| JAVA - ISLAND OF FIRE AND STEAM With steam operations in Cuba now little more than a parody of what they once were, the mantle of 'Steam In Paradise' must now surely belong with the Indonesian island of Java. The common factor between the two countries is that the steam operations are seasonal, bringing harvested sugar cane into the mills for processing. In the case of Java the season lasts from early June until September and whilst much of interest still remains, the present operation is a shadow of what it once was. In 2004 only 14 mills were still using steam and in most cases the locomotives were only being used to move cane wagons from the road delivery yards into the mill. Honourable exceptions were Asembagus and Olean where cane trains from the fields are still steam hauled. The bonus for lovers of steam power however is that many of the mills retain steam powered stationary engines to operate the crushing plants inside the mills themselves. Many engines are of Dutch origin as well as some produced by British manufacturers. The pictures on these pages were all taken during a three week visit in August 2004. A full trip report appears on its own separate page. For a comprehensive overview of steam operations in Java, both locomotives and mill machinery it is essential to see Rob Dickinson's pages on his International Working Steam website. Rob is the acknowledged expert on steam in Java and my own solo trip, which I did mainly using public buses to access the various mills, would not have been possible without his help, advice and guidance, for which I am totally indebted. |
| Tersana Baru (5) This 700mm gauge mill is located near to the east of the city of Cirebon. Like most of the remaining steam operations in Java, the locomotives are used to shunt cane wagons in the delivery yard and there are no steam hauled field trains. The loaded cane wagons are propelled into the mill with the engine pushing from the rear. Therefore it is difficult to obtain pictures of locomotives at the front of trains. The operational locomotives are by a variety of builders including Du Croo and Brauns, Jung, Maffei and Orenstein & Koppel and, like most locomotives in Java, are all at least 75 years old. |
| Du Croo and Brauns 0-8-0T No.1 (built 1926) stands at the front of a line of loaded loris in the yard at Teresana Baru (7 August 2004) |
| Traditionally the locomotives use bagasse (crushed sugar cane stalks) as fuel. However the tender of Du Croo and Brauns 0-8-0T No.11 (built 1929) contains logs resulting in acrid, tear inducing smoke drifting across the yard. (7 August 2004) |
| Throught the afternoon there was constant movement within the yard despite the derailment of No.11. Du Croo and Brauns 0-8-0T No.2 (built 1928) pauses briefly between shunting duties (7 August 2004) |
| A fitting finale to my first full day in Java was this stunning line up of locomotives at the far end of the yard. From left to right they are : Jung 0-8-0T No.3 (built 1923) Du Croo and Brauns No.1 Du Croo and Brauns No.2 Du Croo and Brauns No.20 Four locomotives which between them had racked up over 325 years of service. Is it possible that any four diesels will ever achieve such longevity? |
| Jatibarang (8) and Pangka (9) These two 600mm mills are located to the south of Tegal. Most, if not all, of the cut sugar cane is brought to the mills by lorry and then loaded onto railway wagons for the final journey into the crushing plant. This presumably prevents the lorries having to wait many hours to offload and allows the mills to process the cut cane both day and night. At both Jatibarang and Pangka the loaded wagons are hauled into the mill from the road delivery yard by locomotives operating boiler first and therefore presenting far more in the way of photographic opportunities than Tersana Baru. Jatibarang locomotive shed still possesses a turntable in front of a half-roundhouse although it seems to be used mainly for posing locomotives for the visiting enthusiast - and only then at a steep but negotiable price! At nearby Pangka mill there seems to be a determined effort to promote the heritage aspect of their steam locomotives. A large sign at the entrance to the mill informing visitors of this fact features a somewhat incongruous picture of an American 'smokestack' locomotive but a well illustratedand pamplet and guide book are readily available to the visitor. Pangka's locomotive fleet seem particularly well kept and the engines sport a most attractive deep red livery with highly polished number and builders plates. |
| Orenstein & Koppel 0-8-0T No.12 (built 1931) brings a long train of loaded cane wagons on the short journey from the road delivery yard to the mill buildings. The locomotive detaches from its train and propels the previous line of wagons into the mill before returning to the yard to collect its next load. (9 August 2004) |
| Whilst not in use on the day of my visit, this delightful little Couillet 0-6-0T No.1 (built 1910) seemed to be in perfect working order. With the end of field workings, most mills now have a large number of derelict locomotives, the majority of which face almost certain destruction by the breakers torch in the coming years. (9 August 2004) |
| Very much in use during my day at Jatibarang was Jung 0-8-0T No.5 (built 1916) Despite its small size and lack of bagasse wagon it was capable of hauling long trains of loaded wagons into the mill. (9 August 2004) |
| Sadly these two Jung locomotives are unlikely to ever work again. In the foreground is 0-4-4-0T No.9 built in 1930 with 0-8-0T No.7 standing behind (9 August 2004) Update - at least one of these locomotives has been purchased and removed to the UK for preservation and restoration) |
| The third working locomotive on the day of my visit was No.10, a Jung 0-8-0T built in 1911, seen here bringing a train from the road delivery yard into the mill itself. (9 August 2004) |
| The two mills are relatively close together with the village of Slawi standing between the two mills. I caught a bus from Jatibarang into Slawi and then completed my journey out to Pangka by horse drawn taxi ..... a pleasant and most interesting way to arrive at the mill. The morning shift was over and all the locomotives were on shed awaiting the start of the next shift at 2.00pm |
| The scene outside the shed was simply wonderful with five engines standing in light steam ready for their afternoon duties including Jung 0-6-2T No.1 (built 1915) |
| Immediately in front of the shed stood sister engine No.2 also built in 1915 (9 August 2004) |
| Also standing in front of the shed was the third Jung 0-6-2T No.3 (built 1920) receiving attention prior to returning to its afternoon's work |
| Who would believe that a steam scene such as this could survive into the C21st? In addition to the Jung 0-6-2T's No.2 and 3, also outside the shed was Orenstein and Koppel 0-8-0T No.9 (built in 1914) Three engines with just short of 270 years of combined service! (9 August 2004) |
| The afternoon shift has begun and Jung 0-6-2T No.2 heads between the mill buildings towards the road delivery yard located some 400 yards away from the mill itself. |
| Jung 0-6-2T No.2 was followed shortly after by O&K 0-8-0T No.9 and the two engines are seen here side by side waiting in the road delivery yard for the loris to be loaded prior to being hauled back to the mill |
| Orenstein & Koppel No.9 stands at the head of a train of cane wagons in the road delivery yard. The gantry in the background is used to lift the loads of cane off the road vehicles and place them onto the wagons waiting below. The paddy field in the foreground lends attraction to the scene but can be perilous to the unwary (see trip report for details!) |
| Jung No.2 brings a loaded train from the road delivery yard into the main mill patio. The shunter sitting on the front buffer beam is ready to undertake hand sanding - a practice which would no doubt be frowned upon by Health and Safety in the UK! The white building on the left of the picture is the weighbridge. |
| Its short journey over, Jung No.2 shunts the loaded wagons in the main mill yard prior to returning to the road delivery yard to collect its next loaded train. (9 August 2004) |
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| Standing immediately behind No.1 was another Couillet 0-6-0T No.2 (also built 1910). Whilst out of use this also seemed to be in full working order. Whilst a sister engine to No.1, this locomotive has undergone considerable modification over the years (9 August 2004) |
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