Train Wrecks & More (Part 1)
After several failed attempts to get inside the old Makkasan Railway Depot (*) we finally succeeded... Although with a bit of a cheat, Tim & I signed up for an official tour of Hualamphong and Makkasan stations, the only way to get inside as the last one is not open to the public.
Perhaps first I must make a confession, despite working for many years in tourism I'm not particularly keen on guided tours, experienced too many drone guides who can't stop talking... The tour started at Hualamphong Railway Station (**) and there we checked out several 'hidden' areas as well as visited a nearby official building from the State Railway of Thailand. The guide was an ex-employee of the SRT and had heaps of information that he was very keen on sharing with us... I just couldn't help myself and tuned out most of the time, reducing his insights to background noise, my bad... Also interesting, the 20+ group consisted mainly of Thais and a few token farangs, something which I hadn't expected.
After lunch, we took a train to Makkasan Railway Station and were finally able to enter the nearby depot.
The weather was grim and perhaps in tune with this place...
The old steam locomotive from my first photo was slowly being taken over by nature.
Obviously, this one was ending up the same as the dinosaurs...
No more Thomas The Tank Engine here...
Some of the Diesel Locs didn't look very happy either...
The first, place inside we visited was the Train Repair Plant, Makkasan Workshop (built in 1922), which is partly renovated,
However we could only admire it from the outside, a shame really.
There are quite a few Muslim staff at Makkasan as you can see!
Wall decoration on one side of the Mosque.
At various places, some equipment had been 'beautified' with very colorful effects!
A nice design!
Other parts were painted as railway carriages...
More punk than rock & roll to be honest...
Considering that Makkasan is NOT open to the public I really wondered about the function of the beautification and Instagram photo opps...
Some of the staff had been very creative!
While other equipment was just left out in the open.
Very cute I guess?
Wheels within wheels...
And more wheels.
Ad infinitum.
At this building, we received a warning that we were not allowed to touch or take anything of what was inside as everything was of historical value! My expectations were high, what kind of treasures would be there?!
To be continued...
Train Links:
Decay. Wonderful!
So, a bit disappointed they added some bright colours and new decorations here and there. But that's me.
Interesting report.
A fine set of images of what is, overall, a most depressing situation. I expect the "art works" are born out of crushing bordom from a staff with not enough work, KK.