The Sabah State Railway (Keratapi Negeri Sabah) is the only steam heritage railway in Malaysia. It is among the most isolated railways in the world being some four hours by air from Kuala Lumpur and a great distance from other steam venues and is a unique survivor of the British colonial era. In September 2001 I was on a business trip to Brunei and had completed my assignment by Thursday. My flight back to UK was booked for the following Sunday so I reckoned that there was just enough time to make a whistle stop trip to Sabah to chase some steam engines!
Brief history
Construction of the North Borneo Railway (now the Sabah State Railway) started in 1896 with a 20 mile (32km) 3'6” (1067mm) gauge track between Beaufort South and Weston the purpose of which was to transport tobacco to the banks of the Padras River for transfer to small ocean-going ships. This line openedin 1907, a distance of 39 miles (63km). There were also a few short branches and sidings used only for freight. The new line provided a means of transporting rubber, timber and other products to the port at Jesselton and contributed significantly to the economic development of the region. The connection between the two stations at Beaufort was made via a chain ferry across the river and the proposed railway bridge was never built.
