Atjeh Tram
The Atjeh Tram was a railroad line in Aceh, on the island of Sumatra. It was built from 1874 by the Military engineering section of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (abbreviated KNIL in Dutch). Originally a loop for the port of Oleh Leh, it was rebuilt as a route for the transport of military goods stretching from Ule Lheu to the port of Pangkalan Susu in the Sultanate of Langkat. The line was 511 kilometers long, with 120 stops and stations along the way. It was finished in 1917. During the Aceh War the railroad proved of great importance for the quick transportation of troops and material.
The line was also used for civilian transportation; by 1920 it moved over 4 million people and over 153,000 tons[
Parts of it were used even after
Construction
The Acehnese capital,
The gauge chosen for the track was 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). Iron scaffolding was imported from Singapore and wood for the sleepers from Malacca. The locomotives and rolling stock were ordered from Britain through the Dutch Consul-General in Singapore. These arrived on 5 May 1875; however shortage of labor meant that the line was not completed until September 1876.
In 1884 the Military authorities decided to change the gauge from 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) to 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in), which was the gauge selected to be used for the "public" Atjeh Tramway from Koeta Radja to Pangkalan Susu. The 3 locomotives, 2 from Fox Walker and one from Hohenzollern, were no longer suitable and were transferred to Staatsspoorwegen in 1884.
Locomotives
Three 0-6-0T locomotives were ordered in 1874 via the Dutch consulate in Singapore, 2 from Fox Walker and one from Hohenzollern. They were delivered, along with the rest of the materials for the railway, in May 1875.
A class of twelve 2-4-0T locomotives were constructed for the line by Hanomag from 1887 to 1899. A further two were built in 1904 by the Kutaraja and the Sigli engineering shops of the tramway.[3]
A class of forty-two 0-6-0T locomotives were built by Hanomag and Werkspoor between 1898 and 1904.[3] Two 4-6-0 tender locomotives were supplied by Werkspoor in 1922.[3] Six 2-8-0 tender locomotives were supplied by Hanomag in 1930 and a further six by Du Croo & Brauns in 1931.[3] Mallet locomotives of 0-4-4-2T configuration operated over the steep gradients; six were supplied by Maschinenfabrik Esslingen in 1904, and a further four by Nippon Sharyo in 1962. The latter firm also supplied six 2-6-0 tender locomotives in the same year.[3]
From 1882 to 1896
On 1 January 1882 a civil administration was introduced in Aceh. The operation of the line was transferred to the Burgerlijke Openbare Werken (BOW), part of the government's civil service.
See also
- Railway companies in the Dutch East Indies
References
- ^ Kreemer, J. (1878). Atjeh (in Dutch). Vol. 2. Brill Archive. p. 71ff – via Google Books.
- ^ "Une voie ferrée pourrait renaître après le tsunami". La Croix. 30 October 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Cholisi, Aditya Budidarma. "The Steam Locomotive Roosters of Atjehtramweg Maatschappij". Tracing the Lost Railway Lines of Indonesia (blog). Retrieved 14 November 2015.