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| M8 847 makes a smokey arrival at Galle in a spot of rare sunshine(!). |
Introduction:
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.
Secondly the weather. Having travelled at this
time of year on my previous visit some nine years ago, and to India at a
similar period in 2022 it had escaped my attention that November is still
Monsoon season in Sri Lanka (a little more research suggests that varying
monsoons affect the island for much of the year in different places). The
weather forecast was accordingly a cause for concern… surely it wouldn’t rain
the whole trip? I left perhaps apprehensively packed for the worst, but hoping
it might just be some sharp showers.
Saturday 23rd November:
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!
 |
| M7 811 is passed outside Maradana |
Our first loco arrived from the coast line and was none
other than famed M2 591 ‘Manitoba’. For those who don’t know the history of
this locomotive, it has the unfortunate accolade of leading the train involved
in the worst rail accident of all time- when the Matara Express was
struck by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. It is thought that over 1700 lost their
lives. Amazingly the locomotive (just) survived and after spending around 10
years under repair returned to normal duties.
Armed with tickets to Ragama to cover any local moves several of the
group went over for a ride- only to discover the train was now ECS… but that
wasn’t an issue since they got invited into the cab anyway and off they went! I
passed on the opportunity as 591 was typically one of only two of the class
that I had scored on my previous trip.
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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. |
Our steed for the journey was M2 591 ‘Manitoba’ (still
not required!) which afforded a pleasant journey on the 06:05 train from Fort.
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. |
Train 4858 departs from Maho at 14:10 and around 2 ½ bone
shaking, but quite entertaining hours to reach Polgahawela. Here we stopped for tea and to wait for something of interest to take us back
to Colombo. There seemed to be plenty of activity including M5c’s 779 and 782
shunting around the station. This was a class I had not managed to see at all
on my previous trip, so was a good sign of their activity. Having made friends
with the shunter as he watched us photograph the railcar from his cabin, it was
with great excitement that he saw us photographing 779. What followed was what
I can only describe as a ‘forced cab ride’ where we were hurriedly gestured off
the platform and into the cab. All 5 of us! There was no opportunity to say no,
or really to get our photo- but there weren’t many complaints.
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| M5 779 shunting at Polgahawela. |
Having trundled up and down the yard several times forming up a mixed train it
was sadly time for us to leave- we needed to be on the next loco-hauled train
to Colombo (which person 6 was already on) if we were going to get back at a
decent time. It is unfortunate the M5 wasn’t going this way as I’m sure we
could have stayed on with the crew, it was bound for Kandy. As we left the crew
warn us not to pay for experiences like these from other unscrupulous crews!
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. |
A slightly later start for a very simple day. The 09:45
from Colombo Fort to Badulla which we would take as far as Ella. The rain had
already begun before we left Colombo and the forecast was only for it to get
heavier. After picking up some supplies from the station buffet we found seats
on the train behind M6 784. The train travels at a decent speed as far as
Rambukanna after which it begins to climb quite suddenly and considerably. The
line from here to Peradeniya Junction and Kandy is a real highlight with
beautiful hillside stations complete with full semaphore signal arrays and the
feel of a proper railway with passing loops and a few trains going in the other
direction. We even get our first sighting of some monkeys. When we are not in a
cloud ourselves, the views are stunning. We also pass the ‘railway museum’ at Kadugannawa
– there is just time to run along the platform and snap most of the visits
including the sole surviving EE built M1 560 now looking a bit worse for wear.
We avoid Kandy but still get two sides of the triangle in
at Peradeniya as the train shunts back towards Kandy for a better platform.
From here the journey time to Ella is just over 6 hours, assuming everything
runs to time, for a journey of under 100 miles. This should give an indication
of just how slow this line really is! The first few hours are entertaining as
we admire the views, enjoy the fruits of the train hawkers and pass several
trains including M5 767 at the busy town of Nawalapitya and finally the first loco
hauled ‘Main Line’ train from Badulla back to Colombo at Kotogala behind M6
783- It is running late. We are offered cab rides for quite a high fee which
are turned down- we’re not paying ‘tourist’ prices for the privilege!
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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. |
As we continue the rain gets heavier, darkness falls and
the train seems to get slower and slower. For much of the journey we are
travelling at not much more than 10mph and the journey begins to get a little
tedious with no views, and windows and doors closed because of the weather. We
have not seen the afternoon ‘Mixed’ train from Badulla to Kandy which we should
have passed and have a vested interest in as we intend to be on it tomorrow.
Towards the end of the journey we are all counting down the miles (very slowly)
until we finally reach Ella. By the time we do we are approaching an hour
behind schedule, still with no sign of the mixed train, or the Colombo bound
sleeper which we should also have passed. Eventually the train does pass this
at Ella and some interest is shown in the TPO coach which is still very much
active here. It is really raining a lot now so all thoughts of continuing to
Badulla for a taxi back (to clear the track) have long been abandoned- we can
cover it in the morning if the weather improves, and we make our way to the
hotel- quite a slog in the downpour.
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.
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| 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.
Luckily the taxi can drive right up to a covered door of our next hotel in Kandy.
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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. |
There isn’t much activity at this time of night so we
return to the loco stabling area for some shots. While here we attract the
attention of the station security team who remove us for being in the area
without permission. I still have some shots I want to take so while the others
head off for a drink I stay to engage with the station master about getting the
appropriate permit. Ultimately it is fruitless, though not a negative
interaction. The area I want to photograph is not under his jurisdiction and the
maintenance manager who could authorise it is not picking up his phone. Time to
join the others for a much needed dinner and some Lion lager!
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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! |
With plans to photograph the semaphores at Kandy rather
on hold we instead went for our other target which was to ride the Matale
branch. Many of the trains on this route are now formed of DMU’s, however we
knew the 10:25 ‘Mixed’ would produce a loco and it did in the form of M5B 778.
This subclass is distinctive in having green bodysides and also by being fitted
with the familiar Paxman Valenta engine, of HST fame. The train was formed up
(without any wagons) in time for departure, however it was announced that its
departure would be delayed by approximately 1 hour, it turned out this was due
to waiting a connection from Colombo. This didn’t cause us much bother as we
had some time to
try to photograph some shunting with W3 665 and M6 797
which was turning one of the observation coaches and would simply reduce the
dwell before the return from 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! |
M5B 778 turned out to provide excellent entertainment. While sounding almost familiar while idling the non-turbocharged engine sounded quite different to it’s 125mph equivalents and we had an enjoyable run up the branch. By Matale the train had got even heavier which disturbed our walk across town to the Neptunes Head bar where we enjoyed, you guessed it, a Lion larger, sitting in the dark as there was no power!
The same loco returned us to Kandy where with nothing
better to do, we stuck to ‘plan A’ and continued to Peradeniya Junction with
the intention of photographing the attractive semaphore gantry there. The rain
rather thwarted this and after unforgivingly being denied an ice cream at the
station café we returned to Kandy and the hotel to wait for darkness and the
opportunity to try and rescue something of the day with some night photography.
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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. |
Surprise, surprise- still raining! We were due to end in
Galle tonight with the option to head there early or mop-up any unfinished
business in Kandy first. Since all we could do in Kandy was literally mop-up
(and still not achieve anything) we made a fairly early exit taking the S14
unit in AC just after 0600. It soon stopped raining once we were out of the
hills, and by the time we were on the Coastal line, back behind a loco in the
form of M2 627 on the morning ‘mixed’ from Maradana to Kalutara South I would
even admit that the sun had come out! Concluding the journey behind the GE we
were then picked up by ALCO M4 750 for an enjoyable run south. The sun was
shining in Galle and for possibly the first time on this trip the suncream made
an appearance. It would have been good to stay at the station enjoying the
weather, but we really needed to check in our bags, and Rob desperately needed
a wash as much of 750 appeared to have ended up on his face!
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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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| M2 628 pauses at Ahangama |
M7 810 was also present in the station so a plan was
hatched to take a train back part way and scratch in a few locos, a few beach
bars and hopefully end the day with the M7 back to Galle. We had discovered
that Dave Unpronounceable was also in the area and would spend the afternoon
playing cat and mouse with his moves- ultimately never bumping into him at all!
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…
 |
| S13 DMU 962 arrives at a very wet Katugoda. |
A few of the group had missed the last move to scratch an
extra beach bar, but now it was time to all join up and head across to the
beach at Katugoda. Just one problem. The heavens had absolutely opened and even
the 5 minute walk was going to get us drenched! Just the weather you want at a
Sri Lankan beach! Since we couldn’t sit outside we ended up in a room next to
the street which wasn’t really the beach experience we wanted to enjoy our
drinks (Lion Lager by the way). Once the rain eased a bit I went for a paddle
and found a much nicer bar with a covered area looking out over the sea for
another round. A bit ‘done’ with Lion Lager it was time to try some cocktails.
Of course by the time we had to get back to the station for our next moves, the
heavens had opened again necessitating half of the group to deploy tuk-tuk’s to
avoid getting soaked walking back to the station for what was going to turn out
to be a shocker of a move.
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
 |
| 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. |
This is the huge depot complex that is the centre of Sri
Lankan Railway’s operations. We knew it was possible to get in, but I had been
unable to confirm anything before leaving the UK, and this is not the sort of
place you can just wander into- even here, and especially not as a group of 6!
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.
 |
| 251 'Sir Thomas Maitland' stands in the main workshop at Ratmalana. |
We walked back to Ratmalana station for a suburban train
back to the hotel. We hoped to head back out for some night shots- but this all
went a little wrong. At the time we had been told there was a local train, a
train indeed showed up. At it’s head was M4 756, required and a nice bonus!
Unfortunately it quickly transpired that the local train was following this as
we went straight to Fort. It would have been fine had we not needed tripods
(and postcards) which were at the hotel!
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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.
 |
| 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.
 |
| S13 970 departs from Colombo Maradana. The 'Lotus tower' dominating the skyline. |
 |
| Class Y 'Hunslet' 690 performs a fuel run at Maradana. |
A sensible diversion then away from the coast took us to
the footbridge just beyond Maradana station. Here we finally got a good number
of sunny pictures- of DMU’s. Where were the loco hauled trains?! At least we
knew that the 09:45 to Badulla should reliably run with an M6- except it never
showed. Eventually we did catch M4 756 working empty stock (nose leading).
That, some light locos off the depot and another Hunslet which had been
tripping some fuel tanks would have to do.
 |
| 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!
 |
| 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!
 |
| 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!).
 |
| M2 595 heads north along the coast at Kollupitiya. |
 |
| M8 843 tops M4 755 as they await departure from Fort. |
Figuring we may as well stay out until the last of the night we watched all the
locals and Indian tourists crossing the line to the beach for the sunset- only
to be disappointed when that didn’t produce either. Time to go back to the
hotel and finally use one of the pools we had booked, yes, the one overlooking
the railway.
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.
 |
| 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!?
 |
| M2 569 works the morning 'Mixed' train to Puttalam, pictured awaiting departure from Negombo. |
The ride to Negombo wasn’t anything particularly special
and unfortunately I started to feel a bit unwell, which made the overpriced
tuk-tuk ride to the airport particularly uncomfortable.
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
 |
| 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!
 |
| 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!
 |
| 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.
 |
A night time departure from Colombo Fort with the Lotus Tower dominating the skyline.
|
Loco Haulage Log:23/11/24
8365A M4 756 Colombo Fort - Ragama
8760 M11 949 Maradana - Colombo Fort
24/11/24
6011 M2a 591 Colombo Fort - Maho Junction
M5c 779 shunting at Polgahawela (in cab)
4078 M11 954 Polgahawela - Colombo Fort
25/11/24
1007 M6 784 Colombo Fort - Ella
26/11/24
No trains!
27/11/24
2237 M5b 778 Kandy - Matale
2633 M5b 778 Matale - Kandy
28/11/24
8741 M2c 627 Maradana - Kalutara South
8086 M4 750 Kalutara South - Galle
29/11/24
8040 M10 916 Galle - Matara
8039 M4 750 Matara - Talpe
8752 M2d 628 Talpe - Ahangama
8051 M10 916 Ahangama - Katugoda
30/11/24
8085 M4 754 Galle - Mount Lavinia
8367A (?) M4 746 Ratmalana - Colombo Fort
01/12/24
All local moves by tuk-tuk!
02/12/24
8317 (?) M2 595 Colmobo Fort - Maradana
3411 M2 569 Maradana - Negombo
a.jpg)
