Future of Coal

[dunnyrail]

Yes, this loco was at Malang in Java in September 1983. It's Hohenzollern 4074/20, built for the "Malang Stoomtram Mij" and it seems to have spent its whole life there. It never moved during our visit. Indonesia was a good place to see a variety of fuel types . The small PJKA locomotives like this one usually burned wood. On Java the larger locos like the D52 2-8-2s and the CC50 Mallets were heavy oil burners, whilst on the South Sumatra system the locomotives burned coal. (As I believe they did in West Sumatra, which I didn't visit). In the many sugar mills the steam locomotives usually burned bagasse, the waste product fron sugar cane. They would often start the season burning oil, until enough bagasse had been produced. This economical system was one reason why the mills kept steam traction so late.

I would have loved to vivit Java but somehow it never occurred, Surabeya with the Steam Trams woukd have been too of my places to visit. But the D52’s would have also been a massive attraction as well, plus yes the CC50’s. All in all a steam engine wonderland now sadly no more.

 

[philg]

I would have loved to vivit Java but somehow it never occurred, Surabeya with the Steam Trams woukd have been too of my places to visit. But the D52’s would have also been a massive attraction as well, plus yes the CC50’s. All in all a steam engine wonderland now sadly no more.

Yes, I don't think I've ever seen so many types of locomotive on a single trip. PJKA steam was at a low ebb by then with locos dumped everywhere but there were still remarkable survivors, some over 100 years old. It was the first year that self-drive cars could be hired, so we covered a lot of ground and visited around 35 sugar mills with steam locos. I never did get back.