North Borneo Railway 2-6-2 Locomotives in North_Borneo

Class 6-015 (Locobase 5033)

According to the website [], this railway was built beginning in 1894. Originally intended to supply the port of Weston from plantations, the builder discovered Weston's harbor was too shallow for deep-draft ships. later construction extended from Beaufort to Tenom and Melalap in one direction and to Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) in the other.

Collapsing markets in the Great Depression of the 1930s and Japanese occupation in the 1940s inflicted severe financial and physical damage to the railway. After World War II, the private owners surrendered their ownership to the Crown.

All through this time and beyond, the railway served a wide area with engines such as this small wood-burning Prairie. Although a wheel arrangement not originally designed for mixed traffic, the design represented the best of British export practice at the very end of steam. In fact, they were the last steam locomotives built by Vulcan.

After serving the North Borneo Railway, one survivor passed to the Sabah State Railway in the 1970s and soon retired.

In 2000, the engine was restored to service for tourist operations.