Surabaya Area

Around early-March 2003, a group of railfans from Bandung arrived in Surabaya to inspect some carriages which will be used for their rail preservation program.

I was invited to join the inspection in Gubeng and Sidotopo Workshop (the later was mentioned as unsafe). This is the first time in my life that I have been invited to enter these workshops. I had seen these places since I was a kid, but only from the outside.

I was impressed with what I had seen: it was clean, tidy, and well-organized, but rather oily and aging.

First we went to Gubeng workshop where we inspect the 'Sultan Express' carriages. There are two carriages that we inpect: one dining car (complete with its dancing room and bar), and one sleeper.

After we completed the inspection, we went to Sidotopo Workshop which is the biggest railway workshop in Surabaya.

When I saw it, it seems that the workshop was bigger than when I visited the place. Also, people from surrounding area seemed to have built their houses inside the workshop area. normally, you're not allowed to do that.

Amazingly, despite those disturbance the rolling stocks in the workshop are all in good conditions, with very little sign of vandalism. Even the disused carriages showing no sign of vandalism at all!

So these photos are well worth of watching, and the best way to illustratewhat I mentioned above.

NOTE: all photos from Gubeng Workshop are under 'Preservation' page.

	A group of workers are trying to fix the point, which seems to be damaged by grasses and mud. The Sidotopo loco shed can be seen in the background, as well as the workshop's access road on the right.
	Distant view of loco shed. A group of BB301s and a bunch of diesel railcars are visible. The people on the bike are not employee of Rail company, but they are the inhabitant of houses which were built (illegaly) in Workshop area.
	A CC203 ready to depart from Sidotopo carriage shed. When we're about to enter the shed, this train suddenly moved along, as if it gave a way to us!
	An interior view of Sidotopo carriage shed. The maintenance chief of this workshop said that the appearance of this workshop remain unchanged since the days of Dutch colonization.
	The facade of Sidotopo locomotive depot.
	A row of disused locomotives are placed near the entrance of locomotive depo. When I first visited Sidotopo locomotive works, these locomotive wasn't there. But on my second visit, these locomotives has been placed on stand.
	Further view of the same locos. After they were put on storage, the were canibalized to keep their siblings in operation.
	CC20327 is resting between duties at Sidotopo Works. Although most of the CC203s in Surabaya are parked at Sidotopo, fewer Sidotopo-based passenger trains are regularly hauled by CC203. Most of them are based at Pasar Turi, despite the fact that Pasar Turi depot hardly seen any CC203 in daylight. The letters above the loco translated as: "Line number 5. Locomotive daily checking only".