A recent chance find on my part, of a one-time public railway totally new to me; occasioning mild astonishment. I had always assumed that the only public railway which there had ever been on the island of Borneo: was the -- still active today -- Sabah State Railway, formerly the North Borneo Railway. In the main, concerning the British-Empire-as-was part of Borneo: Sarawak would seem always to have been rather more on people's radar, than Sabah. Had imagined that if Sarawak had ever had a public railway, we'd have known all about it; but per recent discovery, lo and behold, "it did, and we didn't". Admittedly a decidedly "small-time" -- and short-lived -- public railway; however, it existed.
Very briefly just here: was metre-gauge ("standard" equivalent for "British South-East Asia") -- ran for (consensus) ten miles southward from Sarawak's coastal capital Kuching; extension further south was considered, but never happened -- a further seventeen (max.) miles were surveyed, and some earthworks likely constructed: but no track laid. Opened 1915: ran passenger and general freight services until (seeming "majority verdict") 1933; from then, nominally abandoned, but continued to run sporadically for special duties -- largely, bringing stone from quarries -- until 1947.
Re matters to come, concerning line's history: the ins-and-outs of Sarawak's "White Rajahs", essentially in charge there until World War II, seem more complicated than I had imagined -- essentially, though, one Rajah was responsible for planning the railway and bringing it into being, opening 1915. He died in 1917: "next in line", essentially handled the railway's ultimate decline in the ensuing years.
My computer skills are poor, and usually let me down in the matter of doing links; but I'd wish -- one way or another -- to make available, "gen" from the Internet, on the subject. If one Googles "Sarawak Government Railway": second "hit" as at this time of posting, should be headed, "Sarawak Government Railway" -- https://searail.malayanrailways.com>Sarawak>Sarawak
(the above might work as a direct link, but I wouldn't bet on it). This item will be referred to henceforth as "Searail": it yields a succinct but informative two-section article on the railway and its equipment, illustrated with a number of photographs.
Third or fourth "hit": "Society wants old railway track sites repurposed as heritage" -- https://www.the borneopost.com>news>Sarawak
The just-above item features further interesting information, including photographs and a map.
A contact of mine has furnished further material on the SGR, from a -- never published -- intended brief history of the line, by another student of the subject: this reckoned a trustworthy source; can be seen as supplementing, occasionally disagreeing a little with, the "Searail" article. There follow "addenda" to the "Searail" article: taken from this material provided by my associate.
Alternative account via my associate, has the railway's having opened to the 10-mile point only; but opening thus in its entirety, for all traffic, on 1/8/1915. There were several stations; their names not easy to determine from available info. Stone quarries seemingly the backbone of the railway's freight traffic: combined data would indicate that there was one at the 7-mile point, and another at the terminus 10 miles out. When in the 1920s a metalled road came to be, as far out as the 7-mile point, bus competition set in -- the railway went into decline, and started losing money heavily. Closure dates: alternative account reports end of full public services in Jan. 1931; but public "restricted services" continuing until the Rajah's decision finally to close the line in Feb. 1933; which was implemented -- but, as per the "Searail" article, sort-of wasn't: line continued, intermittently / unofficially, to haul stone from quarry(s). This went on with the -- maximum four -- steam locos, although they were in increasingly poor shape: expedients for switching to diesel traction were looked at; but what with one thing and another, this had not been implemented by the time of Japan's entering World War II and occupying all Borneo, as at late 1941 / early '42. The occupiers continued to use the line, employing the steam fleet -- including, it seems, reopening for passenger and general freight. Line continued active for a couple of years after liberation / end of war: its last task here, basically, to haul materials for the construction of the new Kuching airport, at the 7-mile point -- final such workings were in 1947. For these last couple of years, a (single) diesel loco was at last obtained, from Ruston in Britain.
Very briefly just here: was metre-gauge ("standard" equivalent for "British South-East Asia") -- ran for (consensus) ten miles southward from Sarawak's coastal capital Kuching; extension further south was considered, but never happened -- a further seventeen (max.) miles were surveyed, and some earthworks likely constructed: but no track laid. Opened 1915: ran passenger and general freight services until (seeming "majority verdict") 1933; from then, nominally abandoned, but continued to run sporadically for special duties -- largely, bringing stone from quarries -- until 1947.
Re matters to come, concerning line's history: the ins-and-outs of Sarawak's "White Rajahs", essentially in charge there until World War II, seem more complicated than I had imagined -- essentially, though, one Rajah was responsible for planning the railway and bringing it into being, opening 1915. He died in 1917: "next in line", essentially handled the railway's ultimate decline in the ensuing years.
My computer skills are poor, and usually let me down in the matter of doing links; but I'd wish -- one way or another -- to make available, "gen" from the Internet, on the subject. If one Googles "Sarawak Government Railway": second "hit" as at this time of posting, should be headed, "Sarawak Government Railway" -- https://searail.malayanrailways.com>Sarawak>Sarawak
(the above might work as a direct link, but I wouldn't bet on it). This item will be referred to henceforth as "Searail": it yields a succinct but informative two-section article on the railway and its equipment, illustrated with a number of photographs.
Third or fourth "hit": "Society wants old railway track sites repurposed as heritage" -- https://www.the borneopost.com>news>Sarawak
The just-above item features further interesting information, including photographs and a map.
A contact of mine has furnished further material on the SGR, from a -- never published -- intended brief history of the line, by another student of the subject: this reckoned a trustworthy source; can be seen as supplementing, occasionally disagreeing a little with, the "Searail" article. There follow "addenda" to the "Searail" article: taken from this material provided by my associate.
Alternative account via my associate, has the railway's having opened to the 10-mile point only; but opening thus in its entirety, for all traffic, on 1/8/1915. There were several stations; their names not easy to determine from available info. Stone quarries seemingly the backbone of the railway's freight traffic: combined data would indicate that there was one at the 7-mile point, and another at the terminus 10 miles out. When in the 1920s a metalled road came to be, as far out as the 7-mile point, bus competition set in -- the railway went into decline, and started losing money heavily. Closure dates: alternative account reports end of full public services in Jan. 1931; but public "restricted services" continuing until the Rajah's decision finally to close the line in Feb. 1933; which was implemented -- but, as per the "Searail" article, sort-of wasn't: line continued, intermittently / unofficially, to haul stone from quarry(s). This went on with the -- maximum four -- steam locos, although they were in increasingly poor shape: expedients for switching to diesel traction were looked at; but what with one thing and another, this had not been implemented by the time of Japan's entering World War II and occupying all Borneo, as at late 1941 / early '42. The occupiers continued to use the line, employing the steam fleet -- including, it seems, reopening for passenger and general freight. Line continued active for a couple of years after liberation / end of war: its last task here, basically, to haul materials for the construction of the new Kuching airport, at the 7-mile point -- final such workings were in 1947. For these last couple of years, a (single) diesel loco was at last obtained, from Ruston in Britain.
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