Miscelllaneous Page

After taking photographs at Cirebon Station, me and my friend decided to take a train which would carried us to the Southern railway line. At first, we waited for whatever train would take us to the South. And we planned to hop into the cabin, once the train arrived.

Then, at around 9 am, there was a 'Senja Utama' second-class overnight train arrived at Cirebon. Being extremely late, it seemed that the train would ran on the same schedule as it's daylight sister, 'Fajar Utama' (Senja=dusk, Fajar=dawn). Bu we took the train, anyway.

After five mintute stop, the train departed Cirebon for Yogyakarta. But on this journey, we asked the driver to drop us in Kroya. The driver, although he agreed, said that he couldn't do anything about it, as his working shift ended at Purwokerto.

The journey was nice. Although it felt unusually ordinary at the start, the remainder of the journey was impressive. The co-driver was also acted as a tourist guide, and explaining a lot about the history of the places that we passed. The route itself hug the foot of Mount Slamet volcano. Therefore, mount Slamet was the prominent backdrop throughtout most of the journey.

At Purwokerto, the drivers changed. And luckily, both of the Purwokerto-based crew were not less welcoming. They shared their stories with us, ranging from the presence of TV crew on the cab, to their experience of dealing with a faint-hearted, fussy young lady who kept complaining (and distracting the driver's concentration) throughout the journey.

Eventhough the landscape was less interesting than the previous part of the journey, the driver's attentive and charming attitude really made this journey felt special. Especially when the driver speed up the train throughtout the journey.

But because the train didn't stop at Kroya, they decided to drop us at the approach signal before Kroya Station. We thanked the crew for allowing us joined their journey, and dropped us in an irregular (but desired) place.

	This is the start of our journey: after the train left Cirebon, it went past the separation point, where the North coast line separated with the one that goes to Southern line. The line on the left is the North coast line, whereas the line that our train used is the line that goes to Purwokerto, before it eventually joined the Southern line at Kroya.
	Approaching Prupuk. The railway in the background (beneath the trees), is the branchline that connect Prupuk and Tegal on the North coast line. It is normally used for petrol trains.
	Somewhere along the way, our train stopped in a small country station to gave way to Argo Lawu train. The Argo Lawu was supposed to be operated at night, but due to severe delay, caused by accident near Cirebon, it had to be halted somewhere.
	Just after Purwokerto station, we can see what used to be the starting point for barnchline to Wonosobo. The railway line to the left used to serve the tram line to Wonosobo, a sizeable town deep in the mountain in Central Java.
	On the way to Kroya, we passed Notog station. Right after the station, there is a railway tunnel jusd inside the hill. Note, a mixed train on the siding, pulled by an unusual looking CC201. Its design was resulted from an accident damage which destroyed the A-side driving console, in which the drivers had turn his back throughout most of the journey when the cab is leading. Mixed trains are no longer usual in modern Indonesian railway, as such train was more suited for steam train operation.
	The facade of Notog tunnel. Note the third rail in the middle (what for?). Although short, the tunnel is easily distinguished by being the only curvature tunnel in Java.
	After we left Notog, we approached Serayu river bridge, which is said to be the longest railway bridge in Indonesia. Although there is a suggestion that the longest might be the one that connect Kroya and Maos. This bridge structure is new. It was installed in 1970s to replace the old structure, which had been in place since the days of Dutch colonization.
	Our train stopped along the way to gave way to Taksaka train, pulled by CC203 class leader, CC20301. This train is the first train on that day, that wasn't affected by the accident in Cirebon.
	Marriage wasn't made in Heaven, but in Kroya!!! These locomotive were built by two great rival companies: General Motor (BB201 in foreground), and General Electric (CC201 in background). The photo was taken after we debarked the train on one signal before Kroya station.
	Another view of the couple, unless this time was taken from CC201 perspective. The rivalries between General Motor and General Electric in Indonesia has been started since the earliest days of dieselization in Indonesia, when Indonesian State Railway ordered American locomotives from both of the big companies in 1950s. But it was strange (or was it the sign of the future?) that Indonesia never ordered any locomotives from Alco. Nowaday, General Electric has a stronghold in Java, whereas General Motor in Southern Sumatra.