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Gondang Baru Sugar Mill |
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In contrast to Kalibagor, Gondang had almost 'everything', starting with accessibility as it was on the main Yogya - Solo road with a constant stream of buses and minibuses passing. The mill itself was a working museum and it had a set of associated field lines which were readily accessible using a combination of sealed and unsealed roads. Moreover, it had a policy of 'little and often' and ran short trains which for many years invariably ran well before sunset. However, as the 1990s passed, less and less cane was grown in the traditional areas served by the railway and it was no surprise when they all closed at the end of the 1998 season. Amazingly, the mill survived unmodernised for almost another 20 years until the end of the 2016 season. It had housed the Central Java Sugar Museum for many years which has now taken the mill itself under its umbrella. Be sure to check out Cape gauge tram engine 'Simbah' which ran transfer trains to the main line at Srowot. Click here for a video of the actual mill in operation. |
