Among the Teak Forests

Beyond Semarang, north-east Java is largely flat and dry. The once coastal towns of Demak and Kudus show strong traces of Arabic influence. Here, apart from the main line to Surabaya, the railways were true rural backwaters, the people here are poor and living standards are low. Perhaps for this reason, few visitors spent much time in the area, a rapid visit to the sheds at Cepu and Bojonegoro sufficing for most.

However, there were some real gems. B52 worked the Kudus to Rembang roadside 'tramway', B27 and B22 worked the branches round Purwodadi and earlier visitors missed the chance to see C12s at work through the teak wood forests near Cepu.

Cepu had a whole shed full of sparkling locomotives, C12, C19, C28, C54, D15 and D51 must have had some work to do but whatever it was it went largely unrecorded. Nearby Bojonegoro probably had the cleanest locomotives on the island with B51 and C51 working local trains.

What follows is therefore only a glimpse of the opportunities available. Today, as elsewhere, the branches have been abandoned, in many cases road widening has obliterated their course, although in virtually every small town the station buildings remain, often used as markets, and from time to time a solitary signal rises at the roadside as a reminder.