A mate of mine asked me today if I'd heard about the start of a Steam train service for tourists starting in May..?
His Thai wife had read this in a magazine recently, stating that it would be a steam-powered loco, & go to B.S. & back, & the loco would be housed/based here in HH.
I just wondered if any of you had heard anything about this..?
(I never knew Thailand had any 'working' steam trains..??)
usual suspect wrote:A mate of mine asked me today if I'd heard about the start of a Steam train service for tourists starting in May..?
His Thai wife had read this in a magazine recently, stating that it would be a steam-powered loco, & go to B.S. & back, & the loco would be housed/based here in HH.
I just wondered if any of you had heard anything about this..?
(I never knew Thailand had any 'working' steam trains..??)
I have made a search in thai and did not see anything about a steam train from Huahin to Bangsaphan.
But there are a few steam locomotives in working condition at Thonburi railway depot, and every 23 October, the steam locomotive number 824 makes a trip from Hualamphong to Ayuttaya, which was the first ever Thai railway.
It was in one of the glossy mags last week, they said the steam train has been in HH station for a long time. There is one opposite the platform which people use for photo opportunities which I presume must be in working order. Sound a good day out, I passed the mag to my mate to show him so I will ask him the name of the publication.
'If you didn't have a wasted youth you wasted your youth'
Hmmm..... I've just read it. Do we really believe that engine will work? It seems to have been sat there forever, with absolutely no maintenance that I've seen. At the very least, it will need a coat of paint if its to become a tourist attraction.
Pagey wrote:It was in one of the glossy mags last week, they said the steam train has been in HH station for a long time. There is one opposite the platform which people use for photo opportunities which I presume must be in working order. Sound a good day out, I passed the mag to my mate to show him so I will ask him the name of the publication.
That steam loco has been in HH for years. Many other stations in the LOS have their own showpiece steam locos as well - noteably Chumphon where there are at least 3 old locos placed along the central road reservation leading to the station. One of them is a 'sugar train' engine. I see no reason why any of them couldn't be quite easily prepared for active service? (Apart perhaps from problems with guage.)
What does puzzle me though is why any Thai tourist authority or other folk would come up with this idea. They are not known for promoting their historical heritage, other than wats, palaces and elephant shows. OK the Kwai railway is a bit different and meaningful and always will be. Otherwise it's all about progress, although I think there is a railway museum in or near Bangkok?
margaretcarnes wrote:I see no reason why any of them couldn't be quite easily prepared for active service? (Apart perhaps from problems with guage.)
You could write my mechanical knowledge on the back of a postage stamp, so I don't know; but I reflect back on the Plym Valley Railroad in the UK(don't know if its still going).
They used to get locomotives in (by road), and it would take several years to get them working again. OK, in the UK they probably had to conform to many more safety regulations, but these beasts used to look in better condition compared to the engine at Hua Hin Station.
margaretcarnes wrote:I see no reason why any of them couldn't be quite easily prepared for active service? (Apart perhaps from problems with guage.)
You could write my mechanical knowledge on the back of a postage stamp, so I don't know; but I reflect back on the Plym Valley Railroad in the UK(don't know if its still going).
They used to get locomotives in (by road), and it would take several years to get them working again. OK, in the UK they probably had to conform to many more safety regulations, but these beasts used to look in better condition compared to the engine at Hua Hin Station.
I guess to some extent, it could depend on the condition of the engine when it was put to rest in HH those years ago. If it arrived under its own steam (pun intended), it might not require too much work to get it back into an operational condition. Maybe the idea for bringing them back into service is to increase the speed of the trains - I rarely see any of the diesels exceeding 50 kph and often way less.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to do the trip to Bang Saphan and back by steam train. However, if you look at the engine in the above link, and compare it to the engine that seems to have been left to rot at Hua Hin Station, I know which one I would have most faith in.
I sincerely hope I'm wrong, and their is a successful launch next month. I will watch with interest.
It would be nice to see this happen and I'm sure the SRT could do with some extra cash. Steam locos are still quite common in South Africa in really isolated regions. Of course that might have changed by now though.
I really can't understand why Thailand refuses to invest money into a decent rail network, particularly for freight purposes.
Don't try to impress me with your manner of dress cos a monkey himself is a monkey no less - cold fact
That steam engine in Ayuttaya looks in far better condition than those diesel locomotives that presently pull trains through Hua Hin!
I can still remember steam trains as a kid as at that time in the mid sixties they were still used for pulling colliery trains around the Midlands well after British Rail had finished using them. If they start running one from Hua Hin, I'd really quite like a go on it and as I'm there in a couple of weeks, I'll have a go in May if it's possible.
I doubt very much if the engine in Hua Hin will be fired up anytime soon. If you do happen to hear that it is going to be fired up, stay well away! The thing is over 50 years old, and although that in itself does not make it unrecoverable, it has been parked out in the open for many years, and the boiler at least, would be beyond just being fired up.
If they are to go ahead with running a steam train it would make more sense to use an engine that has already been restored.
Not sure if the following is permitted, but here is a bit more about some in Bangkok. There is also a link to: The Thai Film Museum in Nakhon Pathom, where they have some more exibits.
