Java Sugar Steam 2009 - Private Mills

Rejoagung and Krebet are large efficient mills which got rid of their steam many years ago, having used it very little in the years before then. Both have large fleets of diesels. The same company runs the Cirebon mills for the Government, no doubt the attraction was the two new mills at Subang and Jatitujuh rather than the run-down steam mills. They won't be buying diesels for them, more likely, they will shut them down (they have made a start with Gempol, Jatiwangi and Kadhipaten). Trangkil and Kebonagung have the same management who installed modern machinery within the mills but stuck with steam for their railways because 'it did the job'. Now Kebonagung has disposed of its field lines, it will no longer need steam power, similarly Trangkil. Pakis Baru has new mill machinery but kept the steam locos as the best economic proposition until it closed. Therefore for any to produce a working steam locomotive in 2009 would be a major surprise.

45. TRANGKIL Mill Index

After the field lines were closed at the end of the 2002 season, steam hung on in the remodelled yard for a couple of years but was not been used in 2006 and is unlikely to be used again. Click here for pictures of the Trangkil 2002 roster in steam. This shows 4 leaving the (disused) road yard in 2002, since when it has been purchased by the UK company who took over Hunslet's residual rail interests and repatriated to the UK. To which I might add that it has now suffered the multiple indignity of being regauged (to 600mm), repainted to look like a Great Western bad dream and given non-prototypical number plates. In other words it has become a rich man's plaything rather than a very special loco - the last built for authentic commercial service in the UK.

46. PAKIS BARU Mill Index

When the mill finished the 1999 season, the locomotives which had always been immaculately cared for were pushed into the shed and abandoned.  The mill has been sold to a new company which is keen to sell the locomotives, 1 and 5 were purchased and sent to the UK in mid-2004. The price at which they were sold is bound to raise expectations within Java and unless you have a big bucket of dollars you can most certainly forget about buying one of the others..... Amazingly, the mill will re-open under its new owners in 2007 but only for refining imported sugar. Full operation is scheduled for 2008. Some kind of steam operation must be theoretically possible but doubtful....

47. REJOAGUNG Mill Index

Only the OK Mallet preserved at the north end of the mill by the road junction remains of the once large fleet of steam locos. Previously reported scrapped, 6 and 8 were in fact transferred to Candi where they survived dumped out of use (at least in 2003).

48. KEBONAGUNG Mill Index

Visitors in August 2006 found no steam in use.

49. KREBET BARU Mill Index

There are no steam locos left on site.

53. CANDI  Mill Index

This mill is not on my map, but is on the old main road just south of Sidoarjo, just north east of mill 32, Tulangan.

Two former Rejoagung locomotives (6, an OK 0-4-4-0T, and 8, a Vulcan 0-6-0T) are stored here. The management is keen to sell them but they are not in very good condition. I did not see them in 2006, they may well have been scrapped.

54. MADUKISMO

This mill is not on my map, but is just south-west of the Yogya southern bypass about 4km from its west end - no signposts but look for the cane trucks.

A Borsig 0-4-2T (5171/1903) was brought here from Tersana Baru in 1993. For a while it ran (local) tourist trains but the mill seems to have lost interest and on 10th July 2003 I found it rusty and neglected next to a long line of home made coaches.

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