Sunday, December 19, 2010

~~ BILL SULLIVAN - 1949-2010 ~~

Farewell To A Dear Friend.

Every now and then life deals us a real, to be frank, shitty blow. So it was that recently I recieved a phone call about the death of one of my dearest friends, Bill Sullivan.
Apart from a brief mention on my websites at the time, I have thus far been unable to get the strength to do a full tribute.
The below is a eulogy I wrote for Bill the day after the funeral. Not being a public speaker, I have sent this out to his friends after the event.
I would like to truly thank the following people, who were either part of our 'Philippine Railway Historical Society' or our extended family, who attended Bill's funeral on the day.
Pare Bernie Biz, Pare Nathan Chapple, Pare David Phillips, Milan Stenek and his dear long time friend Anne..
Also thank you to Nick Buenafe (Phils), Alan Hicks (Phils), Graham Holt (UK), Paul Hornby (Phils), Harvey Smoller (Phils), David Williams (NZ) and David Xuereb (NSW) for pasing on their messages.

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EULOGY - BILL SULLIVAN

By: Brad Peadon (Part of his Sydney Family)


It is with much regret that I have only known Bill since around the start of this century, coming together through the mutual love we had for the railways of the Philippines, and that of the country itself.

My involvement in the country came through my marriage to Ana, a Filipina who I met in Australia. Having been interested in railways all my life, it was not surprising that my first trip to the Philippines in 1999 would lead to a long held interest in their, then, slowly decaying operations.
I returned to Australia, set up a small internet webpage and forum based on the subject and it was not all that long after that I received a membership application from Bill, telling me of his great interest and that he was from nearby Newtown.
Not really unusual, over the years there have been many members come and go, some I have met, many who I have not. However Bill soon suggested we could meet and have a chat, as always I invited him to dinner at our house.

While it is far to long ago to remember the night that he came, it was to be the instant start of a friendship that went on to make an incredibly huge mark on the life of, not only me, but also my entire family.
Bill would, over the following years, become an almost weekly visitor to our house. His visits were always looked forward to greatly; after all, you never quite knew where discussions would lead. Of course they started with the railways of the Philippines, but they would then stray off to such obscure topics as paint colours, Workcover (of which is was fiercely proud) and even his amazing escapades around asia.
Bill soon became an extended part of our family, loved by all, and always a huge part of our life.

Bill had an amazing way of getting what he wanted, or getting the very best deal he could.
Nobody who was lucky enough to be considered a friend of Bill would ever need an ALDI catalogue. Bill was almost religiously dedicated to his weekly check of electrical specials and would ring me up to tell me of the great printer/set top box/scanner prices.
“Do you want me to pick any up for you” he would ask. Typical Bill, it was never too much trouble to help those he cared about. He would be waiting at the door of Aldi before it opened, because he knew the to wait would see him miss out.
I am sure ALDI will wonder where he is; certainly their electrical sales will now have plummeted.

Bill would tell me how he made friends at Philippine Airlines, his preferred carrier, and how he managed to get moved up to higher classes than his booked economy seat. His love of PAL, his pride in their service and his mileage status, was constantly mentioned and led my family to start flying them, it even influenced my newest hobby of collecting models of PAL planes.


Collecting

On the subject of collecting, I learnt at Bill’s funeral that he rivalled my attempts at collecting and hording stuff. This, probably, going a long way to explaining his constant desire to help me with my collections.
Tanduay Rhum, the national rum of the Philippines, being a case in point.
I can’t recall who started the tradition, but somehow Bill and I would always come together for a chat over a Tanduay. Hundreds are the times I would open the door and Bill would say “Are you ready to crack open a new one”.
His well-known little white car was famous for having at least two bottles at the ready inside, and perhaps for its virtual invisibility to police breath tests J
This led me on to yet another Philippine related collection, that of Tanduay items. Not just every type of bottle produced, but also posters, banners, signs and other related items, most of which would come from Bill’s endless hunt for such things on his trips.
Pride of place in my collection is a small celebratory wooden barrel marked Tanduay that was full of 18-year-old rum. Although they were hard to get, he tracked one down at Pasay Road after much hunting, and they were incredibly expensive at $75 American.
However Bill was not a friend to give up. He wanted to give me a huge surprise and travelled as much as it would take to find that barrel and then refused any sort of repayment for it.
These barrels always had one weakness, that being in the tap which always developed a leak, mine being no exception. Of course, as always, Bill had a solution for it and was going to fix both of ours – this sadly never reaching fruition, like so many other plans we had.
Indeed Tanduay Rhum, along with Bill and my association with it, even come up during the funeral service.
Ironically Tanduay, while forming a huge part of our time together, also ironically becomes a very sad part of his leaving us. Bill had purchased a brand new product, Tanduay T5, on his recent trip and we were to share this at Christmas. A few of us are now planning to get together in Newcastle to share it in his memory.

His infectious love of the Philippines was my motivator. I began enjoying learning of Philippine history, Philippine traditions/beliefs and, besides the above, would collect virtually anything Filipino. Jeepney destinations, number plates, shop signs, jeepney models and even the few rare bus models.
On his second last trip he just happened to be in a Pagsanjan sari sari store and noticed on a back shelf two bottles. These were very old bottles of rum of lesser manufacture than Tanduay. ‘Anejo Oro’ and ‘San Miguel Bravo Rum’ were the names, both bottles being very old and dusty, one with a very rusty lid.
Bill knew instantly that Brad would love these in his collection and took them to the counter to buy them, only to be surprised when the girl said they were so old she didn’t know the price.
Of course he then went on to offer an amount probably five times what they would be worth, but still the girl said no and that she would have to wait for the owner.
A few days later Bill returned, he wasn’t going to give up on a friend, and the owner told him a price a fraction of the amount he offered. Bill happily grabbed them.

Bill always had some great stories of his 30+ visits to the Philippines, one of the more interesting ones coming to me while driving to Goulburn on Thursday.
He was visiting a museum around Manila and happened to flick a cigarette butt in the gutter when entering. I mean, while littering is frowned upon here, anyone who knows Manila realises it is a way of life there. The amount of garbage lying in the streets is probably what makes this story most amusing.
Anyway, Bill goes into the museum and is busy looking around for a couple of hours, when a lady comes up to him and tells him a policeman has been waiting for him outside for all this time.
Bill, obviously wondering why, went downstairs to see the policeman who informed him that he was being fined for littering. Something Bill found quite amusing.
Of course Bill refused to pay there and then and demanded to be taken to the police station to be officially charged and issued with an infringement notice. This was not just because he didn’t want the guy to pocket the money, but because that $2 infringement notice was “the cheapest souvenir I have ever got”.
We had a huge laugh over this, as well as so many other stories. I believe he framed the notice and I am hoping that one of us can save it for him.

2007

2007 turned out to be the only time that Bill and I ended up in the Philippines at the same time. I am eternally thankful this opportunity was possible and many a memory is retained forever from this trip.
It was this visit that we met up in Tayuman railway yards, along with his dear friend Ceasar and our mutual friends Harvey and Nick. After spending a few weeks around people I didn’t know that well, the sight of Bill’s beaming happy face was a welcome sight from back home.
Together we rode the rear carriage of the train to Alabang for our only time.
On arrival at Alabang I suggested to Bill that we approach the driver for a ride in the cab back to Tutuban station, and we headed up front to find the driver, who was not in the locomotive cab.
Caesar of course followed us soon after, then Harvey and Nick – but still no crew were in the cab.
About 5 minutes later the driver opens the door and is shocked to find all these people, including foreigners, crowding the cab. The look of shock, probably comparable to that during the watching of a horror movie, soon disappeared as we explained our interest and desire to travel up front.
Bill and I stood outside on the footplate, waving to the locals and having many a laugh; it is one of my most treasured memories of time spent with a truly great person.

This visit was also historic in that a visit to Caloocan workshops, again with Harvey, saw us start what was to become the ‘Railways and Industrial Heritage Society’ to preserve items of railway interest. Sadly the society, was not successful in this goal, however they still exist as a group of local railfans who organise outings and the occasional restoration of the few things that are left.

Finally 2007 saw us meet his Philippine family in the famous location of Pagsanjan, his second home when away from Australia.
Here we met those who were his Philippine family for a truly memorable day.
Bill was his typical fun loving self, tricking us with firecrackers he through out our feet and scaring two years off our own existence. It took a few episodes of this prank before we realised Bill was the culprit behind it.
He had also arranged for our own afternoon trip up the rapids to visit the famous Pagsanjan Falls, our boatman for the day being part of his local family and giving us an experience of a lifetime in this most beautiful of places.
Following lunch with the family we started heading back to Manila, having declined, much to my current regret, the offer to stay there a few days.

Sadly we never went back to the Philippines at the same time again, however we would always share stories, obviously over a Tanduay, following each of our trips.
We also continued our endless railway research, Bill had a knack for finding links to unknown sites (many of which I have yet to follow), and continued on with our railway newsletter and forums.

Part Of Our family.

While by now a very important part of our family, it was made more official with his being asked to be a godfather to my beloved new daughter Christine (Tin Tin) Charice Peadon. In Filipino tradition this made Bill my pare, and as good as an official member of the family.
I still remember Bill’s immense happiness and pride in taking on such a roll and we were so honoured to receive his acceptance. I now learn of how he shared this pride with others.
We both wore the traditional Filipino barong for the occasion and laughed about how only the Aussies ever did do, while the Filos went with more normal attire.

Bill kept his 60th birthday a secret from us all, not wanting any fuss, but slipped up and mentioned his approaching 61st birthday, just this year, about a month prior to the actual date.
We set about organising a surprise party to repay him for his endless friendship and generosity over the years, but knew he would not want the fuss. We thus disguised it as a very important meeting of our railway society and begged him to return from Newcastle for it – which he agreed to.
Many of his friends from earlier parties hid in the kitchen when he arrived, of course with the customary Tanduay Dark under his arm, and walked down the hallway.
Not really certain of his reaction, I was worried until he walked around the corner to the awaiting crowd and beamed into his biggest smile ever. While not liking a fuss, he was certainly so happy to see this many friends gathered to share is special day.
What a wonderful day, with so many photos taken to remember it.

Final Weeks

Bill had only been back from the Philippines for a couple of weeks before he started receiving pains in the chest and went to hospital.
Not wanting to worry us, he had not told us of what happened, or the subsequent operation. Sadly a week later a massive heart attack took him away from us forever.

The last I saw him was a visit to our shop the day after his return from Manila, happy to be able to give me another new Tanduay product for the collection and to show me a second that we were to share at Christmas – a Christmas we would never have dreamed would not come.
The last I heard from him was a phone call from a major hobby shop in Newcastle City. In typical Bill style he overheard talk of my eldest son of wanting to build a model of a Spitfire and he went to the shop to get him a surprise for Christmas –again a Christmas we never expected wouldn’t would not be able to spend together.

I was beginning to wonder why I had not heard from him for a week, a very unusual amo
unt of time between word from Bill, and was about to text him when I got a call from his mobile.
Happiness to hear from him was soon replaced by horrific devastation to find his friend Milan on the phone with the terrible duty of having to inform all his friends and acquaintances of Bill’s passing.
Milan, I had heard so very much about from Bill, although I had only met him once or twice. I can’t even imagine how hard it was for him to have to ring and tell everyone the terrible news and I am so appreciative of him doing so. It’s far more than I could ever do.
I think we owe it to Bill to remain in regular contact, along with his dear friend Anne, and look after each other, as he would have done for each of us individually. We should never let him down in this important duty.


The future

The death of a friend often changes life immeasurably, the loss of one of the closer ones even more so.
Bill was always my driving force with the ‘Philippine Railway Historical Society’. When troublemakers brought me down, it was always Bill there to help and push me onwards. This enthusiasm for the Philippines has gone with Bill, although I will keep some sort of limited interest going as he will have always wanted that.
I will be forever tied to the Philippines through some wonderful family and friends who live there – but things will never quite be the same ever again.
Any problems, especially technical/computer related, were fast fixed by Bill (often with help from a computer expert friend in Wollongong), any other hassles in life, or Philippine historical questions, usually found an email a couple of days later with a list of internet links to help solve the problem.
I shall also miss the regular supplies of coconut vinegar, the latest FHM Philippines magazines, the laughs, the hi-fives, the stories, the inspiration boosts, the endless support of my writing projects and, most of all, our afternoons siting around and chatting about, well, just about anything.

Bill did not have a huge circle of friends, he obviously chose them carefully and literally devoted his life to each and every one. Those who were among those chosen should never underestimate how amazingly lucky they were.

Goodbye Bill – I know the last thing you would have ever wanted to do was make us sad – but that’s the side affect of making us so happy.
You will be constantly remembered, everywhere I look in our house is something related to you, and your remaining friends will always try to help those who you valued so much.


Brad Peadon
Proud member of your Sydney family.















Tuesday, December 7, 2010


VALE: BILL SULLIVAN


It is with immense sadness I advise of the passing away of my dear family friend Bill Sullivan.

Bill was always my driving force in the 'Philippine Railway Historical Society', he was always a very supportive friend and no more generous and kind hearted man has ever graced the planet.


A proper memorial will soon be written - for the moment I am just to upset to even think.


RIP - Bill, our great loss is heavens great gain.


Brad

Thursday, December 2, 2010


Every now and then a historical transport gem turns up on the internet.

No doubt there are many out there who, like myself, collect bus tickets. Only recently came across a few Sydney ones that I horded way back when a fare could be got for as low as 15c, and on a ticket hand ripped from a pad.Thats so long ago I can't actually remember when it was.

Here be an old save one from a Philippine bus. Not sure who the owner is though, it isn't in my collection.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

~~ NEW Philippine Airlines A380 ~~

ENTERS SERVICE


~~ AHMMMM OK ~~


Every now and then someone makes a comment that is so stupid that it is beyond belief.

Nope, it's not preservation in which I talk of today, it is the comment of Senator Ralph Recto that more roads need to be built to solve traffic problems.

What the heck?

Unless Manila is unique in the world, chances are it will just transfer chaos elsewhere, especially with all the new traffic it encourages.

At least he does have some thought for rail, it just ain't in tune with the majority of the world thinks nowdays.
The article HERE!

Monday, November 15, 2010

~~ SOCIETY ATTACK TIMELINE ~~


' November Update '


* Fiddling with my Skyscrapercity account and the photo sharing feature of it.

* Attack on PhilippineRailways Yahoogroup

* Regular censorship of my postings on Facebook group 'PNR,LRT,MRT in the Philippines' by a select member now removed. Corrected by a very kind group owner and appreciated.

* Attack on PhilippineRailways Yahoogroup

* Changing of my settings on Facebook group 'PNR.LRT,MRT in the Philippines' to prohibit posting to the board. Corrected again by a very kind group owner and appreciated.

The Filipino is a very god fearing people, I wonder what god thinks about these continual actions?

The PRHS is a research, help and publishing group. It costs money to run, but it is done voluntarily to help others. Sadly other people seek to destroy our efforts to help you, even though we do not benefit personally from it..




Remember: Always stop and consider all points of view, before

rushing head first into a ill-informed conclusion! To not do so makes you look like a fool in front of the conveyor of false information.

Friday, October 29, 2010

~~ ALONG DA RILES MAGAZINE ¬¬
Free E-Zine



I have often been asked to do an electronic version of 'Along Da Riles' for easier and distribution to interested people worldwide.



Being still a lil old fashioned I have been reluctant to take this step with the magazine in the past.
However time marches on and the steady growth in interest and demand has made the publication a more expensive and time consuming project. Also the postage cost/size limitations has made it hard to do the occasional larger issues.


The 'Philippine Railway Historical Society' (Originally Philippine Railways SIG) was set up in 1999 to be a non-profit group, mostly internet based, and mean't for exploring and promoting the Philippine railways. 'Along Da Riles' magazine was borne as part of a ill-concieved attempt to help a society we started in Manila.


Despite the failure of that project, the magazine continued to be of much interest to readers and continued on under our PRHS banner.



Now we are trialing an e-zine version of the publication which will allow us more flexibility with colour, photography and size. It is even planned to expand into other transportation modes on a limited basis.



To get every FREE issue there are two ways to put your name down on the mailing list.



Visit the ALONG DA RILES mailing list website.

Or simply send a blank email to Along_Da_Riles-subscribe@yahoogroups.com





There is no catch - There are no fees - There is no SPAM - You can unsubscribe any time

Wednesday, October 27, 2010



Attacks/Rumours - The Society.

One of the weirder side effects of voluntary work in the railway hobby is the amount of trouble and hate one attracts along the way.
Sadly, it does seem a national past-time of many railfans, Australian, Filipino or elsewhere, to deride the efforts of all who give of their free time and money to share back with the railfan community.
Indeed some railfans do go out of their way to encourage it, building empires of imaginary power, trying to benefit financially from others, making ludicrous claims and the like.

But overall, many a railfan gives of their free time out of pure generosity and a desire to help. It does not matter the cost, or the efforts gone to, they are the true volunteers.
At least until all the backstabbing, lies and attacks finally make them wonder why.

Sadly the society has been target for many problems in recent times, all seemingly coming from the Philippines, presumably coming from somewhere that is railfan related and seeking to cause problems, or at best, our demise.

It sounds like the script of a James Bond action thriller, but spies, informants, betrayal and deceit has been the order of the day in recent months. People posing as friends to both societies, but at the same time working against them and trying to cause mayhem.
Followed recently by removal from Wikipedia any traces of the society and its websites, as well as general censorship on the Facebook group 'PNR LRT MRT in the Philippines'.
Indeed, despite our group policy of any member being able to join any other group he/she feels like joining, involvement in our group has reportedly been banned by at least one group.

People are asked to do themselves a favour. Find out both sides of any story. Listening to, and believing, one side of any story not only leaves a person ignorant, it also makes you look like a fool in front of the person you believe.

The PRHS will always remain as a voluntary society open to helping and sharing information, it will never dictate which other organisations others can join and it WILL ALWAYS treat all members as equals.

I'm frightfully sorry if this is not what people wish.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

~~ TANKS A LOT ~~

Hi all, some discussions on the Philippine National Railway tank cars have been occuring on the PRHS 'Philippine Modelling Yahoogroup'.

As a result I have been going through some of my more recent shots of the prototype and prowling the internet for possible items in which to base a reasonable model.


Walthers model.



No idea who makes this tanker.



This tanker by Model Power looks like it may have much potential.
The difference that stands out most between them is the dome height, which always seems somewhat taller than the PNR version.
This could always be fixed by chopping a bit out of the dome should you be truly fussed.


For more ideas, a Google search for HO Tank cars gives a lot of different types.
And
If you are interested in modelling anything Philippines, whether it be trains, buses, planes, buildings, ferries or just scenery, we would welcome your ideas on the Philippine Modelling Yahoogroup. Discussion without the bitterness that has invaded our main PhilippineRailways Forum.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

~~ YOU NOW HAVE A CHOICE ~~


The PRHS now has a second main Yahoo chat forum for people to join.

The new group is set up as a companion to our original, 11 year old, Yahoogroup and will return us back to the societies roots and what the forum was really mean't to be.


It is not a replacement group, it has a far different outlook and approach to that of the original group nowdays.

It will not be a group for everyone - its based more on making friends and having fun within the hobby, rather than pure train discussion all the time. Please, if fun is important, please check us out at PhilRail-SIG.



The fun and friendship side of the Philippine transportation hobby.


The serious side of the Philippine Railway hobby.
-
-

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Some more Panay historical guff.


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The Quirino-Lopez Bridge
By Dr. Vic Pido

A view from the Quirino Bridge.Well folks, we’re just a few days before December. The weather is fast changing. Traveling around will be good because we’re going to have a cool weather while we’re in traveling togs and shoes.

This time, we tackle the Iloilo River from the Quirino-Lopez Bridge.

Last issue, we learned that the Arroyo Fountain lady faces due east, which is where we get our sunshine. But nowadays, the sun rises from the east-south direction, which is exactly the area where we look at the Iloilo River, exactly on top of the Quirino Bridge. As you can see in the photo, the sun is at our back.

Nicolas Loney the man responsible for the construction of the Muelle Loney in 1926.As for the river, we are standing on the deeper part of it, which explains why the sea-going vessels are parked along its banks.

It would be crazy for seafarers to go down northward towards the rest of what we call the Iloilo River. Puzzling, isn’t it?

The story’s like this. In 1926, a guy named Loney, a sugar planter from Iloilo, built a canal from the south harbor of Panay, going due north. The canal ended just right under the Quirino Lopez Bridge. This canal served as a port for sea-going vessels, to ferry out the sugar cane of Loney. The sugar cane was brought in by Loney’s railway, which we used to call the Panay Railways. Remember that? Thus the birth of the Iloilo port and railway systems.

21200


From: THE NEWS TODAY - Iloilo City

BRIDGING THE GAP
Henry F. Funtecha, Ph.D. 2009

The railroad network in the Visayas (II)
In the previous column, it was stated that the construction of a system of railroads in the Visayas was one that was given emphasis by the government authorities in the early days of the American occupation of the Philippines. These railway lines were to be constructed in Panay, Cebu and Negros.

The preparation for the construction of the Visayan railway system began in June 1906. After location surveys were completed, orders were placed for large quantities of construction materials, tools and machinery, 4 locomotives, 50 construction flat cars of 40 tons capacity and 50 ballast cars from the United States (Manila Daily Bulletin, November 3, 1907).

In order to be able to unload and care for the shipments upon their arrival and for all future orders, surveys were made for terminal grounds. These were found in Lapuz, La Paz across the City of Iloilo and along the pier in the City of Cebu. Temporary wharves and bodegas were constructed, and temporary tracks of light rails were laid to help in the storage and movements of the materials and tools.

By the early part of November 1906, the task of locating the lines where the railway will pass were partially done. The relevant maps and profiles of the final location of a 36-km. line from Iloilo City to Pototan and another 36-km. line from Cebu City to Danao had been filed with the Insular Government. On November 14, 1906, the American governor-general formally opened the construction of the Panay line in Iloilo, followed by that in Cebu on November 17 (Report of the Philippine Commission 1907).

In both Panay and Cebu, construction works involved not only the laying of the railroad tracks but also grading of the land and construction of the terminal building, bridges and culverts. The steel spans for bridges were fabricated in the U.S.

To provide for the operation of the lines whose construction was in full swing in mid-1907, orders were placed in the U.S. for 6 additional locomotives, 23 passenger coaches, and 80 freight cars. At this point, there were already in Panay and Cebu 7 locomotives and 100 freight cars (Manila Daily Bulletin November 3, 1907).

The locomotives were American in make and consisted of 50-ton for heavy construction work and ballasting, 30-ton and 35-ton for mixed train service. Generally, 70-pound steel rails, hardwood of the highest grade for ties and 6 inches of ballast were used. The passenger coaches had steel underframe and were equipped with complete air brakes and signals. The first-class and parlor coaches were finished in teak and the second class in sheated yellow pine (Report of the Philippine Commission 1909).

The railroad project in Negros, on the other hand, was postponed by the Americans to a later date because of the pre-occupation on Panay and Cebu. Unfortunately, the work on the Negros line never materialized.

On September 16, 1907, the Philippine Railway Co. opened the 36-km. line between Talisay and Danao in Cebu. In Panay, the first 36-km. line from Iloilo City to Pototan was opened some time in December 1907. The complete line to Capiz was not completed until June 1910 (Manila Daily Bulletin November 3, 1907).

Monday, July 5, 2010

PHIL-TRANS
~~ New Philippine Transportation News Site ~~




Check ot the PRHS Homepage for the new Phil-Trans page.

This will occasionally cover news and views on Philippine railway (and other) transportation and preservation in the Philippines.

Content mostly coming from what I used to place on the Yahoogroups - but now more widely available.



Photo: Rodney Orca, showing SSC members restoring the Abad Santos signalbox.

21082

Sunday, July 4, 2010


IS IT TIME TO SINK OR SWIM?


Everyone has their darkest days, a day they regret, a day they wish had never occured.

For me it was during February this year when a visit to Manila brought me to the immense reality that railway preservation in the Philippines, by the society I personally had started the ball rolling with (along with friends Bill ad Harvey), had greatly failed the people of the Philippines.

The endless need for ego massaging, to take hold control of all railfan societies based on the Philippines and to be alongside managers and other dignatories at railway events, mean't that the wholesale scrapping of important items went unnoticed.

Indeed, the soon to be proclaimed new president of the 'Railways and Industrial Heritage Society Phils. Inc.' was horrified to learn of what I had found, not least due to the destruction of a couple of his personal favourites.

The soon to be out-going president (officially, but not in reality), too busy massaging his own importance, has since brushed it off saying that they decided to keep whatever "THEY" could hope to restore in their lifetime, without thought to other peoples lifetimes.

You see, socities are mean't to be full of OTHER people. A society works together to achieve a common goal.

Socities, including railway socities, require the usual heirachy at the top, but when these people fail to treat their members and others with respect, they soon find people leaving for other goals. Not even the appointing of a puppet president will curb this downturn - people seeing straight through the bulldust into the reality of what is still going on.

Railway preservation in the Philippines has been failed - Totally Failed.

No amount of ego, smoke screens, mud slinging, lies, lies or other carrying on will ever change this.

The question being put to a meeting of the PRHS this Friday is:

"Is there any reason to continue reservation in the Philippines, should there be a new more considerate society and how can things be done differently?"

Three questions, but three very important questions needing a lot of discussions.

It all comes down to whether or not what little is left needs to be preserved and is there a new team out there who has the capability of doing it?

A answer of 'NO' would be regretable, but fully understandable, given the total disgrace that has spewed forth since 2007.

Philippine Railway Preservation

Time To Sink Or Swim!
20563

Saturday, July 3, 2010


~~ Indonesian Railway Preservation ~~

A true example of what 'could have been' had things in the Philippines been a different way.

A 'massive' group of 'friends' sharing a similar passion to preserve the history of their railways.
No bickering, no ladder climbing, no hatred, just a whole lot of good hearted and kind people sharing their passion together.

Onya guys - you have done amazing things already.



Wednesday, June 30, 2010

~~~ 2010 - A YEAR OF ACHIEVEMENTS ~~~


2010 has proven many a PNR sceptic wrong. Even I, just a few years ago, thought I was witnessing the end of a once grand system, a system that has deteriorated continually over a number of decades.

However the railway back then is a vastly different one to that which exists today as new projects and restoration work continues at a rapid pace.

The above shot was taken on both the first day of restoration of normal service to Sucat, as well as the reopening of the former down track allowing for a two track service again.
I was lucky enough (missed my plane back to Sydney) to ride in the cab of one of these first runs. Cab riding is often a fun experience, no matter what country yor in, but the stark difference around the Sucat area in less than 8 months had me more entertained than what the train was doing.

Only four months later we have these services extended to Alabang, a whole brand new station no less, we have trial runs to the rebuilt San Cristobal bridge, Calamba and, just a couple of days ago, the first train to run from Manila to Naga in nearly four years.
Truly cause for celebration - Great work PNR.

But it won't stop there.

New president depending, there is the full rebuild of the south to look forward to, along with its extension to Sorsogon. Then there is the occasionally talked about reopening of the Batangas, Sta Cruz and Panay railways.
This along with the Northrail project actually now quite a possibility, will make the next few years a very interesting period indeed.

We will be following it all here on the blog, the good and the bad.

MABUHAY

Thursday, June 10, 2010


~~ PRHS SHOPFRONT ~~

In Sydney's lovely downtown Narwee.

During June 2010 the PRHS will be setting up in a small section of the 'Manila Sunset Convenience Store' in Sydney (Australia).

MEMBERSHIPS - ALONG DA RILES - FUTURE PUBLICATIONS - SOUVENIERS

Donations are also expected to be taken for a brand new railway preservation society in the Philippines - a more progressive and friendly society to benefit all local and overseas railfans.
People interested in Philippine railways or transportation in general are welcome to drop by for a chat, but it is best to contact me first to make sure I will be there.

Hope to meet you there one day.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

~~ ESPANA STATION ~~
A couple of shots showing Espana station in 2010 following all the squatter clearing and Hanjin's railway restoration work.Bold



Friday, April 9, 2010

~~ ALONG DA RILES #5 ~~



iNSIDE ISSUE #5:

Operation Adobo - Part 1 of my trip report + Photos.
Northern Work Takes Off - Photography by Happosai
Sucat Reawakening - Arnold Feather
Fast Track News - PNR, LRT, Panay, Historical and Other
Report on PRHS planned changes for donations and support.
Report on possible expansion of magazine.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

~~ PHILIPPINE RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ~~

 RAILFAN DAY!


It has become quite the custom nowdays to have a big railfan gathering when I visit the beautiful Philippines. Not only does it give a chance to spend a day 'Along Da Riles', but even better, it allows me to again catch up with some of the best friends you could ever hope to know.
This day was no exception, while I again got to catch up with old friends, I made some terrific new ones, all of whom I look forward to seeing again the next time I return.

Below is a number of photos from the 'Combined Railfan Day', a full report on which (as well as the whole trip) starts in this months 'Along Da Riles' magazine.

The day starts early at Espana station. Jun Sanchez is the first to arrive and he is seen here talking to David Xuereb from Sydney.

One of the new DMUs stop at Espana on a service to Bicutan.

David has a good inspection of railfan favourite 902 at Tayuman shed.

5009 and 919 awaited outside the shed, the later having arrived from Binan in the morning.

A rare survivor during the recent scrappings is CMC-382, a carriage that is in surprisingly good condition for its class type. The yellow 'H' is just a Photoshop dream of mine that I hope comes true.

David has a look through 7A-2014.

A local shopper outside the former Tutuban station, now converted into a mall.


Railfans enjoying a ride to Blumentritt with the regular travellers.

A rather sad looking Abad Santos signalbox awaiting some TLC.
This has since become covered in election posters for the many different presidential hopefuls later in the year.

Inside Abad Santos and a lovely old frame is found to still exist.

Rodney catches me photographing the group :-)

Sollis Signalbox

Natural enemies meet at Triangulo.

A long wait before the first afternoon train would take us from Blumentritt to Paco to inspect the old Paco railway station. Probably worthwhile with a renewed push to sell the land and airspace around the failed Paco Mall project.

More photos from this and other days during February will be coming soon.

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Sunday, March 28, 2010

~~ MARCH PRHS DISPLAY ~~~





Had another display at a recent party, mostly to promote our upcoming change in charter from helping the local Manila railway society, to a charity solely for helping poor children in Manila.
Sadly, as we were unable to take donations on the night as we are mid way through the work needed to officially make the change, however the support from people, for what we propose, was very heartwarming and it looks very promising.
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