The Yogyakarta Special
C28 class (SS class 1300) 4-6-4 tank engine ( photo: Rob Dickinson ) Jakarta in December 1945 had become an unsafe place for the leaders of the fledgling Republic of Indonesia. Japan had been defeated and the Netherlands was trying to regain control of its former colony. Soldiers of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) were terrorising the homes of President Sukarno and Vice President Mohammad Hatta . The two leaders had to be constantly on the move for their safety. Finally, on 4 January 1946, at around 7 o’clock in the evening, Sukarno and Hatta secretly left Jakarta for Yogyakarta. Earlier, Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX of Yogyakarta had invited Sukarno to move the seat of government to Yogyakarta . Republican railway workers had arranged a special train to transport the leaders. At the head of the train was C2849, a 4-6-4 Esslingen tank engine. The locomotive’s regular duty was hauling one of the Staatsspoorwegen (State Railway Company) crack Vlugge Vier (Speedy Fou...