Mojopahit Legends

The southern main line from Surabaya to Jakarta runs to the north of the volcanoes which dominate the Malang skyline. This area was the centre of the largest Hindu empire in Indonesian history and it reached its peak between 1350 and 1389 under Hayam Wuruk and his powerful prime minister Gajah Mada who give their names to streets in towns and cities all over the island. Today, there are remains of poorly built small brick temples scattered over the plains although in recent years some have been 'rebuilt' in the area around Trowulan near Mojokerto in an effort to remember the past and to promote tourism.

It is unlikely that the rural tramways of the 20th century will be similarly remembered. Old maps show several such lines radiating from Pare, and there were lines north from Jombang to Ploso and on to Babat and even Surabaya. From Mojokerto and Krian, lines ran east to Gempol and Sidoarjo. Very little of these lines was recorded on film.

The shed at Mojokerto always seemed to house a fabulous collection of underutilised small power. There was also a small shed at Ploso (with a store of small locomotives) where we saw a C26 come past in 1975, although the local police were so unused to visitors they made it clear we were not to photograph it. However, Kertosono was a major junction and in addition to the small locomotives used for shunting and pumping, it was normal to find a clutch of D52s as well as tank locomotives like the C27, C28 and F10 which had worked up from Blitar. For some years, there was even a long line of redundant C53 Pacifics rusting away.