from the helicopter walked to Brewood Medical Centre, a couple of hundred yards away from the landing site. On this occasion, they didn't airlift their patient but I gather an ambulance attended. Within half an hour, Doctor and Paramedic were airborne again, completing another mission. More pictures.

Midlands Air Ambulance (formerly County Air Ambulance) is a charity which has carried out 30,000 missions since its founding in 1991. The charity receives no Government or Lottery funding and the 5.6 million pound annual running cost of the three 'Eurocopter 135' helicopters is met entirely by the public and local businesses.

'Dancing the Waterways'

Economic Gloom and Political Desperation everywhere but in April and May 2010, Britain's Second City hosted the International Dance Festival Birmingham 2010 (see website).

In the 'Dancing the Waterways' event (more details), four young dancers took a narrow boat from Birmingham to Brewood and back, performing along the route. They gave short, lunchtime performances at Brewood on the 26th and 27th April, before setting off on the return journey to Birmingham.

More pictures.

Happy Birthday, Thomas!

'Thomas' hauling an express train

It's hard to believe but the Reverend Awdrey's creation 'Thomas' is 65 years old in 2010. The celebrations started on the Battlefield Line on 24th April but the main birthday celebration will be on Saturday, 1st May, continuing on the 2nd and 3rd May.

Jan was on hand on the 24th and 25th April, looking after 'Daisy'. More pictures.

Modern Railways in Indonesia

In March 2010 I visited Indonesia, principally because I wanted to see the Buddhist stupa at Borobudur. But, whilst out-and-about in Yogyakarta, I look the opportunity to spend half an hour on Yogyakarta station. I knew very little about railways in Indonesia. Some years ago, I'd supported a project to repatriate one of the venerable Beyer Peacock 2-4-0 steam locomotives but I'm afraid that scheme didn't achieve success.

The pictures I took at Yogyakarta station on 12-Mar-2010 are here. My first impression was of narrow-gauge permanent way in good condition - high-poundage flat-bottom rail with modern rail fastenings, concrete sleepers and adequate ballasting. The system is 3 foot 6 inch gauge. There were a number of long platforms which were divided into sections, allowing passengers to cross from platform to platform at rail level. Colour light signals were in evidence and each platform track was signalled for movements in both directions. Electric point machines were provided and, at one end of the station, a series of double slips facilitated access to a number of sidings.

I'd entered the station from a large car park at one side but the main station building lay in the middle of the station with a rather pleasing vaguely Art Deco frontage to the road access. I heard a train arrive but couldn't see it because of the station buildings. By the time I'd walked across to that side of the station, most of the passengers had got off and the train engine has disappeared.

A Co-Co diesel electric (CC 201 75) was backing onto the passenger stock. I suspect this was the train engine having run-round, but I can't be certain. The cab controls were in the classic 'American' format. That's not surprising because (as I afterwards discovered) these locomotives are GE class 'U18C'. More data on 'U18C'. I was intrigued with narrow, hinged mirrors fitted adjacent to the cab windows, giving the driver a view back along his train. Automatic couplers simplified 'hooking on' the passenger coaches. An air brake hose and two side chains were also provided.

At the end of the platform, the subsidiary signal aspect (two white lights at 45 degrees - the 'cat's eyes') cleared. Whereas in the U.K. the left white light is higher than the right, in Indonesia it's reversed. In addition, the red main aspect is extinguished when the white lights are lit. I didn't stop to see the shunting move as another passenger train had arrived over the other side of the station, so I hurried across to have a look.

The locomotive was another 'Co-Co' diesel electric (CC203 13) with a more modern-looking cab at one end. Afterwards, I found out that this is special Indonesian 'full width cabin' version of the GE class 'U20C' (see Wikipedia entry). There's more data on the basic 'U20C' here. After a few minutes, the driver got the 'rightaway' and, acknowledging my nod of the head with a similar gesture, took the train out.

By this time, CC 201 75 had drawn the passenger stock out of the station and propelled it back along a station by-pass road into one of a number of carriage sidings, adjacent to a two-road covered diesel depot. What appeared to be a 'grounded' steam locomotive boiler stood near the depot. CC 201 75 uncoupled and drew forward into the by-pass road. A crowd of men, apparently from the stock that had just been stabled, swarmed across the lines towards the station and, I suspect, the exit.

Another diesel electric, CC 201 42 now appeared dragging a single bogie tank wagon. The locomotive uncoupled and drew forward. I'd arranged to meet my guide so I didn't see the end of the move but I guessed that the tank wagon was locomotive fuel and that the locomotive was going to run round and propel the wagon to the diesel depot.

An interesting half hour! Before I left Yogyakarta, I made one more railway visit, which you can read about here.

Leaving Kuala Lumpur

I enjoyed my usual early breakfast. I'd arranged a late check-out, so I could retain the room until 4.00 p.m. for a 4.30 p.m. pick-up for transfer to the airport. I fancied somewhere a bit different and I fancied a train ride, so I decided to go to Port Klang on the coast. This is the terminus of one of the electrified commuter routes radiating from KL Sentral.

By this time, of course, I had no trouble getting to the KLTransit station at KLCC. Since I'd originally bought a 'stored value' ticket worth 10 Ringit, there was still credit left on the ticket. Oddly, all the different lines have different tickets, but the government are hoping to introduce a unified ticketing system in the near future.

The commuter line uses automatic ticket machines similar to one of the types used in the U.K., so I was able to check the ticket price and buy a return ticket to Port Klang without going to a manual ticketing window. During the day, there's a train every half-hour from Kuala Lumpur, through the Klang Valley and the town of Klang, to the terminus at Port Klang. The journey is scheduled to take a few minutes over an hour. I kept thinking about Oliver Postgate and his creation 'The Clangers'.

I caught the 8.06 a.m. train running a few minutes late. The train was very well patronised so I had no choice but to stand (but preferred to do so anyway, as I tried to absorb my surroundings and do an informal survey of the railway infrastructure). You'll no doubt be relieved to hear that I'll defer technical discussions about the railway operation until a later post. At each station, the number of people getting off was roughly balanced by the numbers joining. Large apartment blocks and factory premises flanked the line for more than half of the journey, then we saw a bit more green and detached properties started to appear, sometimes of traditional wood construction. A few spare seats now appeared, but I stood 'till the end of the line where we made a long curving approach to a simple island platform with two tracks, flanked on our right by the estuary and a bewildering assortment of vessels.

The station was next to a jetty for ferries but I didn't work out how many routes are served but, at least, there's an important route to Indonesia. The area was infested with porters, offering to deal with luggage, and there were lots of rather clapped-out taxis around, together with their equally clapped-out drivers, drawing on their evil-smelling cigarettes. It looked as if most of the docks were enclosed so I decided to take the road at right angles to the foreshore which I presumed led to the town. Like many seaports, Port Klang looked more like a place to pass through when necessary rather than to linger - the contrast with the opulence of at least parts of Kuala Lumpur was very marked.

After walking past a series of modern reinforced concrete buildings, I came to the bus station with shopping centre attached. I decided to look inside the shopping centre but most of the small shops were locked up. There were a few market stalls selling things like shoes and the central area was occupied by a number of modern tables and chairs, served by a small counter. A young man from the cafe immediately asked if I wanted food so I settled for a Coca Cola, served with ice and a straw in a cast glass mug with a handle. Trade didn't seem very brisk but whilst I was there a number of people ambled in and out and occasionally order food or drink.

Next was a busy crossroads with traffic lights with big lorries with containers rumbling by to an from the dock area. Beyond this, both sides of the road had older shop house premises, some in fairly original condition but most with a fair bit of modernisation or new shop fronts. The overall impression was still one of decrepitude. I was intrigued that it seemed that about every third shop was a jewellery store with massive displays of gold jewellery. It looked as if a lot of the population were dark skinned and probably of Indian origin - I don't know whether this accounted for the profusion of gold sellers. By the time I decided to turn round and return to the railway station, I'd found shops providing most of the services you can imagine - for instance, a print shop offering comb binding and encapsulation, betting shops, cafes, toyshops, mobile phone shops, computer shops, motor cycle repair shops. Everybody seemed quite laid back, with time to stare at the foreigner but generally prepared to smile if you caught their eye.

By the time I'd walked back to station, I was feeling a little tired so I caught the next train back to Kuala Lumpur. Starting out of Port Klang, the train was fairly empty but, by the time we reached Kuala Lumpur, there was standing room only in the three coach train.

I wanted to try out the monorail line which is supposed to interchange at KL Sentral, but I had trouble finding it. There were signs directing you to ground level which was the loading point for a long line of shuttle buses accompanied by touts and porters shouting their availability. But there were no signs to the monorail and no other clues. Interpreting the vague directions of the porter I asked, I had a ten-minute walk around three sides of a massive building site adjacent to KL Sentral and then I spotted the elevated monorail terminus tucked between two blocks of shops on the other side of a busy road. I bought a ticket for a few stations up the line where there was an advertised walking connection with the rapid transit line which would take me back to KLCC.

After an uneventful journey to the interchange station, it took at least five minutes to walk from the monorail to the rapid transit station but, this time, the route was clearly signposted. And so I arrived pack at the oasis of my hotel around 12.30 and fairly tired. After a reviving cup of tea in the tranquility of the Club Lounge, I did more work on the computer in my room, had a bath and packed everything. By this time it was after three o'clock and the Club Lounge has the civilised habit of offering Afternoon Tea with various light refrreshments. I was in the minority in electing for the classic Afternoon Tea of warm scones with cream and jam accompanied by a nice cup of tea. I noticed most people were taking one or other of the coffees on offer with 'foreign' pastries and desserts.

I said goodbye to the hotel staff with some sadness - I'd only been there a couple of days but they'd looked after me very well. I was picked up on time and we made it to the airport in just under an hour despite a couple of small traffic jams and passing through another torrential rain storm. This time, we had a spectacular display of lightning. All that remained was the journey back to England, in the hands of Emirates.

Pictures

KL to Port Klang.
Port Klang.
Kuala Lumpur to Port Klang by rail.
Around Kuala Lumpur.
Monorail in Kuala Lumpur.

Exploring Kuala Lumpur

Here's the short version, to be going on with. No, not a load of old temples this time - just one and modern - the Thean Hou Chinese Temple. But, to start at the beginning.

I had an excellent breakfast in the Club Lounge on floor 24 of my hotel just after 6.30 a.m., giving me lots of time before my guide came for a tour of the City at 8.30 a.m. My guide was a charming Malaya-born Indian who did his own driving using a comfortable Mercedes saloon. Traffic was bad, partly because of preparations for the KL Grand Prix. We visited the gates of the Royal Palace, where there are two guardsmen and two more guardsmen on horseback. All day long, the coaches and taxis are arriving so that tourists can be photographed with these guards. We went on to the Chinese Temple mentioned above and the returned to the city centre for my visit to the Petronas Twin Towers. You only get about halfway up the towers on the public visits to the 'Skybridge' at floor 41 but I was keen to do it. Obtaining tickets normally involves a long period queuing but a gentleman from the travel company did the queuing so that we could go straight up. Usually, each party has ten minutes on the Skybridge, but we went up with a group of young, excited Army and Air Force personnel and we got at least 20 minutes. Later, I had a buffet lunch at a large, well-known restaurant before we drove north to the Batu Caves area. As we returned to the city, there was an exceptionally heavy downpour and drains overflowed and traffic stopped. However, we made it to the original Kuala Lumpur railway station built by the British for me to take photographs and visit the small museum they have. We drove past a number of other places before I was returned to my hotel, happy and tired. But the rain stopped so I thought I'd better make another trip out on my own.

I went back through Suria Mall to KLCC rapid transit station, travelled to Masjid Jamek and walked first to the Central Market and then to the Chinese Quarter. I continued walking to Kuala Lumpur old station to finish taking photographs (the rain had rather curtailed matters in the afternoon). Then I bought a single ticket for the one stop on KTM Komuter back to KL Sentral, finally catching the Rapid Transit Kelana Jaya line (which, to confuse things, is often referred to as the Putra Line) back to station KLCC, arriving back at my hotel thoroughly exhausted.

Pictures

Thean Hou Chinese Temple.
Around Kuala Lumpur.
The Petronas Buildings.
Visit to Petronas Buildings Skybridge.
Batu Caves.
Light Rail, Mass Transit, Rapid Transit.
KTM railways.
Railway Museum, KL.

On to Kuala Lumpur

Up early and breakfast on the balcony of my room at the Rasa Ria Resort. All formalities complete, I was ready for pick-up at 7.00 a.m. Of course, the hotel had to refund most of the 'Security Deposit' they'd taken, because my 'Extras' were modest. The charming young man at reception took three attempts to get the refund right and I'm still not sure it'll appear correctly on my statement. I couldn't be cross, because he was so keen to get it right.

My car was a few minutes late and we hadn't been going long before we started to hit traffic jams. Nothing too serious, but it slowed us down. Somehow, this wasn't how I'd imagined North Borneo! Rather than go through the centre of Kota Kinabalu, the driver took some sort of by-pass inland which took us through more residential areas and eventually, we joined up with the main road I knew, on the airport side of town. We arrived at the posh new airport about an hour after leaving the Resort. The airport was pleasantly empty and I was checked-in within a few minutes. The check-in girl had excellent English and, after examining my passport, exclaimed approvingly 'You've been everywhere!'. I told here that there were still plenty of places I hadn't visited, but agreed I'd been very fortunate. When I got to immigration, my departure card was missing. I thought it was in my passport, but it was not. 'You have a problem' said the rather officious young man. Eventually, I found it in the passport wallet, which I'd put separately. 'Now you're happy!' I said, but the young man was unyielding 'No, I am not happy'. he said. But he stamped my paperwork so I gave him my best smile and found my way to the Malaysia Airlines Lounge. They were a lot more friendly there and I spent the time waiting for my flight on one of their high-speed internet Dell computers.

The flight to Kuala Lumpur was a few minutes late - the ubiquitous Boeing 737 (-400 series, I think). We took off and climbed straight ahead over the city before turning onto our course for Kuala Lumpur. A meal was served, not too much of it to my taste but I was comfortable enough and read for a while and slept for a while. We landed after a flight of about two and a half hours and taxied around the airport for some minutes before coming to our Gate. The airbridge was attached to the forward door very quickly and I found myself off the aircraft and following the signs for the baggage hall. My bag arrived equally promptly and in the arrivals hall I found an Indian lady from the travel company displaying my name. She used her mobile to summon the car and the car arrived a couple of minutes later. After I'd helped the driver to stow the case, I turned to thank the lady and she was gone! No 'goodbye', no 'enjoy your stay'. I admit to feeling surprised. The driver said it would take us around an hour to get to my hotel, even using the toll road.

Kuala Lumpur is set in a valley surrounded by lush hills and the road we took seemed to climb one hill, then fall then repeat the process a number of times. There were a number of overhead power transmission lines bringing in electricity to a power-hungry city. I saw lots of cellphone masts and most of these had been disguised as trees by the addition of clumps of plastic 'leaves'. We passed groups of huge apartment blocks - like all big cities, house prices reduce as you get further from the centre. I caught my first glimpse of the city centre - the famous Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower. I'd forgotten the Twin Towers were clad in stainless steel - they glow white in the sun - and I didn't even know that Kuala Lumpur had a separate observation tower. As we threaded our way into the city centre, it started to rain so I was glad of the 'porte cochere' when we arrived at my hotel, right next to the Twin Towers. Pictures around Kuala Lumpur.

The Mandarin Oriental hotel has over 600 rooms, so there was a bit of a queue at reception. A pretty young girl with excellent English quickly checked my booking form and lead me to the Elevators (as you might expect, nobody calls them 'lifts'). There were eight passenger elevators and we were quickly taken to the 24th floor. Here, they have a 'Club Lounge' with check-in, concierge and lounge with refreshment facilities aimed at business travellers. Whilst the check-in process was completed - it only took a few minutes - I sat with a cup of refreshing tea (Darjeeling and very much to my taste. I'd remembered Darjeeling as slightly bitter but the hotel's blend became my staple beverage during my stay).

I was then taken two floors up to my room on floor 26. In common with a number of large hotels, the credit card room key is also used to enable the lift and give access to restricted floors where certain floors form a separate 'business class' hotel, as here. My room was only a short distance from the lifts (always an advantage - I find it depressing to keep walking through featureless corridors lined with a series of identical doors looking for my room). The rooms in city centre hotels are usually a little smaller but all the facilities were there. Pictures of the Hotel.

But the most noticeable feature was the view from the large window which was dominated by the Twin Towers, looking close enough to touch. The Petronas Twin Towers is one of the few modern buildings that I actually like, so I was delighted to have this opportunity of studying it.

I'd been told that Afternoon Tea was served in the Club Lounge and, a little later, they had a Cocktail Hour. I managed to get down to the Lounge in time for warm scones with cream and strawberry jam. The huge windows on one side of the lounge had a view of the Twin Towers similar to that in my room but the opposite wall had impressive views over the rest of the city.

I enquired at the desk about Mass Transit Systems in the city. They were a little puzzled because, rather than enquiring 'How do I get to...', I was asking what systems existed and where it was possible to go. They found me a City Map with a small diagram of the railway lines and I determined to brave the transit system in the rush hour, having had vague directions to the nearest station 'KLCC'. This acronym seems to generally refer to the upmarket area around the Twin Towwers. 'KL' is the old British ex-patriates' invariable appellation for 'Kuala Lumpur', now in general use. 'CC' can stand for 'City Centre' or, just across a park next to Trader's Hotel, 'Convention Centre'.

Built in an arc in between my hotel and the Twin Towers is a very swish, modern shopping Mall on six floors called 'Suria KLCC'. The place teemed with Malaysians and foreign visitors. Every designer label you can imagine was represented but, down on the Concourse Level, there were more basic coffee shops and snack bars which were doing good business. Having an idea of the direction to go, I stumbled upon the entrance to the rapid transit underground station. This was doing a fair imitation of a London Underground station in the peak period but, fortunately, all signage is in English and Malay so I found a ticket office where the girl was able to offer me a 10 Ringit ticket suitable for multiple journeys. Automatic ticket barriers are much the same everywhere so the next problem was to travel in the correct direction. The station had a single island platform with a track on either side and Platform Edge Doors were provided so, even during peak periods, you can't get pushed onto the tracks. After a few moments, my train came in - a 2-car driverless train reminiscent of Docklands Light Railway - already quite full. Being used to London's inadequate tube system, I had no problems insinuating myself onto the train but I was surprised that a number of passengers decided to wait for the next train (my experience is that the next train is often more crowded than the first). After a couple of stations underground, we popped out onto an elevated track. At Pasar Seni, I could see the famous station building, in the Moorish style, of the original railway station in Kuala Lumpur. A little south of this original station, they have built a modern transport interchange called 'KL Sentral' and this is where I got off. After a bit more riding round on railways, I returned to the comfort of my hotel.

Pictures

Light Rail, Mass Transit, Rapid Transit.
KTM.

Kota Kinabalu

I had ordered breakfast in my room for 6.30 a.m. It arrived promptly and the smiling young man set it up on the balcony. I'd learnt that the hotel operated a shuttle bus service into Kota Kinabalu but I didn't know what time it started. The concierge in the Garden Wing reception confirmed that the first bus was 9.00 a.m. I decided to explore the hotel a little and then catch the first bus.

On the way in from the airport the previous day, I'd spotted the North Borneo Railway which, until a couple of years ago, operated a tourist steam train with a 'Vulcan' 2-8-2. The railway closed for reconstruction and the concierge confirmed that it remains closed. Although I'd seen some rolling stock lying around the previous day, the railway certainly didn't look like a going concern.

The Shuttle Bus turned up on time and there were perhaps ten passengers. There were no delays and the coach stopped at the Centre Point Shopping Mall after about 45 minutes. There was lots of cars looking for places to park along roads near shop premises. The cars seemed fairly casual about how and where they parked but every 100 yards or so there was a parking attendant, identified by a Yellow High-Visibility jacket and a pad of printed tickets. So almost as soon as a car had found a space, the parking attendant was there, collecting the parking fee.

I considered trying to find the railway but I realised it would be a long walk and it had started to drizzle so instead I turned off past the minbus station and went inside one of the older shopping complexes - 'Plaza Wawasan'. After wandering around in there for a while, I emerged onto a quieter street with shops and tall apartment blocks. Then I cut across to the waterfront. There's a whole series of bars and restaurants catering for tourists. Visitors seem to be mainly from Japan or Australia as the travelling is not so hard for them. There are a fair few Germans, as well.

Further along there's the Phillipino Market. There are quite a few Phillipinos in Sabah. Many of them came in the 1930s to work on the fishing fleets. When you go to the Fish Market, you can see why. There's a remarkable selection of fresh fish.

Some of the Phillipinos live in the 'Floating Villages' visible a few hundred yards away from the waterfront, surrounding an offshore island. The population of these villages is around 10,000. I took a tour of the villages by water in a small boat with an outboard. Then we landed at one of the two floating schools which provide places for around 2,700 children.Pictures here.

On the way back, the rain became torrential. I wandered around the shops trying to keep dry but the damage was done so I took a taxi back to the Rasa Ria Resort.

The rain had eased so, when I'd recovered from the morning's exertions, I went down to the beach for a swim in the South China Sea. The water, I was relieved to find, was quite warm and once you're in the water you don't notice the rain. There was one couple in the designated 'Swimming Zone'. They left and I was on my own for a bit. As I was leaving, a mother and child arrived for a swim.

I settled for an evening meal in the Coffee Shop, which had become quite full by the time I'd finished. Then, I went back to my room to start packing ready for a 7.00 a.m. pickup the following day.

Into Sabah

After breakfast on 'Pandaw' on Sunday, we were all going our separate ways. Transport to Sibu Airport had been arranged for us by 'Pandaw', with departures from the ship at different times, to suit the flight each group was booked on. I was booked to leave the ship at 8.30 a.m. to catch the Kota Kinabulu flight, travelling in the same minibus as the American Party who were flying to Kuching. Most of the crew and our guides were on hand to say goodbye as we drove away from the landing stage. There are a few pictures on the journey here.

On arrival at Sibu Airport, we were assisted as far as check-in by one of the friendly minibus drivers and then directed into the 'Otis' lift to the first floor to go into the Departures Hall. The Americans were able to go straight into the Departures Hall but, because I was flying to a different state (Sabah), I had to wait for the immigration officials to come on duty. Once the immigration staff were present, I caught up with my American friends as we waited for our flights to be called. More passengers from 'Pandaw' arrived, either booked on my flight or later flights to Kuching or Kota Kinabulu. My pictures at Sibu Airport are here.

My MASwings flight was called a little late. We walked across the apron to our aircraft in broiling sun. The aircraft was one of their new ATR72-500. I took my seat - the other eleven seats in Business Class were empty but the rest of the aircraft appeared full. I had a simple but pleasant enough meal during the flight and then we descended to Kota Kinabulu airport.

I was surprised at how large the terminal building was - it was clearly quite new. My pictures of the airport are here. When we disembarked, we had a fair walk to baggage reclaim and, once I'd retrieved my bag, it was into the Arrivals Hall, where I quickly spotted a man holding up a sign with my name. As we set off from the airport, I asked how long the journey would take. 'Depend on the traffic' he replied 'Maybe one hour'. Whereas Kota Kinabulu airport is quite close on the south side of the town, Shangri La's Rasa Ria Resort lies some distance north of the town. We did lose some time in Sunday traffic jams negotiating the town but the driver pointed out some features of the town as we passed - all shopping opportunities.

Kota Kinabulu is rather as I imagined Kuching would be - lots of modern development catering for foreigh tourists and most of the original buildings lost. In this case, I gather it was bombing during World War 2 which destroyed the buildings. I hope it's not too unkind to say that it struck me as a cross between Las Vegas and Dubai, built on a budget. My pictures are here.

Eventually, we passed the Dusit Golf Club and the Rasa Ria Resort was a little further on. All the hotel staff on hand welcomed me and it was only after my luggage had been unloaded and my car had gone that we discovered I was at the wrong reception. Shangri-La now have two hotels side by side. The Garden Wing was opened in 1996 and has about 100 rooms but about three years ago, they added the Ocean Wing to one side with another 90 rooms together with its own access and reception. However, all the other facilities, like restaurants, are within the original Garden Wing. The girl on reception was most apologetic that they'd not spotted the error before my car had left, but she summoned a hotel minibus to transfer me and my luggage across. Whilst waiting, a number of the 'Pandaw' passengers arrived from the airport in their minibus and I greeted them briefly before taking the short additional trip to the Ocean Wing.

Although everybody was charming and I was given a welcome drink whilst the formalities were completed, two aspects of the process grated with me. Firstly, although the room charge was prepaid some time ago, they insisted on taking a 'security deposit' of around 150 USD to cover incidentals. Secondly, I had to sign what I regarded as a rather broad indemnity absolving the hotel from most of what you would have thought were its reasonable responsibilities. I always feel that these signs of mistrust by a hotel undermine their other efforts to make you feel welcome.

The room was fairly spacious with a decent bed. The bathroom was well-appointed and the W.C. was fitted with a Royal Toto RB900 made in Korea, I think, the land of the Etiquette Bell. The shower was a decent size, with fixed and moveable shower heads. But who decided to put the two-person tiled bath outside on the balcony? It seems a nice idea except that all the balconies on five floors face the swimming pool and various footpaths, so are in fairly plain view. They've 'fixed' this problem by fitting two electrically-operated blinds which give some privacy but also cut off the view when you're in the bath. My pictures at Rasa Ria are here.

The room came with a plug-in LAN connection running at 1GB/s which gives reasonably good internet access, so I was able to upload a fair number of pictures and correct at least some of the problems I'd been having because of the rather erratic internet access on 'Pandaw' and the problems with my Notebook computer.

I slept well (although not for very long) unsure whether I'd want to face the long journey into Kota Kinabalu the next day or whether I would just savour the facilities of the Resort.

Rajang Melanau Muslim Village

This freighter crossed our path more than once as we cruised downstream

We continued downstream in amongst ocean-going cargo vessels. My pictures taken on the river are here. 'Pandaw' moved down river until we reached a landing stage on the right bank serving the Rajang Melanau Muslim Village (also called Tanjung Manis).

Most of the passengers disembarked for a walking tour of the village. This appeared to be a fairly prosperous village - houses in good repair, gaily painted in bright colours, gardens carefully tended and with all sorts of exotic plants. My pictures of the village (and weaving factory) are here.

Songket Weaving Factory

The Songket Weaving Factory is very famous. It's housed in a modern building, traditionally built in wood. There were about a dozen looms there, but only two or three of the women were actually carrying out the painstaking, intricate weaving. There were limited items for sale but, in general, they like you to order from a catalogue and then, sooner or later (I'm told it's usually later), your item is despatched. Since they only accept cash, the nicer items were too expensive for me but my friend April inadvertently secured a massive discount by truthfully saying that she'd insufficient Ringit (the Malaysian unit of currency) for the material she coveted. Neither she nor I thought they'd haggle on price but they decided they'd rather make a sale at a lower price.

We continued our walk and looked at the outside of the prosperous-looking modern Mosque, with its lawns being 'strimmed' by a gardener. In contrast, the Melanau Muslim Cemetery we explored was overgrown and a number of the grave markers were in poor condition. We slowly returned to the boat, on the way examining the garden plants, talking to the children and occasionally playing with the many domestic cats.

The village represented as far downstream as we would go. The boat turned upstream for some serious cruising all the way back to Sibu. Pictures taken on the journey upstream are here.

In the afternoon, Neville gave a ship tour which attracted a lot of passengers. Starting with the small kitchen, we moved on through the crew mess, down into the engine room, forward through the various watertight doors which eventually led us to the foredeck and the anchor winch. Finally, we went to the Wheelhouse. My pictures from the tour are here.

Later in the afternoon, there was a Question and Answer Session with our guides where Louis gave us more information about life and customs in Sarawak.

In the evening, we had the special 'Farewell Dinner' - our last dinner together on this cruise and all the staff who could be spared were presented to the passengers by Neville, receiving applause for all their efforts. Pictures of the 'Farewell Dinner'.

Sarikei

I was woken unceremoniously at 4.00 a.m. by two or three fishing vessels returning to port with their raucous marine diesels disturbing the night. Word processing kept me busy for a while, then I just relaxed on the bed until 5.45 a.m. when I had a shower, dressed and went up to the Sun Deck for an early morning cup of tea. The usual early risers were up there.

At some point ‘Pandaw’ had moved from her offshore mooring to a quay. The quay had a large transit shed and an impressive entrance from the road with separate weighbridges for vehicles in and vehicles out together with a large (unstaffed) security office. There was also a large static water tank which I presume was for fire suppression in the transit shed. But the whole facility had been unused for some time and it currently served merely as an easy way to get us ashore. In addition, during the day, the boat took advantage of the good access to take on two road tanker loads of fresh water.

Breakfast started early on Friday at 6.30 a.m. for those people going on the 7.30 a.m. Shore Excursion. This Excursion involved a minibus ride to Longhouse Rumah Nyuka at Bayong followed by a trek to the Sarekei Waterfall and back lasting about two and a half hours. For passengers who didn’t fancy trekking, there was a departure by minibus at 8.30 a.m., stopping at a Pepper Farm and then going on to the Longhouse to meet up with the earlier group.

After breakfast, I prepared for our hike with Factor 30 Sun Block and a Jungle Formula insect spray. A number of minibuses were lined up on the quay for the 7.30 Shore Excursion and as each vehicle was filled, it made its way through the town towards the Longhouse. Sarikei is quite a large place and there were traffic lights and dual carriageways that come as quite a shock after the smaller places we’d stopped at. Almost every shop and business premises we passed had the name repeated in both Malay and Chinese. It was clear that there’s a large Chinese community here and that it’s a relatively prosperous area. There were some very nice detached houses with landscaped, well-groomed gardens. There was also a lot of new housing estates – Sarikei must be a desirable place to settle. Once we turned off the main road, we headed into the hills and the road undulated like a switchback as we approached the Longhouse. It was a pretty uncomfortable ride in the back of the minibus! After about tens minutes of this up and down, we suddenly arrived at our destination.

Longhouse Rumah Nyuka at Bayong

We parked on the concrete road laid outside the Longhouse’s verandah and, once everyone was assembled, we divided into the Waterfall Party provided with two local guides and the Nature Party who intended to hike a shorter distance with Henry explaining some of the local Flora.

The party that set off for the Waterfall was still quite large. We took a track regularly used by residents of the Longhouse to reach their farming land. After a short climb, we entered a shady forest section. The bamboo bridge over the stream at this point had recently been damaged so we were forced to ford the stream, introducing some delay although it was only around six inches deep. We passed a field with a wooden pig sty. The female domesticated boar there had a number of playful (and hungry) babies. Next, we came to a field of pepper plants, each plant trained up a substantial pole. Sarikei is famous for its pepper. The path then ran across a rice paddy on a series of planks arranged to keep your feet dry when the field is flooded. We found one cheerful woman working here.

We carried on along the bank of a stream, shaded by trees, eventually crossing the stream on a bamboo bridge and passing a number of rubber trees. Next, the track ascended a fairly steep hillside covered in pepper plants. In hill planting, the pepper plants are often planted together with a brightly-coloured broadleafed plant whose root system protects the soil from erosion. Having climbed almost to the top of the hill, the path then dived down into the valley where we came to our goal – the waterfall. Not the biggest waterfall I’d seen but very attractive. Once everybody in the party had arrived, it was time to set off back again. On the way back, I found three large centipedes on the path, the largest at least six inches long. There was the usual delay fording the stream and by the time we arrived back at the Longhouse, the party who’d left the ship at 8.30 a.m. had arrived. My pictures taken on the trek are here.

The covered verandah of the Longhouse provided a huge space for communal activities and our arrival appeared to be an excuse for something of a party. Most of the women were congregated in one section with the children, just sitting on the floor and watching, but friendly and quick to smile. Next came a section where handicrafts were laid out for sale. The women on the stalls had pretty good English. Next, was a refreshment station with tea, coffee, juice and very nice crunchy ‘biscuits’ being mass produced in a couple of small woks just behind. Finally, a mat had been laid for dancing and there was the normal ‘band’ of a large gong beating time and the usual instrument with seven gongs to play the melody. There was plenty of seating for the visitors to watch as they had their refreshments. My friend Jim tried the big gong, then I was invited to try. Before I could stop, the melody had started up on my beat and one of the Longhouse men was doing a ceremonial dance, complete with head-dress, so I felt I had to keep going (or should that be 'gonging'?). Eventually, the official ‘gong man’ relieved me. Tim was then invited to dance and was photographed in the head-dress. While the band had a rest, an audio system blasted out a modern tune and six women, all in identical shifts, started the dance I’d seen on the boat – two steps right, two steps left, two steps back, rock for one beat then a quarter turn left. Done properly, it looks very good. A little later, one of the women invited me to join her and I struggled to copy the (simple enough) moves. Longhouse people and my fellow passengers watched me make a fool of myself with interest. When I made a mistake, I would rush to pick up the beat again and this provoked gales of friendly laughter from the Longhouse people. One of the Longhouse men joined in so we had a line of three dancers, two of whom knew what they were doing. It was a marvellous experience and my performance was rewarded with a second cup of tea and more of the ‘biscuits’. Pictures in the Longhouse.

All too soon it was time to clamber back into the mini-bus for the teeth-jarring ride back to the ship. At the very least, the minibuses could do with some new shock absorbers. Pictures on the journey.

Lunch in the dining room was the usual convivial occasion and then there was time to ourselves until a walking tour of Sarikei town at three o’clock. As three o’clock approached, the heavens opened and we had a torrential rain storm. It was probably twenty minutes before the rain had abated sufficiently for us to venture out with umbrellas. Louis and Henry accompanied us, pointing out some of the shops of interest. At the town square, they left us to our own devices with strict instructions to be back on the boat by five o’clock. This gave me time to take a number of photographs around the town and along the waterfront. I bought a cheap printed sarong with a traditional Sarawak design and then spotted a computer shop. My Notebook Computer has developed a keyboard encoder problem meaning that some of the recent posts have been a bit of a pain to write. So I went in the shop and bought an External USB Keyboard which is working fine. I rather liked the idea of buying high-tech computer equipment in Borneo! Needless to say, the keyboard was made in China.

I returned to the boat in good time as preparations were being made for our departure. Just as we were about to depart, a tug appeared from a tributary just upstream towing a log 'raft'. Now, the log 'rafts' they use in Sarawak are not like I've seen in photographs from North American logging. In Sarawak, there is a single cable running the length of the raft and each log is attached to the cable at one end only, herringbone-style. So emerging from a side-river and turning left to pass us and go downstream must be a bit tricky. They'd placed a red flag on the vertical pole near the front and another near the and. This was the only warning to other river traffic! The raft passed us safely and then I realised that one man in a small dinghy with an outboard had been attached to the back end of the raft as it made its turn. I presume he was there to try and tow the back end out of harm's way if there was a problem. However, apparently satisfied that the tow was satisfactory, he detached the dinghy, started the outboard and sped back to the tug. We then set off downstream, passing the tug and log raft further down river as he was not making much speed with such an unwieldy tow.

As it became dark, we turned to face upstream and anchored for the night, somewhere near Kampung Seberang. I went to bed quite early - the combination of the trek and the dancing seemed to have taken its toll. But I was disturbed by the noise of a marine diesel engine, so I slipped on some clothese and went to the Upper Deck to see what was going on. A number of my fellow passengers were still up there drinking and talking. The tug with the log raft was bearing down on us with his headlight blazing on a course set to take him between 'Pandaw' and the nearer bank. It was quite obvious that, whilst the tug would get through, his 'herringbone' load of logs was far too wide. The tug stopped just short of us and a cross voice could be heard shouting in the dark. Our crew must have agreed to re-position the 'Pandaw' and once we had moved further from the bank, the tug, making a deafening noise as the tried to get the raft moving again, moved slowly past us, followed by his load of timber, which now displayed two white lights, one near the front and one near the back. After this excitement, I was able to get to bed.

Postscript 24-Jun-2010

After I'd returned to the UK, I was delighted to hear from Daniel, who produces a blog about Sarikei which you can find here. A section on Sarikei's history is here. There's a growing Facebook Group for Sarikeians here, with links to maps and further information about the town.