C1218 rides out again

Click here for a 2010 update on C1218's activities.

Ambarawa children going to school on 12th August 2006 would have noticed a new sight at the back of the shed.

Back in 2002, I came up with the idea of rescuing C1218 from Cepu where it had sat unloved but more or less intact for many years. Semarang area HQ had no objection, so under the auspices of the informal 'Friends of the Ambarawa Railway Museum' we raised the U$1000 or so needed and transported it to Ambarawa. For 3 years it sat out in the open and I frequently despaired of our efforts being rewarded. Finally in late 2005 money was found to get its boiler tested and restoration began in earnest. As always Puji and the shed staff did a great job and by mid-2006 it was deemed a 'runner'. The privilege of the first public train went to a group of visiting Indonesian enthusiasts under local newspaper reporter Komang. Although it has a full boiler certificate, it is not yet normally available for hire and some personal (non-financial) guarantees were required to get it out for the visiting Locomotive Club of Great Britain party. 

As the pictures show - and I took very few as I was organising the run pasts - we were blessed with good weather. Somewhat later than planned, the locomotive ran bunker first to Jambu, where it ran round its train.

Here it entertained the party for an hour or so by running up and down the section between the station and the start of the rack. The picture does scant justice to the environment, it was quite simply idyllic.

With a party of 36 to satisfy, there were no individual master shots, instead we had to pose the train appropriately.

Returning to Ambarawa, there was just time for a final runpast.

Obviously without the sterling efforts of the loco crew (not just on the day) none of this would have been possible: