The rail thing

The stoker throws logs into an already roaring fire, the engineer toots the whistle and then, in a cloud of steam and smoke, locomotive No 6-016 chuffs out into a sun-dappled Borneo morning, bringing back to life a part of the Malaysian state of Sabah's colonial past. Behind the engine are five carriages and a kitchen car, all painted in the green and cream livery of the old North Borneo Railway.

The service is operated by the Sutera Harbour Resort, although non-guests are welcome, and runs between Tanjung Aru, just to the west of state capital Kota Kinabalu, and Papar, 38 kilometres to the south.

At Tanjung Aru station, passengers are greeted by staff wearing khakis, pith helmets and starched white shirts. But it's only the shirts that are starchy; the people wearing them are full of smiles and will cheerfully pose for photographs. They are also very well informed and happy to answer questions about the service and the train.

now refers to the Sutera Harbour steam service, which runs twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but, in colonial times, it was the name of the larger rail system, which is now known as the Sabah State Railway (SSR). Perhaps "system" is the wrong word, though, since the SSR encompasses just one, 134-kilometre line, which runs from Tanjung Aru through 12 stations, including Papar, to Tenom, one of the oldest Chinese settlements in Sabah (a significant number of its 55,000-strong population are descended from Hakka immigrants from Longchuan, Guangdong province).

Construction of a one-metre gauge line that ran from Beaufort (which is located at about the mid-point of today's SSR line) to the port at Weston began in 1896. It was built by the British North Borneo Company to transport tobacco to the coast and closed in 1963. In 1903, the existing line was built. From Beaufort it ran north along the coast to Jesselton, modern day Kota Kinabalu, and, in 1905, was extended south, to Tenom.

Jesselton station closed in 1974, leaving Tanjung Aru at the head of the line.