Java 2017 Sugar Mill Tour
Deposits
A deposit of £415 (approximately $600) secures your place on this tour. Your deposit is fully refundable until the tour has 6 full participants signed up and the tour is declared go or 30 May whichever comes later.
In the event that we do not have 6 people signed up by 30 May, a decision will be taken as to whether to run a 'small group tour' or whether to cancel the tour. Because our tour guides have set aside time to guide this tour, if the tour is cancelled they will lose work and income for that period. For that reason, they will be keen to operate this tour even with a small group. A small group implies that there may also be cost-saving measures required or a tour price surcharge. However, the tour will essentially still operate to the itinerary as planned. Three to four people signed up for the complete tour are normally required to operate a 'small group tour'. In the event that I have to cancel the tour due to insufficient participants, your deposit will be fully refundable.
Once the tour is declared go, you deposit is partially refundable. The level of the refund will depend on the amount of time and expense already incurred on your behalf.
If you cancel 30 days or less before the tour starts, your withdrawal would have a major effect on tour economics and your deposit is not refundable.
In the very unlikely event that I need to cancel the tour for whatever reason after declaring it 'go', the limit of my liability will be the full refund of any monies paid to me by those who have signed up for the tour. I would only take this drastic step in the most extreme circumstances after exploring all of the less drastic alternatives.
A deposit of £415 (approximately $600) secures your place on this tour. Your deposit is fully refundable until the tour has 6 full participants signed up and the tour is declared go or 30 May whichever comes later.
In the event that we do not have 6 people signed up by 30 May, a decision will be taken as to whether to run a 'small group tour' or whether to cancel the tour. Because our tour guides have set aside time to guide this tour, if the tour is cancelled they will lose work and income for that period. For that reason, they will be keen to operate this tour even with a small group. A small group implies that there may also be cost-saving measures required or a tour price surcharge. However, the tour will essentially still operate to the itinerary as planned. Three to four people signed up for the complete tour are normally required to operate a 'small group tour'. In the event that I have to cancel the tour due to insufficient participants, your deposit will be fully refundable.
Once the tour is declared go, you deposit is partially refundable. The level of the refund will depend on the amount of time and expense already incurred on your behalf.
If you cancel 30 days or less before the tour starts, your withdrawal would have a major effect on tour economics and your deposit is not refundable.
In the very unlikely event that I need to cancel the tour for whatever reason after declaring it 'go', the limit of my liability will be the full refund of any monies paid to me by those who have signed up for the tour. I would only take this drastic step in the most extreme circumstances after exploring all of the less drastic alternatives.
Introduction & Tour Pricing
This tour should appeal to industrial and narrow gauge rail enthusiasts who are not just interested in steam locomotives. It visits sugar mills in the East of Java which offer real working steam, diesel field and yard operations, steam charters and stationary steam engines. A total of 22 mills will be visited with permission arranged for and paid by our guides. It starts and end in Surabaya (which is much more manageable as an airport and a city than Jakarta) and involves limited road travel – the one long distance journey is by daytime train. Surabaya can be reached from Jakarta, Denpasar Bali, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Perth & Melbourne (among other airports).
On this tour, Agus (based in Yogyakarta) will be our driver/guide from Surabaya to Yogyakarta 4 August – 11 August and Combo (based in Situbondo) will be our guide from Probolinggo to Surabaya 11 August until 23 August. I worked with both guides in 2015 and they do a good job.
The provisional price for this 20 day tour (ground arrangements only - 6 August – 25 August) is US$3050 (currently £2,100, €2,790). Our guides have requested pricing and payment in US dollars so that will be the currency used for all tour pricing and accounting.
The tour needs a minimum of 6 people (including me) to operate and will be limited to 12 people maximum.
You can secure a place on this tour with a refundable deposit of £415 (roughly $600).
The price includes land arrangements for 20 days with:
single room, en suite, air conditioning
breakfasts unless noted
permission to visit each mill once
guide, driver and private transport (minibus)
water during the day (hotels normally provide free bottled water in the room but extra will be available on the bus)
the services of an English tour leader who will normally be able to arrange lunch and dinner in the evening
but does not include:
all lunches and dinners
all charters (except Olean and one Semboro charter)
possible charges if we revisit a mill or if mill management decide to charge us extra to see the stationary engines in the mill (we avoided both extra charges in 2015)
Notes:
All mill permissions are included in the tour price but all charters except Olean and the first Semboro charter will at extra charge. Those signed up will be consulted about which charters to sign up for once the charter price (and the per person price) is known. Based on last year – if we have 8 people – the average cost will be US$27 (currently £20, €24) per person per charter. The additional cost of all the proposed charters not included in the tour price (with 6 steam charters and 1 possible railbus charter) could be US$190 (currently £140, €168).
Should we visit a sugar mill compound twice or if we want to wander into the milling area to see the stationary steam locos, the mill management may decide to charge us extra for this but these potential extra charges were avoided on our 2015 tour and are unlikely to add to the additional costs of the tour.
Participation in part of the tour is possible (ideally 4 – 11 August or 11 – 23 August). Prices for part tours are available on request.
Our guides may ask us to remit some money before the start of the trip to their bank accounts. Otherwise, the balance of the tour price can be paid in US dollars at the start of the tour.
This tour should appeal to industrial and narrow gauge rail enthusiasts who are not just interested in steam locomotives. It visits sugar mills in the East of Java which offer real working steam, diesel field and yard operations, steam charters and stationary steam engines. A total of 22 mills will be visited with permission arranged for and paid by our guides. It starts and end in Surabaya (which is much more manageable as an airport and a city than Jakarta) and involves limited road travel – the one long distance journey is by daytime train. Surabaya can be reached from Jakarta, Denpasar Bali, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Perth & Melbourne (among other airports).
On this tour, Agus (based in Yogyakarta) will be our driver/guide from Surabaya to Yogyakarta 4 August – 11 August and Combo (based in Situbondo) will be our guide from Probolinggo to Surabaya 11 August until 23 August. I worked with both guides in 2015 and they do a good job.
The provisional price for this 20 day tour (ground arrangements only - 6 August – 25 August) is US$3050 (currently £2,100, €2,790). Our guides have requested pricing and payment in US dollars so that will be the currency used for all tour pricing and accounting.
The tour needs a minimum of 6 people (including me) to operate and will be limited to 12 people maximum.
You can secure a place on this tour with a refundable deposit of £415 (roughly $600).
The price includes land arrangements for 20 days with:
single room, en suite, air conditioning
breakfasts unless noted
permission to visit each mill once
guide, driver and private transport (minibus)
water during the day (hotels normally provide free bottled water in the room but extra will be available on the bus)
the services of an English tour leader who will normally be able to arrange lunch and dinner in the evening
but does not include:
all lunches and dinners
all charters (except Olean and one Semboro charter)
possible charges if we revisit a mill or if mill management decide to charge us extra to see the stationary engines in the mill (we avoided both extra charges in 2015)
Notes:
All mill permissions are included in the tour price but all charters except Olean and the first Semboro charter will at extra charge. Those signed up will be consulted about which charters to sign up for once the charter price (and the per person price) is known. Based on last year – if we have 8 people – the average cost will be US$27 (currently £20, €24) per person per charter. The additional cost of all the proposed charters not included in the tour price (with 6 steam charters and 1 possible railbus charter) could be US$190 (currently £140, €168).
Should we visit a sugar mill compound twice or if we want to wander into the milling area to see the stationary steam locos, the mill management may decide to charge us extra for this but these potential extra charges were avoided on our 2015 tour and are unlikely to add to the additional costs of the tour.
Participation in part of the tour is possible (ideally 4 – 11 August or 11 – 23 August). Prices for part tours are available on request.
Our guides may ask us to remit some money before the start of the trip to their bank accounts. Otherwise, the balance of the tour price can be paid in US dollars at the start of the tour.
The links below are to Flickr Albums of Photos from the August 2015 Tour. I hope these will give an idea of the photo and video potential of this trip. I have only included mills the 2016 tour will revisit
Java August 2015 Tour Conclusions & a look forward to 2016
This conclusion presents a positive view on the 2015 tour and the future although the loss of much real working steam this year means that this isn't easy for me. However, I'm ready to go back to Java again and I believe that the positives still outweigh the negatives.
Mills with working steam locos - we were hoping for 9 mills but shortly after our arrival in Indonesia, it became clear that this had reduced to only 4. We managed steam at all of the mills we planned but 4 were charters and at Tasikmadu, we saw only the two steam tourist trains working. At Olean and Pangka, we were able to put the clock back and see the steam locos operating as they had in 2014 and earlier. At Sragi and Sumberharjo the options were more limited and we could only recreate a pale version of what it used to be. I would not expect to visit Sragi, Sumberharjo or Pangka again and Tasikmadu is marginal unless you visit for Independence Day.
Stationary steam - in the main, the large engines in the mill train survive but the smaller steam pumps are tending to be replaced by electric motors. However, there is still a lot left to see and just walking around inside a mill is a very moving experience. This is definitely a highlight for many visitors. Despite the indication that mills in the PTPN XI group would like to charge visitors to see the railways and the mills as two separate items, we paid just to see the railways and all those who wanted to see inside the mill at any mill were able to do so without additional payment.
Beer - we had beer available at all hotels except Bandungan above Ambarawa. Here, we found beer in a local restaurant in the market area. We had beer at three lunches during the trip. Although 2 of these lunches were hotel restaurants, the third was at the RM Malang restaurant in Situbondo. Beer is no longer available in convenience stores or in any of the supermarkets we shopped in. If you are happy to pay a hotel price to drink beer (around £2.50 for a large bottle in 2015) with dinner, you would be happy enough with the situation.
Statistics - we saw 16 locos in steam (some of the group joined an Ambarawa charter to take their total to 17). This was at 10 locations. We had steam locos in action at the 9 steam mills we planned to visit to see real, working steam although 4 of these were charters. We visited 5 of the 6 mills known to have diesel field work and a total of 18 sugar mills in all. Of the steam locos we saw in steam, 5 of these were fireless locos.
PTKA - the modern version of the state railway - tickets can now be booked online and collected from any station with a booking code. Trains offer a more comfortable way to cover the longer distances. These trains also provide something to look out for while visiting mills, or travelling between hotels.
The people remain as friendly as ever and we did not encounter any worrying situations during the trip. The sub-group who included Borobodur in their side trip found the pedlars and hawkers at the major tourist site unpleasant (although the site is still wonderful) but this was not the case on the main tour which avoided general tourist sites.
This conclusion presents a positive view on the 2015 tour and the future although the loss of much real working steam this year means that this isn't easy for me. However, I'm ready to go back to Java again and I believe that the positives still outweigh the negatives.
Mills with working steam locos - we were hoping for 9 mills but shortly after our arrival in Indonesia, it became clear that this had reduced to only 4. We managed steam at all of the mills we planned but 4 were charters and at Tasikmadu, we saw only the two steam tourist trains working. At Olean and Pangka, we were able to put the clock back and see the steam locos operating as they had in 2014 and earlier. At Sragi and Sumberharjo the options were more limited and we could only recreate a pale version of what it used to be. I would not expect to visit Sragi, Sumberharjo or Pangka again and Tasikmadu is marginal unless you visit for Independence Day.
Stationary steam - in the main, the large engines in the mill train survive but the smaller steam pumps are tending to be replaced by electric motors. However, there is still a lot left to see and just walking around inside a mill is a very moving experience. This is definitely a highlight for many visitors. Despite the indication that mills in the PTPN XI group would like to charge visitors to see the railways and the mills as two separate items, we paid just to see the railways and all those who wanted to see inside the mill at any mill were able to do so without additional payment.
Beer - we had beer available at all hotels except Bandungan above Ambarawa. Here, we found beer in a local restaurant in the market area. We had beer at three lunches during the trip. Although 2 of these lunches were hotel restaurants, the third was at the RM Malang restaurant in Situbondo. Beer is no longer available in convenience stores or in any of the supermarkets we shopped in. If you are happy to pay a hotel price to drink beer (around £2.50 for a large bottle in 2015) with dinner, you would be happy enough with the situation.
Statistics - we saw 16 locos in steam (some of the group joined an Ambarawa charter to take their total to 17). This was at 10 locations. We had steam locos in action at the 9 steam mills we planned to visit to see real, working steam although 4 of these were charters. We visited 5 of the 6 mills known to have diesel field work and a total of 18 sugar mills in all. Of the steam locos we saw in steam, 5 of these were fireless locos.
PTKA - the modern version of the state railway - tickets can now be booked online and collected from any station with a booking code. Trains offer a more comfortable way to cover the longer distances. These trains also provide something to look out for while visiting mills, or travelling between hotels.
The people remain as friendly as ever and we did not encounter any worrying situations during the trip. The sub-group who included Borobodur in their side trip found the pedlars and hawkers at the major tourist site unpleasant (although the site is still wonderful) but this was not the case on the main tour which avoided general tourist sites.
Steam Charters 2015 and predictions for 2016
Steam charters should be possible at the following mills. If we have them, there will be an extra charge which probably will be in addition to the basic tour price. Those mills are Olean, Semboro, Rejosari, Sudhono and Tasik Madu.
Olean - assuming steam not doing field work and a steam loco available - steam to take empties to the fields in the morning and bring in full in the afternoon
Semboro - two locos available (we could push the boat out and have both) - last active Mallet and last steam loco supplied to a sugar mill in Java (along with a sister at Jatiroto). The fields are extensive and justify an extra day using both steam locos to explore the field lines.
Rejosari, They have several stored steam and at least one - the jackshaft drive O&K loco Salak can be steamed. However, there is very little track on which it can operate (say 50 yards). An interesting loco but with nothing to do and no space to do it in.
Sudhono - the one steamable loco has quite a lot of track it can run over but it will be difficult to find anything 'realistic' for it to do apart from pulling empties from the mill to the new truck yard and pushing full loads towards the mill.
Tasik Madu - if we want to see big VI 0-10-0 in action, we probably need to charter it. We could charter it to be part of the Independence Day parade - which is something it has done in the past but not in 2015.
The tour price will include single rooms, breakfasts (which should be included with the price of the hotel rooms - they were in 2015), all group transport for the duration of the tour, permission to visit sugar mills and photograph or video their railways, the services of the English tour leader and the Indonesian tour guide and bus driver
Not included are your transport and other arrangements before and after the tour which is ground-arrangements only, lunch, dinner and any other food and incidentals, mill visit charges if we need to visit a mill more than once and are charged again for the second or subsequent visit and entry into the mill itself should management insist on an extra payment for this (neither of these happened in 2015), any steam or other charters which will be decided by group majority decision either before the start of the tour or during the tour.
In 2015, steam charters cost between Rp 2.5 million and Rp 3.2 million (depending on the mill and the loco chartered) which was affordable when split between a group of 6 or more. Charters seem inevitably to involve tips for the loco crews and security officials that are not asked for if we visit to see real working steam and diesels. These extra costs will also have to be borne by the group.
My own preference would be to limit charters to Olean (steam loco to take empties to the field in the morning and bring back fulls in the afternoon), Semboro (steam or diesel charter to find the real field trains) and Jatiroto (railcar or diesel charter to find the real field trains). However, charters may also be possible at Rejosari, Sudhono and Tasik Madu should the majority of the group request this.
All potential steam charters mentioned above were possible in 2015 at relatively short notice for the charter amount indicated above. All of the locos were in reasonable shape to do what was requested. As time goes on, these charter costs may rise and the steam locos may become unreliable and/or the steam loco crews may retire. While charters are likely to be an aspect of this tour, the tour is also for those interested in diesel field work, real, working steam locos or to see the whole sugar process from hand cane cutting in the fields, water buffalo and oxen hauling the cane out of the field on temporary track, the use of railways to get the cane to the mill and the crushing and refining process which uses traditional stationary steam engines and steam pumps.
It is no longer feasible to offer a Java Sugar Mill tour which includes real or charter steam at every mill visited. If joining this tour, please be aware that there will be some days without active steam locomotives.
John Raby
September 2015
Steam charters should be possible at the following mills. If we have them, there will be an extra charge which probably will be in addition to the basic tour price. Those mills are Olean, Semboro, Rejosari, Sudhono and Tasik Madu.
Olean - assuming steam not doing field work and a steam loco available - steam to take empties to the fields in the morning and bring in full in the afternoon
Semboro - two locos available (we could push the boat out and have both) - last active Mallet and last steam loco supplied to a sugar mill in Java (along with a sister at Jatiroto). The fields are extensive and justify an extra day using both steam locos to explore the field lines.
Rejosari, They have several stored steam and at least one - the jackshaft drive O&K loco Salak can be steamed. However, there is very little track on which it can operate (say 50 yards). An interesting loco but with nothing to do and no space to do it in.
Sudhono - the one steamable loco has quite a lot of track it can run over but it will be difficult to find anything 'realistic' for it to do apart from pulling empties from the mill to the new truck yard and pushing full loads towards the mill.
Tasik Madu - if we want to see big VI 0-10-0 in action, we probably need to charter it. We could charter it to be part of the Independence Day parade - which is something it has done in the past but not in 2015.
The tour price will include single rooms, breakfasts (which should be included with the price of the hotel rooms - they were in 2015), all group transport for the duration of the tour, permission to visit sugar mills and photograph or video their railways, the services of the English tour leader and the Indonesian tour guide and bus driver
Not included are your transport and other arrangements before and after the tour which is ground-arrangements only, lunch, dinner and any other food and incidentals, mill visit charges if we need to visit a mill more than once and are charged again for the second or subsequent visit and entry into the mill itself should management insist on an extra payment for this (neither of these happened in 2015), any steam or other charters which will be decided by group majority decision either before the start of the tour or during the tour.
In 2015, steam charters cost between Rp 2.5 million and Rp 3.2 million (depending on the mill and the loco chartered) which was affordable when split between a group of 6 or more. Charters seem inevitably to involve tips for the loco crews and security officials that are not asked for if we visit to see real working steam and diesels. These extra costs will also have to be borne by the group.
My own preference would be to limit charters to Olean (steam loco to take empties to the field in the morning and bring back fulls in the afternoon), Semboro (steam or diesel charter to find the real field trains) and Jatiroto (railcar or diesel charter to find the real field trains). However, charters may also be possible at Rejosari, Sudhono and Tasik Madu should the majority of the group request this.
All potential steam charters mentioned above were possible in 2015 at relatively short notice for the charter amount indicated above. All of the locos were in reasonable shape to do what was requested. As time goes on, these charter costs may rise and the steam locos may become unreliable and/or the steam loco crews may retire. While charters are likely to be an aspect of this tour, the tour is also for those interested in diesel field work, real, working steam locos or to see the whole sugar process from hand cane cutting in the fields, water buffalo and oxen hauling the cane out of the field on temporary track, the use of railways to get the cane to the mill and the crushing and refining process which uses traditional stationary steam engines and steam pumps.
It is no longer feasible to offer a Java Sugar Mill tour which includes real or charter steam at every mill visited. If joining this tour, please be aware that there will be some days without active steam locomotives.
John Raby
September 2015
