Indonesia's First Locomotives
Semarang, 22 June 1865: NIS 1 - Indonesia’s first locomotive – starts its service Though the first railway line in Indonesia, between Semarang and Tanggung, was only officially opened on 10 August 1867, in 1863 the Netherlands-Indies Railway Company (Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorwegmaatschappij – NIS) had already put orders for two locomotives from Borsig, Berlin. These two locomotives were intended for the Kedungjati – Willem I (Ambarawa) line, which in some parts had gradients of 2.8 percent. At that time Borsig engines were already widely used in the Netherlands. Exactly one year later the two locomotives were ready and sent to Semarang. On 22 June 1865 these two first Indonesian engines were operational, carrying the numbers NIS 1 and NIS 2 respectively. As the tracks were still being constructed, the two engines were enlisted to speed up the work, and at the same time to train the personnel who will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the machines. It should be not...