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Narrow Gauge Diesels in Java's Sugar Mills (Part 4) |
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Even a dyed-in-the wool steam enthusiast like me cannot fail to appreciate that Java's narrow gauge diesels almost all now qualify as 'heritage' since they were delivered at least 25 years ago, indeed some of those around today have notched up half a century of service. I have never totally 'cursed' the mills' diesels as in many cases the field lines would have closed much earlier if the service had had to be maintained by steam alone. And with 'real' narrow gauge railways around the world in full retreat, Java's estate railways today offer an unparalleled concentration of traditional 'Decauville' railways, complete with temporary track to connect remote cutting areas with the permanent way. During my own early visits from 1975-9, money was short, colour slide film was expensive and there was steam everywhere. Even on later visits into the 1980s and beyond I rarely paid much attention to the diesels and I was amazed when I discovered that over the years I had built up a reasonably comprehensive coverage! This article is in three parts:
I am very grateful to Ray Gardiner for providing me with a copy of his 'All Indonesia Loco List' which has provided much of the information which follows. Ray's researches continued until his untimely passing. The Japanese Diesels
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Rob Dickinson
Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk