John Currey Collection!

Here is a wonderful shot of shunting movements at Legaspi.
Look at the condition of the rollingstock, it is absolutely spotless.
An absolutely classic shot.

2518, Legaspi, Mon 24/2/86

John Currey Collection!

The above 'John Currey' shot shows the new destroyed Iloilo station on the 1st of March 1986. The shot was taken from the 'Princess Negros'.

Sadly, by the time of my arrival in February last year the station was gone. Locals said that it was destroyed by a fire and that very little was left. Some rails were tracable under nearby shanties while the huge former rail loop around the port (to the left of this photo) is now all roadway.

Brad

Railway Rebuild Update!

The below diagram outlines the stages for the rebuild and estimated costs.
Further details appear on the "PhilippineRailways' Yahoogroup.

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Congratulations Colonel and Anna Chunder!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Sometimes also known as David (to PhilippineRailways SIG davo_1620) and Anna Phillips, just after midnight last night they, well Anna actually, popped out a baby girl.
Bubs is said to have mommies eyes and nose, leading the Colonel into a worry that boys will be drooling over her before to long. Imagine being the poor boy who has to go home to MEET THE PARENTS!!!!!
Anyway congratulations to our great mates 'Anna and The Colonel', no doubt there will be much 2am screaming in coming weeks getting her lungs ready to a life full of karaoke nights.

Brad

*** As we don't have a picture of the actual baby, here is another taken recently.

Random Piccie!

This one was sent to me today and can be found on the net at this website!

A Guest From Manila/Denmark!

GUARANTEED TO GET CONSPIRACY THEORIES

COMING OUT OF PACO!!!

This week we had a special guest out visiting Australia.

Those who attended our gathering at Tayuman last year will remember Bill's mate Cisa, he also partook in the party within 5002s cab from Alabang to Tutuban.

THIS secret meeting was for the birthday of both my sons!!! All we talked about all night was the good ol Philippines, oh and the lovely ladies present. One who can be seen with our Cisa!

Hope you enjoyed Oz mate!!!!!

Brad

Pandacan Railway Bridge Work!

The following two photos were taken by Richard24 and show recent developments to the Pandacan bridge.
This bridge, which is part of the Linkage Project (Caloocan-Alabang), requires a fair bit of renovation and it has been that reported that it may be raised in order to clear river traffic.
Photos were taken through window of new Pasig River ferry service.

Maganda Pinay At Sta Mesa!

While she is very maganda, the point of the post is not to show you her alone.
If you can tear your eyes away from the shots of her you will see demolishion work carried out in the background.
No sign of rebuilding of the actual rails has started.

Anyway more shots can be found at this BLOG!

John Currey Collection!

G'day,

Amongst the other shots are a few rare glimpses of the original Tutuban station in Manila.

Sadly they are just part shots and not of the whole structure.

Here we see good ol 911 awaiting departure for the overnight run south to Legaspi (Legazpi if you prefer). Again the 7E type coaches were much in abundance in this shot.

Photo taken: 22-2-1986

Thanks again to John.

Brad

Philippine Railways Update! (February 2008)

A roundup of where things are at, information gained from personal emails, various forums and newspaper websites.

Philippine National Railways

Southrail Rebuild
Phase I (Caloocan to Alabang) - Clearing Continues!
*** Trains operating between Tutuban-Alabang-San Pedro-Binan.
*** Services suspended Binan-Legaspi and San Pedro-Carmona.
Phase II (Alabang to Calamba)Southrail Project - Work yet to commence.
Phase IA (Calamba-Lucena)Phase IB (Lucena-Legaspi) - Work yet to commence.
Phase II (Sorsogon Extension Matnog) - Work yet to commence.

Planned Lines
Calamba to Batangas line rebuild - Work yet to commence.

Northrail

Northrail Rebuild
Caloocan to Malolos - Rebuild commenced full steam ahead January 2008.
Malolos to Clark - Rebuild commenced.
Planned lines
Cabanatuan Line - No advice.
Cagayan Valley - No advice.

Panay Railway

Iloilo City to Roxas City - Work yet to commence.
*** There has yet to be movement in regards to anyone willing to finance this project.

Mindanao Railway

Work has yet to commence on any railway building in Mindanao!

Phase 1, Ist Segment (Cagayan de Oro-Iligan City
Phase 1, 2nd Segment (Cagayan de Oro-Gingoog City)
Phase 1, 3rd Segment (Iligan-Marawi City)
Phase 1, 4th Segment (Marawi City-Cotabato City)
Phase II (Surigao-Butuan)
Phase III (Davao City-Monkayo)
Phase IV (Zamboaga City-Dipolog City)
Phase V (Gagayan de Oro-Davao City)

Railway & Industrial Heritage Society

Society was officially registered late last year, since then there has been no advice regarding developments.
Unofficial reports say that an inspection of the observation car at Hondagua (see earlier report) is on the cards.

Locomotive Fleets

Remain virtually unchanged since last reported on the Philippine Railways SIG website!


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Thanks to the following for information included in this updates.
Wheel On Steel (Skyscrapercity Forum), Robert O'Brien, Bill Sullivan
Philippine Star newspaper.

Reminiscing - Was LRB Singing About The Philippines?

Morning,

While sitting on the computer today, determined to add something to this blog, it came to my realisation that today is an anniversary.
No not a wedding anniversary, not a real historic railway anniversary, sadly also not the anniversary of my lost virginity either, but it is 12 months to the day that I was on Alabang station watching my beloved PNR.



It was the first opportunity presented since my arrival in the Philippines for the 2007 trip and what a trip it was. For railway type activity it turned out to be the best yet. Quite amazing when one considers the hard negotiating I had to do with the wife just for two days there.
Still, this gunzel has more than one way of getting to a railway line and this special art was utilized on many a day while being dragged from shop to shop, province to province.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of being back in the Philippines and finally getting lineside. Sure I photograph trains in Australia on a regular basis, but this is something completely different.
The trains, the people, the way of life, its all different.




Apart from the trains themselves, I was able to finally meet some fascinating railfans who live there. Both Harvey and Karel are lucky enough to call the Philippines home and I met both these guys at Tutuban/Tayuman during a day inspecting the yard and riding the train to Alabang.

I was subsequently able to meet up with Harvey two more times, once for a party at the in-laws house, then later at the Caloocan railway workshops where the first real idea of a preservation society began.
On all occasions, long term SIG member and good friend from Australia, Bill, was in attendance. It was so great to see a familiar face from home.
Sadly the trip ended much faster than we realised it would. But it had enabled me to expand my railway views to include Iloilo, Roxas City, Calamba and Legaspi (Legazpi if you wish).



In the twelve months since much has happened.
The initial idea of a railway preservation society has turned into an official group. Probably not entirely the way that I had hoped, but the main thing is that it exists and they must all be given the support to carry on and bring a museum to reality.

The railways there are certainly in a major state of change, it will likely be a far different system when I, hopefully, arrive back in Manila in 2009.
Well one hopes so, things have been slowing down and corruption allegations have delayed things at every turn. These projects are certainly never straight forward back in my 'second country'.

Today, despite major efforts by one person to destroy my character and my drive, my interest in the railways of the Philippines remains incredibly strong. Indeed my interest in all things Philippines is far greater than that of here in Australia.

Lets hope the future is bright for railway services in the Philippines and I can reminice about many trips in the future.

Thanks again to Bill, Harv, Karel, Nick, Cisa and all the gang down at Pagsanjan!

Brad

PHOTOS: ALL TAKEN ON THE 6TH OF FEBRUARY 2007!
1) Joy ride train in a mall at Alabang. Only Pinay train driver we saw in the whole country :-)
2) 5001 departs Alabang with another passenger service bound for Tutuban.
3) Pinays, the world's most maganda train passengers.
4) Jeepney! What would the Philippines be without them. This one is seen at Pedro Gil.

Subscribe: Get The Latest Updates As They Happen!

Howdee,
One of the major complaints about blog site from people is that you often waste time checking back just to find there has been no updates.
To combat this I am trialling a new subscription idea, the link to which can be found on the top of the right column.
It uses Yahoogroups as a basis, but only allows for notifications of updates to the 'Philippine Railway SIG" blog site.
There is no option to reply to anyone except for me, so your inbox will not be full of the rantings of other people, while the subscriber list is not available to members.

So to save time between updates give the 'FREE' subscription service a go!

Cheers
Brad

John Currey Collection!

Howdee,
Recently my good friend John Currey sent me his collection of PNR photos taken in 1986. Most of them were taken during a trip on the train from the original Tutuban station down to Legaspi, only 3 days after the new deviation saw the line reopen following 8-10 years of closure.
In coming weeks we shall be featuring a selection of these shots, the first of which appears above.

2518 has just arrived from Manila and stands at Legaspi station. 23-2-1986
The 7E cars feature heavily in the photo collection. Today they are an almost extinct type.
From the box cars seen on the other platform and the carriages up at the triangle, Legaspi seemed to be quite a busy place back in 1986 following the lines reopening.\

Brad