Federated Malay States Railways

Frank Swettenham and the founding of the FMSR

The formation of the Federated Malay States (FMS) in 1896 led to a centralisation of Residential power and improved co-ordination of development in the new founded federation. In the same year, the newly appointed residents-general of the FMS, Frank Swettenham, proposed a master plan to extend and connect railway networks within the FMS and Province Wellesley.

Swettenham's proposal encompassed three phases: The first was to be the construction of a "development" line towards the north that would connect Perak's railways with those of Selangor's and the Province Wellesley's, while running through valuable but underdeveloped land in between; the second phase consisted of an extension of the line to Kuala Lipis, Pahang's then administrative capital, to promote the development of the state's mineral industry; the third section was to be a southwards extension from the Selangor Railway's southern terminus in Cheras to Seremban, connecting Selangor Railway to Sungei Ujong Railway and providing direct connectivity from Prai to the north to Port Dickson to the south.

Swettenham's proposal was approved by the Colonial Office under the justification wide-ranging transport linkages would allow access to land for use in agriculture and diversify the region's sources of revenue, while improving administrative efficiency by linking the FMS with the Straits Settlements (widening the scope of the plan to include additional linkages to the Straits Settlements of Malacca and Singapore).

Construction of the connections began in 1897 and concluded in 1903 with the Prai-Port Dickson line completed. The FMSR was founded in 1901 in the process, combining assets of Perak Railway and Selangor Railway as the two railway networks were the first to be connected. Management of stations and railways within the two networks were turned over to the FMSR, while locomotives originally operated by the two companies were absorbed into the FMSR and renumbered in July 1901. The amalgamation of other railway companies into the FMSR would follow in the coming years.

Extensions

While the Prai-Port Dickson line was completed in 1903, extensions were still required to connect the network with Malacca and Singapore. The extension southwards led to the formation of two short-lived railway companies largely intended to oversee the construction of lines within their state borders.

The Malacca Government Railway (MGR) was awarded a concession by the state government for the construction a railway line between Tampin and Malacca Town, as well as an extension of the main line between Malacca's state border with Negeri Sembilan that leads to Gemas. Upon completion of the lines, the MGR was absorbed into the FMSR in 1905.

In 1904, the Johore state government signed an agreement with Amalgamation.

World War II and the end of the FMSR

The outbreak of World War II was marked with the Japanese Empire's invasion of Malaya and Singapore in 1941 and 1942, which saw the entirety of the FMSR network falling under Japanese control. The system suffered minimal damage during the initial invasion and bombing runs, but saw the dismantling and closure of minor branch lines during the occupation for construction materials for the Thailand-Burma Railway. Similarly, several FMSR locomotives were transferred for use at the Thailand-Burma Railway during the period, but were eventually returned after the war.

Following the end of the war, the FMSR continued to operate as an entity for three years under the British Military Administration and Malayan Union, before it is renamed in 1948 as the Malayan Railway Administration (also known simply as the Malayan Railway, or MR) as the Malayan Union is reinstituted as the Federation of Malaya. The Malayan Railway would in turn be formally rebranded with a Malay translation of the name, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, in 1962.

Old A (1901–1933)

The FMSR Class A was the first designated series of locomotives in use by the FMSR. Consisted of 18 4-4-0T tank locomotives originally purchased by numerous state railways, the locomotives served as the FMSR's backbone fleet before the arrival of newer FMSR-ordered locomotives.

The Class A was designated in July 1901 for 12 locomotives originally assigned for both the Perak Railway and Selangor Railway and manufactured between 1884 and 1898, consisting of 11 from manufactured by the Hunslet Engine Company and one from the Selangor Railway produced by Neilson & Company. The Class A designation was further assigned to two 1904 Hunslet locomotives from the Malacca Railway in 1905, and four 1901–1903 Singapore Railway Hunslet locomotives in 1912.

Several Class A Selangor Railway locomotives were known to have been converted to run on oil rather than firewood to cut cost, years before the formation of the FMSR Class A. In addition, the outer cylinders of the Class A were rebuilt with a dimension of 11" by 16" from the original 10" by 16".

The Class A was gradually retired beginning the 1920s when new locomotives were introduced into the FMSR network. From 1912 onwards, certain Class As were also transferred to the Construction Department; FMSR 71 (Malacca Railway 2) was sold to Siam for use in coal mining assignments in 1924. The last Class A, FMSR 34 (Perak Railway 19), was withdrawn in 1933.

New A (1941–1946)

Encompassing only three 1928 Hunslet single engine 0-6-0T OCs, the "new" FMSR Class A was originally delivered to Singapore for use in the construction of the Sembawang Naval Base in 1929, and remained stored in the base after its construction was completed. In 1941, the FMSR acquired the locomotives, reintroducing the Class A designation for the locomotives. When introduced in 1941, the FMSR had retire the last original Class A locomotive, allowing the designation to be reused for a new series of locomotives.

The locomotives were only briefly used, surviving World War II, before renumbered by the FMSR in 1946 and sold to the Singapore Harbour Board in September of that year.

Old C (1901–1928)

With seven originally built between 1893 and 1894, FMSR Class C locomotives were essentially 4-4-0T Class B locomotives with additional four-wheel tenders. As were other pre-FMSR locomotives, the Class Cs were absorbed from a state railway company, specifically, the Perak Railway, between 1901 and 1903. The Class Cs consisted of two locomotives from Neilson, three from Kitson & Company, and two from Hawthorn Leslie. All Class Cs were known to feature outer cylinders measuring 12" by 18", 3' 3" driving wheels, and 140 pounds of boiler pressure.

In 1907, the two Class C Hawthorn Leslie locomotives were passed to the then independent Johore Railway, two years before the opening of the state's line in 1909, and returned to the FMSR in 1912. All Class C locomotives would later be remove from service and scrapped between 1924 and 1928.

New C (1929–1970s)

By 1929, all original Class C locomotives were removed from active service, allowing the Class C designation to be reassigned to a new series of locomotives. The "new" FMSR Class C locomotives was introduced in 1929, beginning with a fleet of five locomotives from Nasmyth, Wilson & Company and saw the addition of 11 from the North British Locomotive Company between 1939 and 1940, expanding the fleet to encompass 16 locomotives.

All Class C locomotives were 38-foot-11-inch-long 4-6-4T side tank engines with two cylinders measuring 14½" by 22". Differences may be noted with the 1929 Class C and the 1939–1941; among others, the 1929 series was lighter (73 tons compared to the later series' 74.1 tons) but featured a smaller fire grate (at 23.6 ft2 [2.19 m2] compared to the later series' 28 sq ft).

An additional six orders from North British were completed in 1941, but were redirected by the War Department of the United Kingdom to Egypt for use as military locomotives in World War II. The six locomotives were allocated FMSR numbers after the war, but a dispute over payment arose as the locomotives were no longer new. Subsequently, all six locomotive were sold to the Royal Jordanian Hashemite Railway in 1949 and delisted from the FMSR by 1951.

The remaining Class Cs were presumably scrapped by Malayan Railways during the 1960s and 1970s.

Old K (1908–1926)

Like the J Class, the FMSR Class K originated as part of Sungei Ujong Railway's rolling stock, before the railway company was absorbed into FMSR in 1908. The K Class consisted of only a single 1899 Dübs (works number 3621) 4-4-2T locomotive, and was significantly larger than the J Class.

The Class K was withdrawn in August 1926.

New K (1928–1970s)

As the K Class designation was vacant following the retirement of the sole K Class locomotive in 1926, a new series of locomotives was introduced in the following year to take its place. Bearing FMSR numbers 151 to 161, the "new" FMSR Class K was introduced in 1928 for use for the then newly opened East Coast Line that served the East Coast of British Malaya, with eleven in total built. The Class K was delivered in two batches; the first in the form of seven locomotives built by Beyer-Peacock in 1927 (works numbers 6373 to 6379) and delivered 1928, followed by another four by Robert Stephenson in 1929 (works numbers 4013 to 4016) and delivered 1930. The locomotives were distinguished as K1 for those from the first batch and K2 for those from the second batch.

Based on the earlier Class L, the Class K was a 4-6-2 tender locomotive with an 8-wheel bogie tender. The first batch of Class Ks were essentially improved version of the L Class; further improvement were made on the second batch. With an overall length of 56' 4" and cylinders measuring at 17" by 24", the Class K weighs in a total of 91.3 tons (55.5 tons from the locomotive and 35.8 tons from the tender).

While records exists of three Class K1s and three Class K2s shipped to Burma during Japanese occupation in World War II for use in the Thailand-Burma Railway, the entire K Class fleet was accounted for when it was renumbered in 1946. The K1 Class was entirely withdrawn between 1958 and 1959, while the K2 Class remain in use well into the 1970s, when all steam locomotives were withdrawn.

Builder details:

K1 153" - 159" 2C1-h2 17"×24" 54 Beyer, Peacock & Company 6373 - 6379 / 1927 -> 541.01-07

K2 151" - 152" 2C1-h2 17"×24" 54 Stephenson 4013 - 4014 / 1927 -> 542.01-02

K2 160" - 161" 2C1-h2 17"×24" 54 Stephenson 4015 - 4016 / 1927 -> 542.03-04

Workshops, depots and freight management

During early consolidation the FMSR would inherit many of former state railways depots, workshops and yards located around major stations and junctions, which were eventually downgraded into minor depots while centralised workshops charged with more important maintenance duties were constructed in specific regions. The largest of the new workshops was the Central Workshops in Sentol, Selangor; completed in 1905, it occupied a large plot close to the town and employed around 5,000 employees in its heyday, building railroad cars, fabricating railway parts, and performing maintenance on traction units. Other major depots were constructed in Prai and Gemas during FMSR's existence.

As the FMSR was an essential shipping channel to and from the interior of Malaya, some stations serving sea ports and commercial and industrial centres doubled as goods stations, managing tin and rubber shipments alongside other essential goods; such stations are typically complemented with godowns and marshalling/goods yards of varying sizes.