Now as you can see the system is a very diverse one and this also applies to the passenger and freight stock. The passenger trains are very long, very busy at most times of the day and made up of all sorts of different carraiges. The most common type of carraige is the BTC third class. the have droplight windows, fans in the roof and permanently open doors. One of the strangest things for me personally is that the colour scheme is identical to the colour that British Rail carriages were painted in the era known to railfans as 'RAILBLUE' However to liven things up S.R.T have also atracted some advertising revenue by selling space on the side of the coaches This is BTC #1200 A different livery is seen on BTC #1033 The converted Japanese DMUs also come in a variety of colours Stranger still this livery is very very reminiscent of the British Railways 'Regional Railways' colour scheme
The Thai railway system throws up some suprises now and then and I thought my eyes were decieving me when I saw Australian rolling stock in Hua Lamphong yard but No, These really are ex Queensland railway third class commuter coaches Non air conditioned second class carraiges are classed as BSCs here is #1007 at Khon Kaen Air conditioned second class known as ANS are day and night cars of course the guard has to go somewhere . This is a BTV Bogie third van
Also quite common is the bogie full van BFV On my first trip to Bang Sue junction to the north of Hua Lamphong, I had gone there as it is supposed to be the departure point for some of the southern expresses, my eye was immediately caught by some old coaches just down the road. these two coaches and an old brake van are the 'Library train' in use as the local public library. the 4 wheeler was built by the Metropolitan carraige company in England in 1912 Quite a find, I thought ,must be a one off survivor but no I subsequently found this one at Nakhon Rachasima at the entrance to the roundhouse ands some more in the Chatuchak rail museum in Bangkok. In fact there are enough survivors to make up a full historic train if you get them all together.
Equally interesting, and I must confess I had never heard of the company, was the other coach that forms the library train, It is a product of the Magor company of New York It is a shame those trees are in the way. here is a close up of the truck underneath it which looks more like a freight car truck to me. I know of at least one more of these that is preserved. Quite a few of the heavywight matchboard sided coaches survive, some in engineering department use and some plinthed This one is in the yard at Bua Yai junction where the on-track plant (Tampers, Liners, ballast blowers etc) are kept Near to Bang Sue depot was the S.R.T owned golf course for employees which occupied a large chunk of real estate in north Bangkok. From what I could make it from my companion that day, an SRT foreman called Akii, this is now a public park. Two heavyweight coaches are in the park
The freight stock is equaly as varied. Wood seems to have gone out of favour quite quickly and more durable steel construction is used for most vehicles. there is a lot of 4 wheel stock and there are numerous examples of the C.G covered van They are seen at nearly every goods yard, here we see 151 210 in the yard at Khon Kaen having been loaded with rice from the local farms C.G 151 483 showing signs of a recent repaint is also at Khon Kaen. A typical view of Khon Kaen goods yard with an assortment of C.Gs waiting loading. A G.E GEK Co-Co will be along shortly to move the rice to Bangkok. Although they look fairly uniform I have identified a lot of variations in terms of the pressed steel ends, doors, bearings and colour schemes. Similar to some of the C.Gs that have an arc roof rather than the elliptical roof ones seen above are the S.W Salt wagons. By nature of what they carry they are usually rusty to the extreme and there is a fine selection lined up at Ban Plu Ta Luang. They have corrugated iron roofs and I have measured one of these up to prepare the drawings for the next 1nM model I am building
More typical of a S.W salt van's appearance is this one, also at Ban Plu Ta Luang Note that there is still a mix of Oil and Rollerbearing axleboxes on Thai stock. This is quite handy me for me as I have still got a lot of oil bearing axleboxes left over from the days when we toured with our gauge 1 'Mardy Colliery' layout and were scratchbuilding 10 ton coal wagons by the fistful. Other 4 wheel stock commonly seen are:- L.S low sided wagons,are used to carry all sorts and likely to crop up in a variety of colours. This example has been lurking around Thonburi shed everytime I have been there. The 3 part dropsides are very reminiscent of the British Rail 'grampus' wagons which were general purpose/ballast wagons More modern in approach to moving ballast are the L.T Low side tippers wagons. Displaced from some of their duties by the modern bogie hoppers they quite often turn up as barrier wagons on oil trains L.T #15025 is seen pictured on the Air Ram side Now there seems to be a surfeit of C.G vans to the extent that some of them have been taken out to sea and sunk to create and artificial reef! However a better fate for some was conversion to the C.F container flat wagons longer than a 20 ft container close inspection reveals where much of the C.G body fixings have been cut but not fully ground off. Blocks welded to the solebars carry the lugs to locate the containers. On my 1nM ones I have made these lugs suit the Heller 1/32nd scale containers from their series of truck and trailer kits ( now sadly discontinued I think)
My absolute favourite piece of rolling stock in Thailand are the B.V brake vans. Here in the U.K, as in the U.S.A, the traditional Caboose/Guards van were eliminated by the combination of fully fitted automatic braking systems, FREDS, E.O.Ts etc. The rail company I work for the trainman sits in the back cab of the rear unit to monitor the train. Not so in Siam. The guard/trainman stills mans the rear of the train and still communicates to the driver with his flags. This one is on the rear of a cement train heading up to the Laos border. This one has just been set off the oil train that has arrived at Khon Kaen oil terminal It sits behind the gantry used by the oil terminal workers as they unload the gasoline and diesel into the storage tanks. I haven't got round to measuring one of these yet but it is high on my list of priorities next time I'm there. On the eastern line the oil trains usually have the larger, and more caboose like, BBV bogie brake vans This one is seen at Chachoengsao Junction, resting place for one of the North British 4-6-0s of which more anon! So that's us started on the bogie freight stock. The equivalent of the C.Gs is the B.C.G bogie covered goods Like the C.Gs there are considerable variations with these in terms of panelling,doors , brake systems etc and also the colour schemes
the previous B.C.G was seen at Makkasan station in revenue service but the engineers department also have acquired some this example seen at Bua Yai junction shows the common features it shares with it's C.G 4 wheel equivalent. Note the end doors signified by the hinges. In the same way that the B.C.G is a stretched C.G The B.L.S is a bogie version of the L.S low side and has 5 drop side sections Now the most complicated wagons to sort out, and I am working on them now, are the B.O.T bogie oil tanks. There are many variations and I have found a lot of information on the Rotfaithai forum but of course it is all in Thai! Now I am fairly sure that 126071 is a survivor of some american ones supplied during the Vietnam war at about the same time that the deeply unloved Plymouth diesel locomotives were delivered. I will come back to those later as I may need some help from anyone who was in the U.S.A.T.C. 44036 is a much younger example seen at Chachoengsao junction.
The most useful vehicle for S.R.T now is the B.C.F Bogie container Flat wagon and some of the B.C.Gs have had the same conversion treatment as the C.Fs This shot was taken in failing light at Khon Kaen and is of a new build B.C.F fitted with modern friction damped bogies, a sort of Y25 rather than the 3 piece bogie seen elsewhere. The container is carrying bagged cement and is in a mixed train with cement hoppers this is one of the converted B.C.Gs carrying a 20ft container next is a B.C.F carrying a container unique to Thailand I think. These have a removable lid lifted off to allow loading and carry sugar and rice. A long rake of these are seen at Tha Phra I mentioned the mixed cement train. this was heading north through khon Kaen and had stopped for a crew change. the other vehicles in the train were the B.C.P Bogie Cement (Pressure discharge) wagons I will add some more soon and get back to the surviving steam locomotives!
OK, KV...when do you and I visit these lines? You simply MUST show me around!!! Have not spoken to my son and his fiance yet (he works the gas field so I hardly see him) but I really WANT to (read: must) see this stuff!!
Well, it certainly looks North American. For a moment, I was reminded of the Gramps oil tanks on the Rio Grande.
Now this is where i need some help from you narrow gaugers in the U.S.A. In 1963 10 Plymouth B'B' centre cab disel hydraulics were supplied to the S.R.T. They were apparently very unreliable and were shipped off to South Vietnam during the war to get rid of them. Does anybody know of any colour photos either in Thailand or Vietnam of these or anywhere I could ask? Is there, for instance. a U.S.A.T.C museum or archive? I ould also do with a decent set of drawings. #2001 & #2002 are in the foreground of this shot. Phot scan courtesy of Rotfaithai
You might try cross posting this in the railfan section or even today's railroad section under Narrow Gauge...surely someone here has that info!
I mentioned the Plymouth diesel hydraulics earlier but The S.R.T had other locomotives using this system. supplied by German manufacturers Krupp and Henschel I was told by a foreman at Thonburi shed that they have the advantage of being able to work through flooded areas because there are no traction motors to worry about! Their ranks have been thinned consideably over the years but at least two of the Krupps are 'celebrity' engines at Thonburi. #3121 must be one of the most photographed diesels in Thailand It is looking abit tatty here as it comes off the shed to work a southern train from Bangkok Noi station #3118 is looking a lot tidier at the rear of Thonburi shed. During the fifties the S.R.t also purchased Diesel hydraulic shunters from Krauss Maffei in Germany and Hunslet in England Some of the Hunslets are easy to find even though they are now out of use. #24 is in the chatuchak museum and is in good condition. The cab side 'garuda' is seen in close up This emblem can be seen on many of the locomotives
