Tiger Steam - Cambodia

The metre gauge railways in Cambodia are of relatively recent origin. The Chemin de Fer du Sud de l'Indochine was opened in stages during 1932/3 linking Phnom Penh on the banks of the Mekong River with Battambang and Sisophon in the north-west of the country. This was a lightly engineered line and it seems that its prime purpose was to move agricultural produce within the country because it was not extended to Poipet and linked to the Thai system until 1942.

The original locomotives were all supplied by Hanomag (who were also a major supplier to Thailand) in 1930 although some were soon exchanged for locomotives from the present Viet Nam. During the period covered by this CD-ROM, most of the locomotive types seen had initially been delivered elsewhere and the only 'one-owner' locomotives were of French post Second World War origin, standard with those sent to Viet Nam. The other line in the country south from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville (Kampong Saom) is much more recent, being built between 1960 and 1969 with foreign aid from France, Germany and China. 

The present Chemins de Fer Royaux du Cambodge, like the country itself, are slowly recovering from 30 years of war. Both lines show evidence of action, whether it be partly repaired bridges or stations with shell and bullet damage. However, the link with Thailand is still out of use and trains run only as far as Battambang. Although the roads in the country are generally in very poor condition, for some reason re-establishment of the link with Thailand does not seem to have a high priority even though goods brought from there by road were being transhipped to rail at Battambang in 1999.

Steam lasted in everyday service until 1991, principally on the north-west line, although the prevailing conditions in the country mean that the photographic record of its final days is somewhat limited.