Steam Train journeys in Thailand

[Thormaturge]

Steam Train Trip to Nakhon Pathom on 12th August 2014






Tour with SRT:

This tour is 555 Baht. Book your tickets now at the train station. If you only want the steam train trip, this is only 222 Baht.

[Captain Morgan]

Are you going?

[Thormaturge]

Who could pass up the chance of a lumbering train ride in standard Thai train carriages full of Thai people on a national holiday?

Well, me for one.

I like steam trains, but I like my creature comforts more.

[Texpat]

When I was 10 or 12 in 1970something, my grandmother took me on a steam train ride for a few hours between Chicago and Cleveland. I don't remember why but she seemed to be scared shitless. Her husband, my grandfather was driving the train and my father, her son was the yardmaster of our destination. It was all very exciting. I love the idea of a long train ride today (Orient express) if not for the really pricy fare and dubious accommodation.

As evidenced by my av, I still like to ride the rail.

[Texpat]

The steam engine revolutionized the world. The steam locomotive revolutionized transportation. The former was envisioned by Scottish engineer James Watt in the 1760s to pump water from mines. It was quickly modified to run machinery that spun and weaved cotton.

Canals were all the rage in Europe and North America between 1760 and 1830. Railways were realized two and a half centuries earlier -- albeit without mechanical power. Germany had human- and horse-powered railways as early as 1500. The first steam powered locomotive on an industrial rail line was engineered by Richard Trevithick in Southern Wales in 1804. It transformed both commerce and human mobility.

If you've never stood on a platform when a steam engine pulls in, it's hard to imagine. The diesel and/or electric motors of modern engines are silent in comparison.

Britain and America embraced steam locomotives and rails more quickly than continental Europe. Many historians cite this as a major contributing factor to their lag in industrialization. Export restrictions and trade secrets were tightly restricted, but alas ineffective.

A spinoff of the steam locomotive was the steamboat which became instrumental in the development of mid N America.

"In 1887-1888, British Railway Contractors were commissioned by the Siamese government, to survey a line from Bangkok to Ayutthaya and then to Korat, the first section of the current North Eastern Line. A second line was to go from Ayutthaya to Lopburi, then on to Lampang, Lamphun and Chiang Mai. Rail Services to Ayutthaya opened on March 9th 1894, extending to Korat in 1900 as the first section of what is now the Northeastern line."

http://www.thailandbytrain.com/RailHistory.html

[Norton]

When I was 10 or 12 in 1950something

My father worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). We got a free pass every year to go wherever we wanted. Off we would go to strange and wonderful places. Loved the trip to Vancouver BC. Up though the Rockies and on to the Pacific. Quite an adventure for a lad who had never seen the ocean. Comfy sleeping berths, great views from the upper deck observation cars. The food was fantastic. Service even better.

The hiss of steam, the unique choo, choo sound as it got underway, the clickety clack of wheels on rails and the eerie sound of the steam whistle echoing off the mountains. Awe inspiring.

Sounds, sights and experience I'll never forget. Don't be fooled. Those monsters were not slow. Some clocked at well over 100 mph.

[Norton]

Choo choos in Thailand probably not quite the same.