Fiji Sugarcane Railways.

Ahhhhhhh 2fts. A guaranteed throsby for even the most one eyed mainline railway fan.

But for something a lot different, rack off from Australia and head towards the beautiful country of Fiji. Once you get past the initial suspisions and realise that their friendliness in genuine (unlike those attitudes left at home) you will find a railway adverture far removed from what your used to.

Hope a cab for a ride through some of the best scenery you will ever see. Be prepared to share the kava (best described as a muddy, peppery type drink that renders your lips numb) with the crew.

Four mills remain operational in Fiji, Lautoka (the largest and most extensive system), Rarawai (Ba), Penang(Rakiraki, the smallest mill with a most interesting fleet) and Labasa.

Whole stick trucks, portable tracks, cattle pulling trucks, hand cutting, its what the Australian cane system was decades ago.

Step back in time, head to Fiji and leave the miserable dribbly foamer culture behind.

The Semi-Retired Foamer's Sordid Night Life!

I suppose many a good foamer is probably confused by the soft cuddly creatures appearing on this page of the 'Semi-Retired Foamers' Blog.
These fine things are called woman, also known as females, ladies or even Philippines hornbags.
Try as we may to replace woman with trains, it is still not quite the same. Sure an engine room can be warm and sweaty, however soft and cuddly they aren't.






Now I don't wish to create panic amongst the gunzel masses. With care, and constant ranting about 7SP3 one can be free from these scary creatures.

Alas some of us have already been trapped into the magic world of the woman. Some of us just accept our new fate, while some turn to lovely rum type beverages as demonstrated at left by the Colonel.

How do we escape their grasps? How do we return to a life of lineside railway erotica? How can we ever regain that magical botty tingling feeling of seeing a NR class scream by yet another rake of containers.
Oh where is our freedom to be back in the days when there was no real point to ones existence.



Perhaps none of us really belong there. Perhaps we all should be captured into the female trap and start breeding. Breeding our brains out.

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Stay tuned for the next episode where we discuss the two railfans, a night at Parkes and the missing potato.

Philippine National Railways!

As railway interest deteriorates around Australia one has been forced to look elsewhere for more interesting topics in which to photograph.

You really need go little further than asia to find railways like we once had here. Staff that don't treat you like freaks, locals who are friendly in nature, yards free to entry without some psycho power hungry security guard approaching you ranting and raving.

The Philippines is but one great example.

The Philippine National Railways has certainly been down on its luck for years, but this only added to its charm. Surprisingly this charm has lead to a rather devoted band of followers (see PhilippineRailways Yahoogroup) who like nothing more than to research and ride what is left.

Alas like railfans of Australia, there are some unstable units going around, but thankfully these people remain in the minority and easily avoided so far away :-)

Alas time is catching up to the PNR. Rebuilt lines, refurbished stations and brand new DMUs all seem to be the recipie for the next couple of years. While such change is needed, it will certainly send shots like 919 arriving at Tayuman straight into the pages of history.

For any railfan wanting something different and exciting, hed on over to asia and leave the bollocks behind........