Mak Itam and Its Cogwheel: Old Technology That Conquered Sumatra’s Mountains
Long before high-speed trains raced along at hundreds of kilometres per hour, railway engineers faced a different challenge: how to take trains through mountainous areas with steep gradients. In West Sumatra, this was tied to the need to transport Ombilin coal from the interior to the port. One reminder of that era is Mak Itam, a steam locomotive whose story encompasses technology, industry and changing times.
Mak Itam is the E1060 steam locomotive, built by the Esslingen factory in Germany and brought to Indonesia in 1966. The 750-horsepower locomotive has a cogwheel underneath. This technology was associated with rack rail systems developed to handle steep routes. However, Mak Itam’s cogwheel was not compatible with the rack-rail configuration leading to Bedono, so the locomotive did not use that route when it was once operated for tourist trips in Central Java. This detail shows that railway technology is designed to specific requirements, rather than for use on every line.
The story behind Mak Itam began with the discovery of Ombilin coal around 1868 by geologist Willem Hendrik de Greve. The coal reserves in the Sawahlunto area had significant economic value, but were located inland amid hilly terrain. The challenge did not end with mining: the coal also had to be transported to the coast for distribution. The railway network became part of a system linking the mines, processing facilities, mountain routes and port.
The scale of this engineering went beyond the needs of a single town. UNESCO describes the Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto as an integrated industrial system comprising mines, company settlements, coal-storage facilities, a port and a 155-kilometre mountain railway network. The system demonstrates the convergence of European engineering knowledge with local understanding of the environment and geography. On 6 July 2019, UNESCO designated the industrial heritage area a World Heritage Site. The recognition applies to the Ombilin system as a whole, not to Mak Itam as an individual object.
KAI Vice President of Corporate Communications Anne Purba said Mak Itam’s story helps the public understand that railway technology developed over a long period in response to the needs and conditions of its time. “Behind every locomotive are engineering knowledge and design decisions shaped by real challenges. Mak Itam’s story invites us to consider how transport, industry and regional development are interconnected. It is important to understand this history in order to trace the development of Indonesian railway technology to the present day,” Anne said.
Steam locomotives in West Sumatra served across several generations. E10-class locomotives arrived in several batches, including 22 units between 1921 and 1928, 20 between 1964 and 1966, and seven in 1967. As diesel technology advanced, steam locomotives gradually left regular service in the early 1980s. Mak Itam then began a new chapter as a tourist attraction. In 1998, it was transferred to the Ambarawa Railway Museum in damaged condition and, after repairs, operated tourist services in Central Java for a time. In December 2008, Mak Itam returned to Sawahlunto to support the development of railway heritage tourism.
This change of role reflects the challenges facing industrial heritage around the world. When older technology is no longer the preferred choice for operations, an asset’s value can shift from a means of production to a source of historical knowledge. But this transition requires careful management. Conservation must preserve the asset’s original character, document its history, and ensure that its use is consistent with its technical condition and safety requirements.
Mak Itam was designated a cultural heritage object under Sawahlunto Mayor’s Decree No. 188.45/327/WAKO-SWL/2017. According to KAI, the locomotive is housed at the Sawahlunto depot and can still move within the Sawahlunto Rail and Train Museum grounds. KAI has also reported leaks in several fire tubes in the steam boiler, which require maintenance and repairs before the locomotive can operate optimally. This is a reminder that preserving technological heritage requires precise technical work, not merely maintaining its outward appearance.
Anne said preserving historic railway equipment requires technical precision to be combined with ways of presenting history that are accessible to the public.
“The value of a heritage asset is not limited to its age. It also embodies knowledge about how it works, the challenges it once faced and the changes it underwent over the course of history. When all of this is properly preserved and explained, future generations can learn from the past,” Anne said.
For Indonesia, Mak Itam is a reminder that railway heritage forms part of technological history as well as social and economic history. The Ombilin rail network was built to connect resources with markets, but today it also offers lessons about how infrastructure shapes regional development. The next challenge is to ensure that the public continues to understand this value through responsible conservation, accurate documentation and use appropriate to the locomotive’s condition.
“From Mak Itam’s cogwheel, we learn that advances in transport always leave behind knowledge worth preserving,” Anne concluded.