PLARIDEL - PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY

December 5th 2019

  Earlier this year I was privileged to gain permission to access all railway locations on the south line of the Philippines to photograph them for historical purposes.  The future of the main south is unclear, with massive changes coming through the President's 'Build Build Build' program. Part of this includes a new electrified railway to Bicol, totally grade separated from roads and with far less curvature.  It has been said that the narrow gauge system will be retained for freight usage. However, only time will tell if this will be the case. The country does badly need it's rail freight back, while it would make sense to have it separated from the new, higher speed, standard gauge system.
  I, for one, look forward to seeing all this unfold.

PLARIDEL - Photographic Survey

New Videos From The

Semi Retired Foamer

A random selection of new videos for your viewing displeasure.

Mascot Level Crossing
A chance encounter with a train near midnight.
In coming months this crossing will be replaced by a new road
underbridge and will be closed.

Late 80s view of  a  lovely sounding ALCo 44 class passing Demondrille
signalbox on an up wheat train.
Riverina region of New South Wales.

MRT3 at Mandaluyong (near Boni station).

A short ride on the MRT3 from Boni to Ortigas.
Enjoy the video that has caused offence to one person who believes people should not be in railway videos. No easy task in Manila.
Videos that cause offence - Those are my favourite kind.

Tutuban Station in Manila.
If you love GE locomotives, you will love this (maybe).
Actually, odds are something may offend you, maybe the leaves are too green, or the sounds too great. Who knows what offends people in 2019.

Enjoy.......or not, it is your choice. :-)

Still handing out the last of my latest 'Along Da Riles' magazine.
Plans are afoot for another that will be very much railway modelling based as a bit of a test for such a type of magazine in the Philippines.
This magazine was printed in Australia and handed out for free in the Philippines to help promote the hobby there.

Philippine Railway Historical Society

PRHS Blog

Philippine Railway Historical Society

20th Anniversary 
 

  To celebrate our 20th anniversary of our sister group, the Semi Retired Foamer published a special anniversary magazine for railway management and railfans in the Philippines.
  I have been in Manila and busy handing it out to both.
  Twenty years of being part of this wonderful country. It has had it's ups and downs, but has always been an oasis away from the stupidity of the hobby back in Australia.
  I thank everyone here for welcoming me. There will be a series of videos coming in 2019 on our YouTube channel.

  Below are just some of the people I was lucky to catch up with on the recent visit. Some old friends of many years, many meeting for the first time. It was certainly an interesting trip and made the 20th anniversary the best year yet.

Happy 20th Anniversary PRHS and Happy New Year.

Meeting with PNR GM Sir Junn Magno

Tutuban HQ, Manila

Finally times a visit with that of Graham Corry from the UK.
Think we could have had a 24 hour marathon chatting seesion :-)

Romy (PNR Naga, Bicol Region)

Eng Regulto, a very long term employee of the PNR.

Atty Lauta who helped make my official visits possible.

JC Anthony

Philippines 2018

Tutuban / Tayuman Yard

A hive of delicious GE action.

Philippine National Railways

903
Tayuman/Tutuban Locoshed 1999
U15C (Despite what Wikipedia says :-) )
GE 39240 of 1973
1999

By 2004 she was being stripped in Caloocan Workshops.
She had disappeared by 2007.

CALOOCAN WORKSHOPS

PHILIPPINES

A very rough look at these amazing workshops through the camerawork of a very disinterested son. 

TUTUBAN YARD - APRIL 2018

With some massive changes planned for the railways of the Philippines, I set about covering a lot of the current scene around Manila.

 Thank you to the 'Philippine National Railways' for their help in granting permission to get a historical record for the future.

  A lot more to come as we visit more yards and depots, long closed historic stations and a few old signalboxes.

Stay tuned

UNLOADING DMR-03

I was very lucky to have been invited by the 'Philippine National Railways' to attend the unloading of the, then new, ROTEM railcars at Manila Port.
The following shots show DMR-03 coming off the ship, prior to another torrential downpour.
Thanks to everyone at PNR for making this possible.

Philippine Railway Historical Society

Formed in 1999.
Facebook Forum

PHILIPPINE RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The sister group to this one, looking at the railway (and other) hobby in the Philippines.
There are still railways in the Philipines and expansion seems likely.
Railfanning there is not the fun experience it once was, the growing numbers of security guard, and paranoia, has made it a little bit harder to conduct our pastime.
However, at least they are paid minions, unlike the self-appointed railfan nazis we ut up within Australia.
Better still, most seem horrified by the prospect of telling a foreigner what to do.

If bored, come and look at our PRHS blog, you may find yourself enticed enough to go argue with moronic security guard as a change from moronic foamers, and the groups about them. Hiya Greg.

PHRS Blogsite

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL RAILWAYS

ROLLINGSTOCK UPDATE

2004-2016

  For anyone interested in rollingstock overseas, I have completed a new Philippine National Railways rollingstock update as of April 2016.

Loco Hauled Stock 

DMU

EMU

Freight and Perway

Rollingstock Numbers Back To 2004.

23 pages - pdf file.

                           PHILIPPINE NATIONAL RAILWAYS ROLLINGSTOCK

Campsie

Bondi Junction

Carlingford

Vale Karabee - In her final years as a floating resteraunt.

Narrabeen

And in closing we have a delicious Philippine treat, the last MC known to be in existence.

Hello and welcome back to the latest mixed selection from the bowels of my photographic archives - celebrating what is now 37 years of foaming around Australia, along with Fiji and the Philippines.

A more recent shot, taken in 2009, shows FCD-8, the caboose used for clearance duties around Manila (Philippines).

Removing squatters, or the more politically correct 'Informal Settlers', can be a hard task, with many really not wishing to leave their illegal abodes. Thus the railway police are always close at hand to utilize their trungeons, or at least accept a bribe.

Bless those beautiful 10 Class, with priority given to SMR22.

Here be two more shots, recently found, of the final weeks

of the Richmond Vale Railway.

Here SMR22 is seen shunting the Hexham washery after

returning from her one mine run of the day.

Not long after this all railway staff were given the royal rogering and sent on their way. Despite tourist railway plans, the railway lays abandoned 20 years later and the one busy Stockrington yard now just a field of grass that

gives little indication of its past.

Today SMR22 rests out of use at the 'Richmond Vale Railway Museum' with Buckleys chance of ever seeing steam again.

Another of those kettle things, 5112 (often refered to as Ben Chifley's loco) is seen behind ALCo 4484 back in the 80s.

The location is Bathust, the loco now being under restoration and either far from, or closed to finish, depending which railfan gossip you choose to believe.

And finally, the last day of operations to Toronto, strangely enough

utilising a less common, for this branch, 660/760 set.

It was still quite early in the day and the ever growing crowds had yet to form in numbers that would have seen the line still open. It was a fun, albeit sad occasion, being part of rail history, but also witnessing the end of

something you had spent so many years around.

We all enjoyed it our own way, one guy climbing on the front to stop it leaving and others continually hitting the emergency stop along

the final trip to Fassifern.

The night ended with a four gun urine salute as the train returned to Broadmeadow to stable.

Ahhhhh those were the days!

Howdee and welcome back to another random selection of old photos, guaranteed to bring on more foam than a buggared clothes washing machine.

Last thing we expected to see at Stirling North while awaiting a

Leigh Creek coalie was this ol clapper.

Not only did it make for an interesting shot, it briefly took our minds of Steve Millers endless whinging!

February 2010, yup only two months ago, and I am seen here with fellow Aussie MrX and a number of local Manila railfans. Location is Paco station.

Isabel and Jollivee at Evers Commonwealth shopping centre.

Quezon City - Philippines

The 1990s saw me involved with the, then, 'Eastern Suburbs Light Rail Association' that were based at Kensington. The group promoted the idea of light rail around, not surprisingly, the Eastern Suburbs area.

Sadly, despite much effort, including marches (above), to date there has been no further development in this direction and I think the group has since dispersed.

Newest railcars of the Philippine National Railways seen here at Tutuban station.

No idea what this was for, why it was in Sydney streets, or why I even decided to take a photo of it. Twas in the 90s though.

A more recent interest has been aircraft, especially larger commercial aviation

Certainly the hornbag of commercial aviation today would still have to be the Boeing 747. Still an awesome looking plane, even when compared to the impressive, but far from attractive, A380.

Be back again shortly with another steaming selection!

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