In the last week of June, I received an alarming call from
We‘ll see one of Asia’s last working steam hauled mixed trains again, the 85 up/86 down to Mottama, a regular train which it is feared will soon disappear from Myanma Railway’s timetable.
Date |
Itinerary |
29.10. |
Flight to |
30.10. |
Arrival in |
31.10. |
Morning visit to the depot of Bago, where we’ll see a YD and a YC. Our YC will be prepared for the day. Around noon our tender forward YC-hauled passenger train will depart to Payagyi. In the afternoon we’ll return from there, chimney first, and will reach Bago around sunset. Hotel in Bago |
01.11. |
„Plandampf“! We’ll haul the mixed 85 up, a train which runs on alternate days only and has lost virtually all it’s passengers. To make it look as authentic as a decade ago, we’ll “hire” some passengers. The 85 up leaves Bago early in the morning, hauled by diesel. At 7.20 am it will leave Mokpalin behind steam. At around sunset it’ll reach Mottama. We’ll leave Bago around 5 am and chase the train all day using charter buses. Hotel in Moulmine |
02.11. |
In the morning we’ll visit the depot at Mottama, where our steam loco is serviced. Around 9 am it will be transferred behind diesel to Thaton. From here our steam loco will take over the 86 down mixed. The train will never be able to reach Bago in daylight, we’ll chase it up to Mokpalin which will probably be reached by sunset. From Mokpalin the train continues by diesel. We’ll continue by charter bus to our hotel in Bago. |
03.11. |
„Semaphore Festival“: They still exist! The British-style semaphores and gantries of Bago are a must see. With a passenger train and a YC, we’ll perform several arrival and departure shots with all the semaphores and timber framed signal cabins before modernisation cuts them down. Around noon we’ll turn the loco on the turntable and head for the southern end of the line to take pictures of the southern signals as well as the arrival from the North. For the evening we’ve planned night shots in the depot. Hotel in Bago |
04.11. |
With an authentic looking stone train, we’ll go from Bago to Mokepalin (Mokpalin). Our arrival in Mokpalin might be after sunset as trains, especially freight trains, move slowly over the single track line. Hotel near Kyaikhto |
05.11. |
With our stone train we’ll return to Bago, which we’ll probably reach after dusk. There are several nice photo positions on the way. Hotel in Bago |
06.11. |
In the morning we’ll head for the airport at |
07.11. |
Arrival at home |
Bago (the town was previously known as Pegu) was one of the last steam sheds of
For our trains, we have requested and paid for the Myanma Railways to overhaul a number of wagons and re-paint the passengers coaches we want to use.
The second line Bago based locomotives covered, was the main line, Yangon Bago Pyuntaza, and beyond. On some trains, the locomotives from Bago could appear as far north as Taungoo. The southern part of the main line has little photographic potential. However, there is one spot not to be missed, with a huge pagoda in the backdrop. In addition, the signalling system is still in the traditional British style, after the first attempts to modernise it died in the floods of some of the last monsoons. There is a plan to equip the line with colour light signals, of course, an this should from June 2018. So the fantastic gantries from British times will still be there and form a superb backdrop for our steam trains over the main line.
The rarely used locomotives have a reduced boiler pressure and so can’t handle the same weight as before. In addition, it is not certain that the locos can manage all the way without any trouble. Crews are not skilled anymore and the overhaul was a very cheap one. But the intention was to have them ready for light passenger trains only, with around three to a maximum of five coaches. So please expect delays not only from the operational perspective (they are very common in
We have three serviceable locomotives, which we hope to use. There are two 2-8-2 Mikados of class YD and one 4-6-2 Pacific of class YC. We’re still negotiating about a fourth locomotive, another 4-6-2 Pacific. Whether or not these negotiations will be successful and when is unpredictable.
A chartered tour bus will follow the steam trains. Occasionally we’ll board the train to get to some photo spots, but in the negotiations it turned out that Myanma Railways sees a problem with this although it was never a problem in the years before 2007. To get permission to run the tour, we agreed to follow the train by charter bus. The trains will stop at stations for some time, so we have the chance to overtake the train. Be assured that some things will change once we’re in
The train 85 up/86 down will be followed by bus just as railway photographers used to do in regular steam days. If you want to travel on the train you can do that, but photographing it requires that you follow it on the charter bus.
All in all, the technical condition of the railway and its equipment is not suitable for us to guarantee anything. The steam locos of Myanma Railways haven’t been used for a long while and haven’t been fully overhauled. They’ve just been made serviceable again. It might be possible that some parts of the programme cannot be operated as planned and need to be skipped without replacement or compensation. Paid money will not be refunded by any of the Burmese officials or railways, even if they can’t offer what we have paid for. I even had to sign a paper which stated this. However, we don’t expect serious difficulties in this matter. On all the recent tours the contractors in
Time keeping in
Charter buses (mostly with air conditioning), local airplanes, trains and accommodation represent the standard of our host country, which may seriously deviate form European, Australian or North American expectations. While we will try to avoid long walks, some photo positions may require a bit of an extra effort. The first part of the itinerary is designed especially for photographers and video filmmakers. To make the most out of it, we may change our route or hotels/guesthouses without any notice in advance. This does not apply for the
Usually our hotels are good, but occasionally the standard of hotels in smaller places may be well below a Romanian youth hostel in the 1980ies! Please be prepared. After you have seen and felt the quality of the roads, you’ll understand why we don’t go long distances just to get to a better hotel.
Please note that morning trains have a higher priority than a breakfast in the hotel. So breakfast will be served as a packed box if necessary. Lunch and dinner are planned according to the situation with the steam train timetable. If necessary we’ll buy some papayas, bananas and oranges instead of risking missing some good pictures because of a time-consuming restaurant stop. Sometimes, excellent lunches, with local fruit and rice and curries are usually available in the small stations along the railway too. Beverages are not included in the tour price.
Please bear in mind that accommodation and transportation in
We recommend that you take some US dollars with you. To change some money at the airport for souvenirs or beverages, other currencies such as British Pounds are ok as well. With about $250 US you should easily be able to cover all expenses.
Charging rechargeable batteries in the hotels is not a problem. Sometimes there’s a power cut, and the hotel’s generator set is not able to deliver the same voltage as the country’s network. Therefore recharging batteries can take a longer time than usual. However, no one missed a picture on the recent trips because of a battery problem.
Despite some difficulties we might face, you’ll be positively surprised by this lovely country, and its friendly and welcoming people.
Myanmar (Burma) | ||
Semaphores & Gantries in Bago | 30 to 42 participants | £2,560 |
29.10.2017 06.11.2017 | 20 to 29 participants | £2,755 |
Single room surcharge | £320 | |
Registration Deadline: 29.08.2017 |
The price includes:
Not included are:
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