Java Sugar Steam 1999 - Far Eastern Mills

These mills are run by PTP Nusantara XI, formed in 1996 by the amalgamation of PTP XX and PTP XXIV/XXV. These mills were previously PNP XXIV/XXV and before that PNP XXIV and PNP XXV. The Situbondo area is definitely 'unspoiled Java', with facilities at the beach 'resort' of Pasir Puteh to match - in other words, gricers' heaven. For Semboro, stay in Jember which has hotels for all pockets, unfortunately there is nowhere to stay in Tanggul. Of course, Olean and Wringinanom have long been firmly in my top ten mills.

I think Panji, Wringinanom and Asembagus have the best medium term prospects of survival.  In 1999, there was very little new cane in the De Maas area and I would not be surprised if it does not open in 2000. Even around Olean I could see much less new cane.... All of which amounts to bad news for the steam locos. One final small word of warning, the working girls at Pasir Puteh are more 'working' than 'girl'....

33. KEDAWUNG Mill Index

I stopped by on July 21st to arrange my annual special train.  Breda 0-6-0T 16 looked as if it had been driven into the shed after my last visit in 1998 and just left as it was.  There was washing hung out on 13 which seemed to be the potential tourist train power. On August 16th, the mill administration had definitely forgotten we were coming but the loco staff had not.  We didn't get an OK 0-8-0T in steam but we did get a great performance from 16 with eight full mud skips which were run past and then emptied in traditional manner. The European engine driver even managed to keep out of the way of the assembled photographers.....

34. WONOLANGAN Mill Index

I slipped a few cigarettes to the security guard on July 21st to let me in the back way for five minutes. All steam was well out of use, although staff said two were serviceable.   Again the mill seemed very quiet with several spare diesels and the chances of steam ever working here again are very slight.

35. GENDING Mill Index

The four steam locos here spent most of the last ten years in store although in the early 90s a couple were used occasionally as some kind of job creation scheme. The cost of annual boiler inspections put a stop to this.  OK Mallet 4 is now at the Frankfurter Feldbahnmuseum, the others are still stored in the shed.

36. PAJARAKAN Mill Index

There is no possibility of the two remaining steam locos being put back into action.

37. JATIROTO Mill Index

This mill has had the biggest collection of disused and dismantled locos in Java for many years. A brief visit on July 12th 1997 showed no change from my previous visit 2 years earlier and July 24th 1999 was the same.  Staff said they would put Jung 0-6-0T 100J back into running order (for tourist trains??) at the end of the season.  We shall see, but this has been said several times before!. 10J is preserved on the road into the mill.

38. SEMBORO Mill Index

With Gondang Baru, the biggest disaster of 1999? Steam here was only operated at the margins and the poor season has meant a shortage of bagasse.  On July 24th, I found just the two firelesses in use and all the other locos in the shed. On August 18th I visited with my group. Every tour organiser/leader could tell you of cock-ups and worse which they have managed to conceal from their punters.  In this case, I had no escape, I had told the mill the wrong date..... After a long and embarassd silence all round, the mill were brilliant. They got Jung 0-6-0T 29 into steam in just four hours while we photographed the firelesses and relaxed. In the afternoon we took out one of their passenger coaches with the usual assortment of run pasts including putting the loco on a passing cane train.   OK, they were well paid for it but with the sugar industry in its present state, the senior staff had more important things to do than humour a bunch of railfans.

39. DE MAAS Mill Index

I visited here briefly on July 22nd. Neither serviceable locomotive 3(2) or 4 was in use in 1999 owing to 'fuel shortage'.  The mill  promised to steam both for my tour group and on August 17th, OK 0-4-2T 4 was used to perform some shunting in the mill yard which is about the limit of its capabilities. On August 19th, 4 years of planning came to fruition when 3 worked out from the mill at 13.00. It was not entirely plain sailing as the loco was facing the wrong way and had the mill's two tourist coaches! The loco was turned on the Bondowoso turn-off triangle. It then picked up a light train of five loris and ran over the river bridge and along the main road in the late afternoon sunlight. For maximum photographic potential it was then run back along the Bondowoso road for a couple of run pasts. Very satisfying as the last confirmed steam on the line here was in 1990.  The mill was very short of cane and will finished its season at the end of August. It would be nice to think that we can repeat this again next year, but this a small old mill with less and less cane grown in the area around it.

40. WRINGINANOM Mill Index

On July 21st, at 16.15 I found that one steam loco was out about 2km west of the mill and there was nothing to do but sit and wait for it to return. Eventually I gave up in favour of a cold beer. The next day at the same time 6 was waiting just outside the mill for a diesel hauled train to clear the north line - likely to have been a long wait.   I went to Kom (2km west of the mill) and found 7 waiting for the last few loris to be added to its train. Waiting time was said to be between 5 minutes and an hour and once again with the clouds gathering over Gunung Ringgit the swim in the sea with a cold beer seemed more attractive. 5 years ago on my own or with a tour group it might have been a different story.  The sunsets here have never been the same since the power station(s) opened at Paiton and started pouring haze into the sky. July 23rd found 6 ready to leave the mill at 15.00 and 7 already en route to the south lines. This looked very promising as it was 4 years since I had steam on this line. I took the car round to intercept the loco and jumped aboard.  We crossed the Perumka line and it took only 20 minutes to couple the loris. This was just long enough to allow the clouds to build up and after crossing the main road we stopped at Kom next to 6, allegedly to pick up more loris. By 16.30 departure was still a long way away and I hiked back to the car. But there is obviously the chance of classic shots here again this year....

On the afternoon of August 17th, 7's tender was jacked up in the shed yard and only 6 went out to Kom. The loco crew told me that the previous day, the fulls had been ready by 15.00 but today it was 17.30 before the train left and most of my group was on the beach by then.  But the sight of 6 on 41 fulls with the sounds from the mosques in the distance will stay with me for a long time.

On August 20th, 6 left for Kom at 15.00 and 7 went out on the north line half an hour later. 6 was still waiting for fulls when the light failed at 17.30, a temporary bridge had collapsed under the weight of a cane lori....  The mill was still open on September 2nd with plenty of uncut cane, 6 and 7 were outside the shed at 14.00 due to work the north lines later in the afternoon.

41. OLEAN Mill Index

I arrived at 14.30 on July 21st to find 5 backing down on to a train on the west line - my favourite loco with my favourite crew. It promptly took a train back to the mill from just beyond Duwet.  By then 2 and 4 had already returned to the mill and so I went on to Wringinanom. The next day 5 cleared a set of fulls from near Karang Malang by 14.00 and at 14.30 7 was found at Semiring at the far end of the north line with a load that ran to just 2 loris! After its return to the mill, I found 2 and 4 waiting on the west line near the mill and they duly worked in by 15.30 to conclude the day's activities. On July 23rd, there were no trains at all on the further lines and I found 5 bringing in a train off the west line at 14.30 to conclude the day's activities.  I must say that over the years I have found that Olean tends to improve as the season goes on and the more distant fields are worked.

August 16th was a typical Olean day. 4, 5 and 7 were shuttling to and from the west of the mill near Duwet while 2 was at Tribungan. Only 4 on the line to Situbondo offered photographic potential and while we waited for it to return we heard 2 arriving in the distance and then saw 5 return. As 4 rounded the curve, 7 appeared and followed it in. Where else in the world can you see sights and sounds like this in 1999? 4, 5 and 7 were congregated at Duwet at 13.30 on August 17th which promised very little so we shot across to see 2 at Tribungan but alas there was a lori off on the temporary track so we spent the rest of a frustrating afternoon at Wringinanom. One of my group spent the morning on the beach instead of trecking to Semboro on August 18th.  The afternoon was similar to the day before with 2 taking its train in successfully at around 14.30.

On August 20th, the pattern was similar. For my group we concentrated on 7 at Tribungan which left at 14.30, the proceedings being enlivened by a middle-aged Austrian gricer doing a flying run past like I used to do 10 years ago, he survived and I hope his pictures justify the effort. The mill was still in full action on September 2nd. At 14.00, 5 was on the west line and I duly demonstrated how not to drive a steam loco to the amusement of locals and a German visitor. 2, 4 and 7 were north of the mill and 2 went in with a set of loaded wagons at 15.00. 4 was due to take in a train from just north of Karang Malang but a derailment on the temporary track meant that it had to shunt out of the way of 7 which had two separate sets of loris just north at Tribungan. This meant that 5 had time to reappear from the mill and 5 and 7 then set off together in perfect light at 16.00, an absolutely outstanding sight in 1999....

42. PANJI Mill Index

I dropped by in August and it was quite clear that there is now no prospect of any of the steam locos here running again. I had previously described the locos here as 'stored' and although superficially they look OK, most of the non-ferrous fittings have been removed for the other mills in the area.

43. PRAJEKAN Mill Index

The serviceable smaller locos were reallocated to De Maas and Asembagus some years ago. The other locos remain in store, a tragic end for the magnificent Luttermöllers.

44. ASEMBAGUS Mill Index

I dropped in on July 22nd to arrange my annual special train (box vans to Jangkar Port). 5 was in use for a bit of shunting and mill staff said that just one steam loco was in use this year with one in reserve.  The main reason was that loco crews had retired and had not been replaced so as to cut costs. After cocking up Semboro the day before, I was happy to be told that our train to Jangkar was ready when we arrived at 07.30 on August 19th.  We had a trouble free trip with several run pasts as usual. During the return journey we passed one of the Japanese diesels with 8 vans of sugar confirming that this working still occurs regularly.

Click here to return to the Java Contents Page.