Railroad Day and the Ambarawa Museum<\/p>\n
By Tjahjono Rahardjo<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): On Sept. 28, 1945, newly independent Indonesia
\ntook over the management of its railroads from the defeated
\nJapanese occupation authorities. This day has been designated as
\nHari Kereta Api (Railroad Day).<\/p>\n
Given the Indonesian penchant for ceremonies, no doubt an
\nofficial program will be organized this year to celebrate the
\nday, though many people would argue that there is really not much
\nto celebrate.<\/p>\n
Indonesian passenger trains -- except, perhaps, the executive
\nclass Argo trains -- are seldom on time, lack even the most basic
\namenities (such as water to flush the toilets, if there is a
\ntoilet at all), and, worst of all, are accident-prone. What
\nIndonesia inherited from the Japanese was a very dilapidated
\nrailroad system.<\/p>\n
Locomotives and rolling stock were badly maintained during the
\nwar years and whole lines had been pulled up, to be used in other
\nJapanese occupied territories. And after fifty-five years it
\nseems that Indonesia's railroads never completely recovered from
\nthe disastrous effects of the war and the subsequent political
\nturmoil of the early fifties, despite the real progress that had
\nbeen made thus far.<\/p>\n
It might just be coincidence, but it is probably unfortunate
\nthat the date selected for Railroad Day marked a moment when
\nIndonesia's railroads were at their lowest ebb. One wonders why
\nthe date when the first railroad line in Indonesia was opened,
\nAug. 10, 1867, was not selected instead. Was it, perhaps, because
\npatriotic sentiments at that time did not allow the glorification
\nof a blatantly imperialistic endeavor such as a colonial
\nrailroad, so that a more \"appropriate\" date had to be selected?<\/p>\n
Patriotic or not, the fact is that the pre-World War II years
\nwere the heyday of the Indonesian railroad system. The network
\nwas at its greatest extent and the service it provided rivaled
\neven that in the Netherlands itself.<\/p>\n
The trains were so regular that in the early 20th century
\ncourt scribes could write about Pakubuwono X of Surakarta
\ninforming his fellow sultan, Hamengkubuwono VII of Yogyakarta,
\nthat when his 7:49 train pulled up he \"boarded the train and at
\nsix minutes after the hour of eight the coach began to move.\"<\/p>\n
In those days one could already travel from Batavia (Jakarta)
\nto Surabaya via Yogyakarta in 11 hours and 30 minutes, while the
\ntrip to Bandung would take 2 hours and 30 minutes, which is not
\nbad at all even by today's standards.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, those great days of Indonesia's railroads have
\nnot been completely forgotten. At the station of Ambarawa, which
\nis now Indonesia's only locomotive museum, preserved steam
\nlocomotives that used to serve in the colonial railways can still
\nbe seen on display. In total there are 21 steam locomotives, the
\noldest one built in 1891 and the most recent in 1928.<\/p>\n
In addition, there are three operable rack locomotives: the
\nB2502, B2503 (another member of the family, the B2501, is
\npreserved in the nearby Ambarawa Battle Museum) and the E1060
\n(which originally came from West Sumatra). These three
\nlocomotives are occasionally used to haul the heritage train that
\nruns between Ambarawa and Bedono, along Java's only rack line.<\/p>\n
Ambarawa is just a small town in Central Java, but the
\ncolonial government saw its military importance. In recognition
\nof its strategic significance it was given the name Willem I, in
\nhonor of King Willem I (r. 1815-1840), the first king of the
\nunified Kingdom of the Netherlands. Willem I was called \"the
\nMerchant King\" for his role in promoting the country's industry
\nand commerce. Only a very few cities and towns in the East Indies
\nwere given Dutch names. Besides Ambarawa, the other places were
\nBatavia (Jakarta), Buitenzorg (Bogor) and Fort de Kock
\n(Bukittinggi).<\/p>\n
Another sign of Ambarawa's importance was the construction in
\n1873 of a branch line of the Netherlands Indies' first railroad
\njust to serve the town. In addition, a remarkably large station
\nbuilding for such a small town served as its terminus. Later, a
\nmountain tramway connected it with Magelang, another important
\ngarrison town.<\/p>\n
According to Dr. Robert Lee, Director of the Center for Asian
\nStudies, University of West Sidney MacArthur in Australia:
\n\"Nearly all of Java's railways pass through areas of great scenic
\nbeauty, and some cross mountain ravines, often terraces with rice
\nfields, using high steel bridges.<\/p>\n
The very busy main line between Jakarta and Bandung includes a
\nnumber of such bridges, all traversed by dozens of passenger
\ntrains each day. However, spectacular as this line is, it is
\ndifficult to make any claims that it is unique. Such a claim can
\nbe made, however, for the nine kilometers of railway between
\nAmbarawa and Bedono.\" He even goes as far as to suggest that
\nAmbarawa has the potential to be one of the leading railway world
\nheritage sites in Asia and the Pacific.<\/p>\n
But the keyword here is \"potential\". A lot still has to be
\ndone to realize this potential. One of the most pressing actions
\nthat has to be taken is the conservation of the museum's
\ncollection, both the preserved and operable locomotives. At the
\nmoment all the preserved locomotives are displayed in the museum
\ngrounds without any protection from the elements.<\/p>\n
The three operable locomotives do have their own shed. But
\nthis locomotive shed does not give them much protection either.
\nIts metal roof is leaking and the skylights and windows are
\nbroken. If no immediate measures are taken, there is a great
\npossibility that when Indonesians celebrate their 100th Railroad
\nDay in 2045, nothing will be left of these formerly mighty
\nlocomotives except heaps of rusting iron.<\/p>",
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