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| M8 847 makes a smokey arrival at Galle in a spot of rare sunshine(!). |
Since making a ‘normal’ holiday to the country back in
2015, with as many trains as I could fit into it of course, I had long desired
to return to the rail wonders of Sri Lanka.
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| Hunslet 677 and M5 778 on the loco servicing point at Kandy |
With a successful trip to India in the bag, and very
little to draw our group back there, and my interest in visiting Bangladesh
falling on deaf ears, Sri Lanka was now the obvious fix for diesels on the
Indian sub-continent.
A plan was devised to taken in most of the main routes,
including the ‘must see’ hill country. Without the restriction of visiting the
tourist attractions there would be no shortage of trains. Since there were six
of us on the trip all hotels were pre-booked but all train travel and any
visits were arranged on the day.
As the trip approached there were two causes for concern.
Firstly, as I had remembered from last time there is no accessible timetable- I
therefore spent a huge amount of time trying to write notes from other postings
and putting together some sort of timings list from the online journey planner.
We had arrived early afternoon from the daily Sri Lankan
flight from Heathrow which had left the night before. Customs were cleared
extremely quickly and within 20 minutes we had our bags and were ready to go. A
minibus was precured for 6000 rupees which took us to our Colombo Hotel, the
Fairway Colombo (which proved to be an excellent base). After a quick
freshen-up it was time to find the railway and the hub of Sri Lanka’s network;
Colombo Fort station.
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| M11 956 arrives from the coast line at Fort on Monday 2nd December |
There were certainly plenty of trains to see, but unfortunately, and in part due to being a weekend, the vast majority we saw were in the hands of DMU’s*
*It should be noted that the DMU’s here have large
above-floor engines at one of both ends of the train and are not always fixed
formations. Think a cross between an HST and ‘Thumper’ DEMU!
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| M7 811 is passed outside Maradana |
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| M4 753 prepares for departure from Ragama. To the right was a big surprise in the shape of Steam Crane 5729 which is engaged in canopy work. |
I didn’t have to wait too long for a winner myself with M4 753 appearing on the
17:18 Puttalam. With the ALCO M4’s undoubtedly my favourite traction here it
was a no brainer to board. The train was taken to Ragama where there was a real
surprise waiting for me. I had noticed some construction work at the station as
I took my photo of the departure- the mess wasn’t really what I wanted in my
photo- but then there was the unmistakable sound of a steam whistle. I had
inadvertently stumbled upon one of Sri Lanka’s last few working steam cranes!
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| The first loco of the trip, M11 GM 964 arriving at Colombo Fort |
Since a train back to Colombo was not immediately
forthcoming I spent the best part of an hour enjoying the company of the
Ipswich built 30t Ransom & Rapier steam crane 5729. I even got to sit in
the cab while it was lifting girders which would form part of a new station
canopy. A conversation with the staff revealed that SRL has three working
cranes, two 30t and a 40t.
I did however need to get back to the group in Colombo as
we were all very much in need of dinner. The first DMU that I boarded failed
before leaving Ragama, which meant that the second was, shall we say, very
cosy.
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| M7 811 waits at Colombo Fort with a late evening departure for the south. |
Back in town we had a very nice meal and our first Lion
Lagers near to the hotel (in a very gentrified district)- though the service
was somewhat slow… this would prove to be a recurring theme!
Sunday 24th November
A simple out and back plan to day to Maho Junction (also
known as Mahawa just to confuse you) which is the junction station of the North
and Eastern lines. As well as being a decent run out from Colombo its main
attraction is the attractive semaphore signals which are still in use.
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| M2 591 'Manitoba' prepares for departure from Maho Junction having been run around and turned ready to continue its journey to Trincomalee. |
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| M2 591 pauses at Kurunegala en-route to Trincomalee. |
Signs of semaphores begin at Polgahawela though most main aspects are colour light. There was some concern travelling north as far less semaphores were observed than I recalled from my previous trip- and re-signalling was very much in evidence in several locations. Fortunately arrival at Maho Junction confirmed that the semaphores there are very much alive. The skies began to clear even allowing a couple of sunny pictures soon after our arrival (it was to be short lived).
There aren’t many trains here, so after watching 591 run-round (to access the eastern line) we had a look around the station and then, by invitation, wandered down to see the Ashok-Leyland railcar in it’s shed. The shed attendant wasn’t too keen on our presence, but since we had permission of the station master we had no further trouble. Also present was Hunslet Y-class 678 and one of the new Chinese hydraulic cranes (believed to be replacing the steam cranes).
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| M7 805 departs beneath the semaphores at Maho/Mahawa with the 'Baby Train' to Kurunegala. |
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| Maho North Signal Cabin |
We had not totally realised that there was a local train to Kurunegala, but
this was photographed with M7 805. There was then a long gap as the Colombo
train was running late, this appeared with M2 572… which was flagged as we had
other plans- to get some lunch and ride the railbus!
The Ashok-Leyland railbus is literally two bus bodies back to back on rail
wheels, and the route between Maho and Polgahawela is now the last in Sri Lanka
to be served by these weird vehicles.
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| The Ashok Leyland Rail Bus pauses at a minor station. |
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| M5 779 shunting at Polgahawela. |
M11 954 took us back to Colombo in the comfort of 1st
class. This really was quite comfortable, and the only loco-hauled train we
rode which was not formed of the old Romanian Astra stock.
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| M11 954 runs around having arrived with us on board at Colombo Fort. |
A couple of nigh shots at Colombo before heading back to
the ‘Taphouse’ across the road from the hotel for drinks and food. This place
to be fair managed to serve pretty efficiently. Don’t however be fooled the its
name. Lion lager, and perhaps Carlsburg, was the only beer available.
Monday 25th November
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| M2 627 is loaded at Colombo Fort ready for the morning 'Mixed' train to Kalutara South. |
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| M1 560 in the 'museum' at Kadugannawa. |
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| M6 784 paues at Kotagala to pass the first loco hauled train in the opposite direction. |
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| The Travelling Post Office coach in the consist of the 'Night Mail' from Badulla to Colombo. |
We know we won’t sleep particularly well as the corrugated metal roof is creating a right din in the rain- still, it isn’t an issue that the pool is being re-built! We head back out to dinner using the shorter route to town, cutting along the railway as the locals do. During a dinner of ‘inedible’ pork there is a power cut and all the lights in town go out. This is clearly a common occurrence as the restaurant staff fortunately seem to know the drill and get a backup generator going within minutes.
Without much else to do, and with a few bars having
generator power part of the group heads out for a couple of Lion lagers and
some arrack (the local spirit – very nice!). We end up watching a pair of
bladdered Indians trying to play pool which is very funny. They invite us to
join and together we have a hilariously enjoyable evening. They seem to improve
as they sober up slightly while we do the opposite! After many shouts of ‘Foul’
and a power cut we must brave the wet walk back to the hotel.
Tuesday 26th November
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I have not slept as badly as feared, but that is due to
earplugs and not an easing of the rain. The beautiful view is almost totally
obscured by cloud, but a large muddy waterfall can occasionally be seen in full
flow. Breakfast is good, and we all agree without needing to speak that there
is absolutely no point heading out for photos in this weather. Neither is there
any appetite to taxi up to Badulla to clear the track. In fact, there is also
no appetite to wait around for the ‘Mixed’ train and the very late arrival we
know that will give us in Kandy.
 |
| No trains today on the Badulla line! |
The sensible decision is taken to head to the station for the DMU to Kandy and just get to the next hotel. While a few of us branch off to buy postcards we receive the inevitable news from those at the station that the line is shut due to landslides. There will be no trains today.
A minibus for the six of us is secured for 30,000 rupees (less than £15 each) to reach Kandy and after a bit of a strange interaction with another driver before departure we are on our way by road instead of railway. The journey by road should take around 3 hours on a good day (much faster than the train!), but today is not a good day. We make a couple of stops on the way to see a plantation and visit a tea factory, but ultimately the journey has taken us closer to 6 hours- and it is still raining hard.
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| 'Far-Tea-Tours?' Damro Tea Factory. Not a train! |
In an attempt to rescue something of the day we head to
the station for some night shots, discovering Hunslet 677. Several of us are
ushered in to take photos in the cab before being marched to the signalbox- the
staff here clearly know the deal and there is obviously something in it for
them.
The signalbox is fascinating and a real blast from the past – plus it is dry!
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| A DMU arrives into Kandy beneath the impressive signal gantry. |
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| Kandy Signalbox. |
Wednesday 27th November
Guess what… we woke up to find it was still raining! The
hotel pool on the rooftop looked lovely but again was unlikely to see any use!
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| Rain, tuk-tuk's and more rain at Matale! |
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| Paxman powered M5B 778 prepares for departure from Matale having run-around it's train. |
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| The semaphores at Peradeniya Junction. Not the shot I wanted! |
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| M5C 775 runs around its stock at Kandy after an arrival from Nawalapitiya. |
Heading back to the station W3 665 was passed on the 17:20 to Matale before we set up camp waiting for something to turn up. That reward was M5C 775 from Nawalapitiya. I then ventured down into the station throat to push my camera to the limits photographing the impressive signal gantry in the dark. With the others having gone for drinks I had another attempt at the running shed area, to try the shots I failed to get the previous night. M5C 775 was now on shed, but positioning was not quite as good as the previous night. I lasted about 5 minutes with my tripod before being asked very nicely to leave. So nicely in fact that I was able to negotiate finishing my shots. Apparently this is a secure area and photography isn’t allowed.
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| M5C 775 under the signals at Kandy and testing my camera to the limits for a night time exposure. |
The rain had eased enough that I could walk without
getting too wet along the lake to the rooftop bar to join the others for a Lion
lager. We explored a new restaurant but it was dead so ended up back at ‘The
Pub’ where we had eaten last night. Don’t let the name deceive you. They only
had Lion lager.
After a solid 72 hours of constant rain the trip was declared the ‘wettest’ we
had ever done.
Thursday 28th November
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| M4 750 has arrived at Galle from Colombo and prepares to run-round on a warm sunny afternoon. |
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| M2 628 waits for departure from Galle with the afternoon 'School train' to Matara. |
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| Brush built M7 810 arrives at Galle, nose first, with a local service. |
Back at the station an 90 minutes later for the next influx of trains we were finally rewarded with some sunny pictures! M8 847 arrived from the direction of Matara before heading back out to Colombo (all trains reverse at the terminal station at Galle), while M7 810 arrived with a local service from the north. Pictures were taken from a nice vantage point by the engine shed until we were moved on from this area. As the sun got lower and started to disappear into the evening haze we were kept entertained by Y class Hunslet shunter 682 from the bridge.
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| M8 847 departs from Galle with less clag than it arrived with! The clock tower of Galle Fort can be seen behind the station. |
Galle is a lovely station with plenty of interest. Four
terminal platforms with an engine shed, signalbox, turntable, sidings and
footbridge – and plenty going on in the hour or so that we were there. Once the
railway action finished and the light faded the group went for a walk into the
old fort town where we were staying. Of all the places in Sri Lanka I think
Galle Fort is probably my favourite- perhaps it is the slightly more homely
feel given the town was built by the Dutch. As well as the lighthouse there are
idyllic churches and red tiled buildings on mostly pedestrianised streets
(there were tuk-tuk’s of course). We found a nice place for a drink outside the
old Dutch Hospital- the menu gave us some hope that there might be a bit more
beer variety. Those hopes were dashed.
Only the Lion larger was available. A very nice dinner followed in one
of the more pricey establishments in the centre of town. It had been a good
afternoon- finally!
Friday 29th November
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| M7 802 is reflected outside Galle station. |
After finally finding some sunshine the day before, it is
fair to say that we felt slightly deflated to wake up to a morning of white
skies and a forecast which only got worse. We made use of what little
brightness there was during the morning to attempt some arrival shots at Galle
station, but it was a bit uninspiring and when a sizeable gap in activities
approached the sensible option was to get out on a train to Matara. Continuing
to add classes to our haulage log, M10 916, one of the more recent built ‘Indian
ALCO’s’ backed onto the train. It wasn’t too busy so we were able to pick some
seats and doors right at the front and I must say- it was loud. The line speed
here also appears a lot a lot faster than many parts of Sri Lanka making this
an enjoyable journey. I can perhaps now see why so many have dedicated so much
time to chasing WDM3’s in India (despite all the hassle it brings), though I do
think this run was better than anything we enjoyed out there just over 2 years
ago.
This train stopped at all of the stations- but there were several times we
really didn’t think it was going to- hitting the platform at almost line speed
but still managing to call with just the first few coaches off the platform.
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| M10 916 at Matara ready to head back to Colombo. |
Several trains each day continue to Belliata, an extension of the line since my last trip here in 2011. Unfortunately this was not one of them. A look at the station timetable revealed that there wasn’t a good option for us to get there which would not involve a very late arrival back in Galle and a very long fester. Unfortunately even a taxi to Belliata to pick up a return was not going to work as we didn’t have time.
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| M2 628 pauses at Ahangama |
First off the next train off Matara was the arrival from
Belliata, a dud from yesterday in the form of M4 750, but rateable
none-the-less. Some lunch came round in the form of some Hawkers selling tasty
snacks in the customary bags which appeared to be made from their children’s
school exercise books. I had roughly worked out where we needed to bail
off of this for the train back, but when the passing place finally it turned
out my move put us on a +0 for M2 628 working back to Matara on the afternoon
‘school train’. No matter- the trains lined up well enough in the station that
we were able to simply hop from the door of one to the other while they were
both stationary!
The M2 took us a few further stops before we intercepted M10 916 again now
heading back from Matara. Here we thoroughly confused the station staff by not
exiting the platform and not giving in our tickets…
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| S13 DMU 962 arrives at a very wet Katugoda. |
By this point just 3 of us were desperate enough not to return to Galle and instead head back down the line to pick up the M7 later. We didn’t know what the first train was going to be, though I had a hunch that it was probably about time for an S13… and it was. The pair of DMU’s were rammed, but fortunately it wasn’t far to reach Habaraduwa where we were hoping to cross the M7. But it was late. The station master suggested we had nearly an hour, and we were fairly safe in the knowledge it was not coming as Dave U was also waiting for it down the line at Matara.
Fortunately I was quickly able to identify a beach bar within only marginal soaking distance of the station which (very slowly) served some nice 3 for 2 cocktails.
After an hour or so there was still no sign of the M7 and
one member of the group had to leave back to Galle in a tuk-tuk to pick up a
wooden elephant souvenir. 3 for 2 cocktails still worked well for the remaining
two of us- we just had to share the free one! A couple more drinks down and
still no sign of the train. Time to call time on it and get a tuk-tuk back
ourselves to save missing dinner. A real dead end move that turned out to be
then. Dave U stuck it out and still didn’t get the M7… I don’t think we ever
found what it actually worked!
Saturday 30th November
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| The 'Bluebell Bus'! |
Time to get out of Galle, and again it is cloudy. I walk to the station while some of the others take tuk-tuk’s to simplify moving the bags. Of course it was less simple after one of them suffered a puncture! Those walking had a feast for the eyes when one of the local busses parked along the route had a full vinyl of Horsted Keynes on the Bluebell Railway!
Since we had generally observed 2nd class to be at the business end
on the run back to Colombo we purchased these tickets to give us the option-
while buying the Edmonson tickets at the desk we got the first indication that
this journey might not be too fun- being advised that 2nd class was
likely to be full. Still- more chance there than 3rd right? Wrong.
The entire train was wedged and we eventually managed to ram in a few coaches
down in 3rd. No chance for a seat. The lucky of us ended up at
doors, the unlucky in the corridor connection. We had been hoping for an M8 up
front, as had been the case yesterday, as the class was still require, but
instead M4 754 did the honours.
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| A line of Hunslet 'class Y' shunters built are under heavy maintenance in the DMU shed at Ratmalana. |
More and more people piled on at the intermediate stations and we were very glad to get off once we arrived at Mount Lavinia. After some negotiations a mini-bus was secured to get us to our final hotel, the Mirage, close to Wellawatte station and overlooking the sea (partly booked as it had pool with a railway view!). It was a quick drop off of bags and back out for todays main event – Ratmalana.
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| M4 749 and M8 878 are amongst the locomotives undergoing heavy maintenance / overhaul in the loco shop at Ratamalana. 749 was back in service early in 2025. |
After a visit to the Assistant Chief Engineer, akin to sitting in the headmasters office at school, we came out with some sort of security stamp and were issued a worker to take us around the depot! Result!
Quite frankly this was probably the highlight of the
trip, and worth coming for more than our mediocre (at best) haul of photos. The
place is massive and fascinating. Heavy repairs of DMU’s and their engines was
our first stop, followed by a line of the Leeds built Hunslets in varying
states of repair. We proceeded through the loco shops and into the main works
where tasks included ‘Steam Engine & Tinkering’- as if to prove the point
one of the serviceable preserved engines, B1A 251 ‘Sir Thomas Maitland’ could
be found here under maintenance. Sorry, Tinkering.
As fascinating as the locomotives was the machinery- much of which dated from
the early 20th century and was of British origin. All appeared to be
in working order, and some had even been converted from steam power to
hydraulic.
We could probably have spent all day here, but being a
Saturday afternoon the works closed by 16:00 and there was no time to visit
either the carriage works, foundry or woodworking shops.
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| 251 'Sir Thomas Maitland' stands in the main workshop at Ratmalana. |
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| M4 756 arrives at Ratmalana station. |
To save time we eventually took tuk-tuk’s into the centre of town to shoot a couple of the trains, and just as importantly to utilise the ‘Night Mail’ TPO coach to deposit our postcards (Spoiler, they’ve not turned up 6 weeks later). Aside from this train there isn’t a lot more to photograph, so it’s a tuk-tuk back to the coast (the service really winds down in the evenings) to join the more sensible members of the group at a beachside restaurant. The food is reasonable. The service is VERY slow. The Larger is Lion.
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| M6 769 waits for departure from Colombo Fort with the 'Night Mail' to Badulla. |
Sunday 1st December
A promising start to the day and to December with
clear(ish) skies. Today was supposed to be a bit of a mopping up day for
anything we had not achieved (quite a lot!). I had considered travelling back
to Kandy if the weather looked good there, but in the end the priority was to
try to get some good pictures along the coast. On my previous trip I was
thwarted by cloud, so it would be good to give this another go. Unfortunately,
being a Sunday there were not quite so many trains and it quickly became
apparent that the shots we wanted to take were not really going to work until
the afternoon.
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| S13 970 departs from Colombo Maradana. The 'Lotus tower' dominating the skyline. |
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| Class Y 'Hunslet' 690 performs a fuel run at Maradana. |
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| Alsthom M9 872 approaches Maradana with a train from Kandy. |
It was time to leave, but we were delayed slightly since
one of the signals had pulled off, and as happens in this hobby, you never want
to leave when a train might be coming!
A good thing we did stay as we were rewarded with M9 872
working in from Kandy. On my previous trip I had seen absolutely no evidence of
any of these Alsthom machines working, or even existing, and so far 9 days into
this trip they had also been conspicuous by their absence other than one we had
passed looking very sorry for itself on depot. We knew that of the class of 10
locos only one or two were working and had virtually given up on seeing one of
these Ruston powered class 67 lookalikes- so this was a real turn up!
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| M9 870 stored within Maradana depot. |
A couple of the group had inadvertently visited the depot at Maradana (where most of the demic M9’s live) on day one, so some of us that had not went to try our luck today.
Checking in with the depot foreman we were initially told
that visiting the depot would not be possible today- however just a little
pleading and persuasion that it was our last day soon had us free reign of the
place! I suspect the reluctance to our entry was probably due to the amount of
shunting going on around the fuel point- but it made good photos. There is
plenty of motive power here as this is the main depot for swapping locos on and
off trains at Colombo. During our visit the M9 arrived on depot, went for a
drink and parked up. That would be it for any M9 activity then!
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| Not the 'mixed' train approaching Kollupitiya with S8 DMU 835 |
With the light now having come around for afternoon shots it was time to get back to the coast. We knew there would not be a lot of locos in the afternoon so it was important we got back in time for the ‘mixed’ train that left Colombo at 12:45. This would have been a great shot had it not been a DMU today. Unfortunately this set the tone of the afternoon, with a number of locos heading north, but virtually nothing going south where the light was where we wanted it! At least our location was right next to 'Hangover Burger' where we could get some refreshments. I knew there was at least one more loco due- that working the short turn to Mount Lavinia and back which I had seen in the cloud on my last visit (incidentally we gave up any idea of that shot as a large bush has sprung up between the railway and the beach). Eventually we did get a southbound loco-hauled working, with M10A 945, and typically in the thickest patch of cloud we had seen all afternoon! What had we done do deserve it!? (to add insult to injury this was the very same loco I failed to get a sunny shot of 9 years ago!).
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| M2 595 heads north along the coast at Kollupitiya. |
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| M8 843 tops M4 755 as they await departure from Fort. |
Final night drinks began in the hotel bar and then the tediously slow restaurant from yesterday.
Monday 2nd December
The last morning, and we didn’t have an awful lot of time
before we had to head to the airport. I however had a plan. The 07:40 Fort –
Puttalam ‘mixed’ train would drop us nicely at Negombo (10 mins by tuk-tuk from
the airport) at just about the right time- plus the train was a sure bet for a
final ride behind an M2.
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| M6 786 pauses at Maradana in some sunshine on our final morning. |
Nobody else seemed keen on getting up super early for a 3 hour trip to the airport when a taxi would do it in 1… so off I went on the first DMU from Wellawatta. I’m not sure if it was the DMU I was supposed to be on since it wasn’t at an advertised time, but it did the job an got me to Fort to pick up breakfast. By my arrival the sun was breaking through and a sunny shots were achieved of a departing M6. Hot on its heals, M2 595 arrived from the coast (so that probably should have been my train). I managed to discover just in time that it was going to Maradana, so since it was required I jumped on. Here a couple more locos arrived facilitating a couple more of those rare sunny pictures before M2 569 arrived with the Puttalam train. A fitting end, with the first loco of the class, dating from 1954 and proudly displaying a plaque marking it’s 60th birthday in December 2014… I can only assume it would be updated to it’s 70th birthday in a few weeks time!?
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| M2 569 works the morning 'Mixed' train to Puttalam, pictured awaiting departure from Negombo. |
I had arrived ahead of the rest of the group in their
taxi, perhaps surprising some at how well the move had actually worked. The
flight home was uneventful, if unpleasant since by Heathrow half of the group
were feeling unwell (and one more would subsequently fall).
Conclusions
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| M10 916 arrives at Galle from Colombo. |
An excellent trip, just marred by the weather which was
really unkind to us. Since this was a photography trip more than loco bashing
that really was very unfortunate! Sri Lanka is a lovely country, and was
notably much more enjoyable than India; There is a lot more English spoken, an
awful lot less squaller and most importantly of all since they are fairly used
to tourists there is not the same staring, gawping and general annoyance from
the locals! Sometimes they say ‘hello’, and then they move on!
The biggest frustration (aside from the weather) was the timetable, or lack of. There appears to be no published timetable at all, which means than any train times have to be worked out using the website journey planner for point to point journeys. Unfortunately this doesn’t show calling points… nor do all the trains displayed actually seem to run! There are train times on Google, but these aren’t reliable either- though generally I did find if you could positively identify the train you were on, Google usually had the correct calling pattern. The only mostly reliable source of train times was the departure boards at stations, but even these were not 100%. Of course that doesn’t help if you’ve not been to the station, or want to know about arrivals, or calling patterns for that matter!
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| A DMU passes the fine array of semaphore signals at Kandy. |
Then again, the with the poor punctuality of most trains you might as well forget any resemblance to a timetable anyway!
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| Hunslet 682 shunts at Galle. |
Some trains were very crowded, particularly on the coastal line, but aside from this most were a joy to travel on with open doors and windows on the rudimentary stock, or comfortable AC coaches on some of the premiere trains.
I have long wanted to return to Sri Lanka and I am glad I
did. The trip was pushed up the agenda a bit by the threat of 25 second hand
Indian ALCO’s that are rumoured to be arriving. That story broke well over a
year ago and so far there is no sign of them with full overhauls continuing on
all of the current loco classes. Even if the Indian ALCO’s do arrive the
country will still be worth a visit (and it’s a much more pleasant environment
to enjoy them than India is as well!).
Hopefully I will be back again, but with the distance and expense of flights it
is hardly somewhere you can just visit for the weekend. Time will tell.
Thanks to Rob, Rhys, Rabbit, JH and Matty for the company.
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| A night time departure from Colombo Fort with the Lotus Tower dominating the skyline. |
