The North Borneo Railway

John and the train

I hadn't thought that I was a railway enthusiast before but I feel that I could become one if all train journeys were as lovely and picturesque as the train ride from Beaufort to Tenom. This railway was completed to Tenom in 1903 and runs closely along the Padas river. It was used mostly for transporting tobacco and rubber from the plantations down to the coast and of allowing the people to travel to their villages and markets. It has suffered periods of closure since its opening but in 1970 the steam engine was replaced by diesel locos and since then there have been the freight and the passenger Diesel Multiple Unit carriages which have remained unchanged. The line is often closed due to flooding and landslides but it is being upgraded and since the white- water rafter tourists are using the railway there has been more concern as to the safety issues!

 
  Susan, John and I drove to Beaufort and missed out the other section of railway from Kota Kinabalu and arrived in good time for the 1.30 departure to Tenom. We queued up and were very surprised to hear that the ticket was only 2.75 ringgit (about 50 p!). Susan was in charge of getting the seats by the window on the river side and before you knew it we were off. There were no other tourists except us and the train was full of people using it for some very short stops and others going all the way to Tenom with their shopping. It was charming and my photos do not do it justice. The Padas river is a very fast flowing river with many rapids and even though it hasn't rained for seven weeks it looked like it would be an exciting rafting experience and when the river is full I suspect it would be terrifying! We slowly rattled along taking in the amazing scenery and looking at the passengers and catching glimpses of peoples' lives as we trundled past.

A passenger descending with her shopping

 After about two and a half hours we arrived in Tenom and made our way to the Orchid Hotel just across from the station where we booked in for the night. A very kind mentor based in Tenom gave us a quick tour of the views and sights of this sleepy town (also famous for it's coffee )in the Crocker range. We then had our meal, a few beers and then went to bed so that we could be up in time for the 7.30 am departure. The return journey was much the same except that we had a group of "Young Farmers" from near Ranau who were going to do the white - water rafting and were all very excited. So I wish I could describe the scenes eloquently like Thomas Wolfe (1935) in Of Time and the River which Lisa had to translate into French this week for her exam, but I'm afraid I can't. It was however a very enjoyable and cheap two day outing that I highly recommend!