P a c i f i c

South Pacific

Passenger train of Nouvelle Caledonie with a Corpet & Louvet engine from 1903 or 1905, departure at Noumea for La Dumbia c.1930 (coll. Charles S.Small)

Locomotive 6-015 of Sabah State Railway (Major Bagnall)

The Pacific was crossed mainly by the steamers of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company of the American railway tycoon Harriman, competitor Hill's Great Northern Steamship Company in connection with the Nihon Yusen Kaisha from Japan, as well as other Japanese and American companies.

There were Cape gauge boat trains Tokyo - Yokohama and Kyoto - Kobe, which disappeared from the timetables during WWII not before 1944. An old photograph had shown such a train Tokyo - Yokohama port with an 8620 class 2-6-0 type locomotive. The sleeping, saloon and observation cars of pre-war Limited Expresses then appeared on U.S. military trains in Japan. The epoch of the Pacific steamers already had gone, when in 1964 the first standard gauge high-speed Shinkansen line was inaugurated - see chapter Trans-Siberian/ Japan.

The Imperial powers before WWII of course had their own shipping lines for their colonies in the Pacific region. French passengers used special coaches attached to regular trains Paris - Marseille, then steamers of the Messageries Maritimes, and in Noumea, Nouvelle Caledonie, they could take a meter gauge train to La Dumbia and Paita. The line was built in 1915, but closed down in the time of WWII.

England had started a meter gauge line at the harbor Weston on North Borneo island in 1898. Even at the beginning of the 21st century nice 2-6-2 locomotives, delivered by Vulcan Foundry in 1956, steamed on that Sabah State Railway. Small diesels still haul passenger trains from Kota Kinabalu to Tenom through the picturesque Padas gorge.

The Philippines were served mainly by the Compania Trasatlantica from Barcelona. Starting from Manila, a Cape gauge network (Manila Railroad, later Philippine National Railways) covered Luzon island, connected with other island railways by ferry services. The no.1/ 2 Penafranca Express Manila - Naga, including "Deluxe" sleepers and showing some Shinkansen styling, disappeared in the nineties. Slower diesel-hauled trains continued the service on that last passenger line of the Philippines.

Other island railways in the Pacific area always had local importance only, with the exception of Oahu, a Hawaii island, since 1898 belonging to the USA. Railway historian Arthur D. Dubin collected the passenger list of a "Boat Train" Chicago - San Francisco from 1935 with four sleeping-cars, connecting with the steamer "Lurline" for Hawaii. On Oahu island the passengers could take the 3ft gauge railway, started in 1889, which used steam locomotives from Alco, Baldwin and Shay. From the twenties in addition to the normal trains a 1st class "Limited" carrying tourists every Sunday from Honolulu to Waialua and back is reported. On July 12, 1941 the attack on Pearl Harbor stopped Pacific shipping. And in 1947 passenger train services on Oahu island ended.

"De Luxe" and other coaches of Philippine National Railways at Manila, October 1977 (William Pearce)

Sugar train on Fiji islands (postcard sent by Dr. Fritz Stoeckl)

Pacific / small picture: The Honolulu Limited, Oahu Railway, Waialua c.1925 (contemporary press)