E1060 is going home

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On 3 December 2008 E1060 left Ambarawa


One of the of the four locomotives preserved in working order at the Ambarawa Railway Museum, the E1060, will soon return home. This rack and pinion engine was brought to Ambarawa in 1981 from West Sumatera. There it played an important role in transporting coal mined around Sawahlunto to Emmahaven (Teluk Bayur port). E1060, which was built in 1966 by Esslingen, Germany, and other engines in the series, however, had a relatively short working life. Within a couple of years they were displaced by rack Diesel engines.

The regional head of PTKA (the Indonesian Railway company) in Semarang informed the Indonesian Railway Preservation Society (IRPS) Semarang that E1060 is already being prepared to be transported to West Sumatra. The Central Java provincial government has agreed to release E1060 and the governor of West Sumatera and the mayor of Sawahlunto have agreed to share the cost of moving E1060. In West Sumatera E1060 will be put in to service to haul tourist trains and is most likely to be based at the Sawahlunto Railway Museum. This small railway museum was opened in December 2005 at the former Sawahlunto station, which dates from 1918.

One thing, however, is troubling rail enthusiasts in Semarang. It is the question of whether E1060 will be properly cared and maintained in its new home. It has been more than two decades since steam engines stopped operating in West Sumatera and it is doubtful whether there are any people there who have the skills to maintain and operate steam engines. I have been told that two retired Ambarawa dipo staff will be sent to West Sumatera to train people there. But up to now who they actually are remains a mystery. When people at the Ambarawa dipo where asked about this, no one could (or would) give an answer.


E1060 at the Ambarawa Railway Museum (photo: Rob Dickinson)



E1060 pulang kampuang

Satu dari empat lokomotif uap operasional di Museum Kereta Api Ambarawa, E1060, akan segera pulang kampung. Lokomotif bergerigi ini dibawa ke Ambarawa dari Sumatera Barat pada 1981. Di sana lokomotif itu memainkan peran penting dalam mengangkut batu bara dari tambang-tambang di sekitar Sawahlunto ke Emmahaven (pelabuhan Teluk Bayur). Tapi E1060, buatan Esslingen 1966, dan lokomotif lain dari seri yang sama mempunyai masa kerja pendek. Dalam waktu beberapa tahun lokomotif-lokomotif itu digeser oleh lokomotif Diesel.

Kepala Daerah Operasi 4 PT Kereta Api mengatakan pada Indonesian Railway Preservation Society (IRPS) Semarang bahwa E1060 sedang dipersiapkan untuk dibawa ke Sumatera Barat. Pemerintah Provinsi Jawa Tengah telah setuju untuk melepaskan E1060 dan Gubernur Sumatera Barat dan Walikota Sawahlunto sepakat untuk bersama memikul biaya pemindahan E1060. Di Sumatera Barat E1060 akan dipakai untuk menarik kereta api wisata dan diperkirakan akan ditempatkan di Museum Kereta Api Sawahlunto. Museum kecil ini diresmikan pada Desember 2005, menempati bekas Setasiun Sawahlunto yang dibangun pada 1918.


Ada satu hal yang menjadi kekhawatiran para pecinta kereta api di Semarang. Kekhawatiran itu ialah apakah E1060 akan mendapatkan perawatan dan pemeliharaan yang cukup di rumahnya yang baru. Lebih dari dua dasawarsa telah berlalu sejak kereta api uap berhenti beroperasi di Sumatera Barat dan diragukan apakah di sana masih ada orang yang mempunyai ketrampilan memelihara dan mengoperasikan lokomotif uap. Saya mendapat informasi dua pensiunan dipo Ambarawa akan ditempatkan di Sumatera Barat untuk melatih tenaga di sana. Tapi siapa mereka sebenarnya masih merupakan misteri. Ketika hal itu saya tanyakan pada staf dipo Ambarawa tidak ada yang bisa (atau mau) menjawab.



Museum Kereta Api Sawahlunto (Sawahlunto Railway Museum)
Jl. Kampung Teleng
Kelurahan Pasar, Kecamatan Lembah Segar
Kota Sawahlunto, West Sumatera
Telephone/ fax: + 62-754-61023

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