Transport of a steam train by Yew Choon
The Singapore Tourism Board is organising a temporary exhibition with theme "Once upon a time on the Orient Express", after the famous "Orient Express" train connection that was driving in the past mainly between Paris (FR) and Konstantinopel (TR) (today known as Istanbul). As part of the collection for the exhibition are a steam locomotive (incl. tender) and two carriages brought from France to Singapore. In Singapore was the transport over land and the installation of the train done by Yew Choon from Singapore. On December 1, 2020 was the complete train driven in convoi from the port to the famous park "Gardens by the Bay".
The first combination is bringing the well wrapped locomotive with a mass of 53.5 tonnes. The combination is parked here on a parking to make space for the other combinations.
The loc is loaded on a 6-axle Goldhofer modular trailer, pulled by a MAN TGX 41.680. Yew Choon is operating two of them.
Also two carriages are brought to Singapore and will be converted to restaurant (with Michellin Star cook!). The first carriage is transported on a 3+6 Goldhofer modular trailer, pulled by a Scania R 620, Yew Choon is also operating two of them. This carriage has a mass of 40.5 tonnes and is 20.8 meters long.
The second Scania R 620 is driving with the tender on a 6-axle Goldhofer modular trailer. The tender is a car that is coupled directly behind the locomotive to transport additional water and coal. The tender has a mass of 25 tonnes.
The second MAN TGX 41.680 was driving the heaviest carriage with a 53 tonne mass on a 6+6 Goldhofer modular trailer. The combination is here passing by the famous hotel "Marina Bay Sands" during the combination is reversing over a small foot path to the destination.
Almost reached on the final destination, now must be reversed in the darkness.
Yew Choon is deploying here modular trailers with a rail installed on top of them. Yew Choon is transporting often rail vehicles (mainly MRT carriages) and is very well experienced in the loading, transporting and unloading of rail vehicles.
Both combinations with carriages are temporary parked on an empty grassland and will be unloaded the next day by two 180-tonne cranes. The locomotive and tender are parked on the public parking and will be unloaded by a differnt method.
Unfortunatelly the unloading of the carriages couldn't be followed, but the unloading of the locomotive and tender luckily I could. In the morning are both combinations waiting in front of the large hotel.
In the background the "Singapore Flyer", on of the largest ferris wheels in the world with a total height of 165 meters.
From this angle we can see some trees from the "Supertree Grove", multiple trees made out of concrete and steel where some of them are more then 50 meters tall.
The carriages are approx. 150 years old and moved into the tent to avoid damage (by humidity). These carriages have orginally driven for the Orient Express, but the locomotive and the tender not. The locomotive and tender will be positioned in front of the tent on a rail section. The Orient Express also had multiple film roles, it can be seen in the James Bond movie "From Russia with Love" and the more recent movie "Murder on the Orient Express".
For the unloading from the trailer onto the short rail section is done without a crane. Yew Choon is building here with their MAN TGX 35.400 with Fassi F1100XP lorry crane a 3-part ramp in front of the rail.
Once the ramp is finished is at first the tender brought to the front.
The trailer must be parked exactly in line with the ramp.
The trailer is hydraulically brought in the same slope as the ramp. A 7-tonne winch that is installed on the ballst box of the Scania, is attached to the tender and tensioned. First then are the chains to secure the tender during the transport removed.
Slowly and carefully is winched down, the tender is rolling down onto the ramp.
That goes quite smooth and fast!
Then also the locomotive can be driven to the front, the locomotive 130 B 348 is 10.15 meters long, 2.89 meters wide and 4.2 meters high. The loc weights around 53.5 tonnes and its year of manufacture is 1862.
The trailer is quickly driven in front of the ramp and brought into the correct slope.
Because the MAN doesn't have a winch is the Scania used again.
Also the locomotive is quickly set on the rails by the professionals from Yew Choon.
In approx. 5 hours are both the tender and the locomotive installed on the rails and the transport wrapping could be removed. A very interessing job by Yew Choon! The exhibition on the Orient Express opened on December 12, 2020 and will be open for approx 6 months.