Steam trains after typhoon

In your recent post you discuss the temporary railway used for the Praya East reclamation project and ask if any photographs of the  locomotives used might exist.

Jeff Lanham, a former  HK resident and I discussed this  some years ago. Jeff has now retired and lives in France.

Jeff, while in HK,  was well known locally for his research into the former Fanling-Shataukok narrow gauge railway and once gave a well-attended talk about this to the RAS. He was honoured, as well as somewhat shocked when the then Governor's wife, Lady Pamela Youde turned up unexpectedly to hear the talk.

We didn't come up with much in our search for pictures of the reclamation works. This small picture, which was in a private collection, was published in the SCMP in 1986 and was captioned as railway destruction in aftermath of a big typhoon which hit HK in 1923. Jeff suggested this was the E.Praya reclamation and I agreed. You would probably know better whether the contour of the hills in the background confirm this identification as correct.

Jeff identified two of the locomotives in this pictures as American-made by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and I have found four appropriate engines ( for this track gauge and the date) on a locomotive list prepared by a Japanese friend of mine:

(2 locos) 914 Bt 1921 Davenport 1894-1895 For Dodwell & Co., Ltd.
(2 locos) 914 Bt 1922 Davenport 1896-1897 For Dodwell & Co., Ltd.

Regards, Peter