In September I uploaded a blog post titled:
The blog post It is all about The
North Borneo Railway that runs 36 miles between Kota Kinabalu, the
state capital of Sabah, and Papar, an agricultural town, known as the
rice bowl of Sabah.
We
were going to be staying in Kota Kinabalu for a few days and we were
lucky that our visit coincided with one of the train journeys.
I was super excited to be able to travel on a steam train!
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler,
which drives the steam engine. Both fuel and water supplies are carried
with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons
pulled behind.
Steam
locomotives were first developed in Britain and dominated railway
transportation until the middle of the 20th century. From the early
1900s they were gradually superseded by electric and diesel locomotives.
We
had pre booked our train tickets before departing Singapore and it was
just as well, because once we arrived in Kota Kinabalu not one ticket
was available for purchase!
We
arrived at the station one hour before departure which was more than
enough time to wander along the station, read about the history, take
photos, listen to the music and generally get hyped up about the
forthcoming journey!
Then it was time to ring the bell, stamp the ticket and board the train ..... wahooooooo!!
North
Borneo Railway is the oldest running steam train in Sabah and Borneo.
The nostalgic romance of an old steam train relives memories of a bygone
era. Passing through villages and coastal towns, paddy fields,
rainforests and plantations of rubber and coffee, a ride on North Borneo
Railway is truly a journey of rediscovery into the heart of Borneo.
Their website says:
Take a journey back into the colonial days of British North Borneo on board the North Borneo Railway, a project operated by Sutera Harbour. Regular steam train journeys are offered every Wednesday and Saturday and depart from the Kota Kinabalu Railway Station. The ride in the colonial wagons, pulled by a newly renovated Vulcan steam engine takes 3 hours and 30 minutes, and packages include refreshments, food and beverages. The train stops at Papar for a visit to the local market.
Take a journey back into the colonial days of British North Borneo on board the North Borneo Railway, a project operated by Sutera Harbour. Regular steam train journeys are offered every Wednesday and Saturday and depart from the Kota Kinabalu Railway Station. The ride in the colonial wagons, pulled by a newly renovated Vulcan steam engine takes 3 hours and 30 minutes, and packages include refreshments, food and beverages. The train stops at Papar for a visit to the local market.
there is much to document about the journey, so please stay with us as we travel on the steam train to Papar in Borneo......
North Borneo Railway information:
my previous blog posts on Kota Kinabalu are here:
PS: for those
that know my family, will know that we have always been 'involved' at
some stage in with steam trains. Be it sitting on the fence waving as
they travel past, riding in and on them where possible and in particular
our mother who was heavily involved in the Mornington Railway Preservation Society (Victoria, Australia) for many years. Its such a shame their WEBSITE does not carry any images of the actual preservation of the K-163.
Please stay with us for further blog posts on the train journey in Borneo.
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