An Old Jetty at Taping Lake Gardens

Taiping is famous for its beautiful lake gardens. As one approaches the lake gardens from town, along Jalan Maharajalela, one will come to a T-junction and the old jetty is located right at the T. From what I have gathered from the locals, this jetty is called the Coronation Jetty.  Whose coronation? I am not very sure about that.  But I know that it has been there for a long time and is no longer functioning as a jetty.  It has become a resting place for tired joggers and also an ideal place for people who fish at the lake.

The old jetty was given a new coat of paint by a group of international young people who came to visit Taiping last year.  They have done a great job in removing all the moss and fungi, and giving it a new coat of white paint which has brought back its original beauty.  

Seen from this angle, we can see that there are steps from the jetty leading down to the waters of the lake.  Perhaps, during the "coronation" celebration - the jetty was built to enable some very important personality to get on a boat on the lake.      

 

At the base of the jetty, there is a sign which is still visible, stating the name of the contractor and the year in which it was constructed.  The contractor was a Mr Neelatamby and the jetty was constructed in 1936. 

Today, there are fun boats for visitors to ride on the lake and a new jetty has been built.  However, the old jetty remains where it is and let's hope that this unique structure will be preserved and not destroyed to give way to "development".

The End of the Line

As we rushed through "modernization", many aspects of our society have been left behind to die a natural death.  One such traditional institution that has become a victim of modernization is the old railway line and everything related to it.   Railway stations that have been built more than a century ago, can no longer serve the needs of the modern times.   Many of them were left idle, to die a natural death.  Others were not so lucky - they were demolished and new ones have been built in their place.  Yet, there are others which have disappeared without a trace.

This one above was the first to be built and the first to go.    It was the first railway station built in Malaysia for the line which linked Taiping to Port Weld.  The line was used mainly to transport the valuable tin-ore from the Larut tin mines to Port Weld where they were shipped away.  As the port lost its importance, so did the line. And today, all that remains is this board.  The station is gone and so is the line.  Even the town has its name changed to Kuala Sepetang.   Fortunately, some wise folks have decided to keep this board from the old railway station as something the future generation can feel proud of about their humble town.

This railway station too is just waiting for its time to go.  Even the signboards - the ones in white - as seen in this picture, were constructed more than a century ago and is still standing, will be replaced soon by "modern" ones in blue.  At present, the signboards at Kuala Kangsar and Taiping railway stations are already gone. 

LEVEL CROSSINGS

Along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, we are now seeing the disappearance of the old time level crossings, where gates were closed to road traffic when the train is crossing the road.  Today, gradually most of these gates or level crossings have been replaced by fly-overs.  Of course, it is more efficient this way and it also reduces the chances of accidents due to human error at these crossings. We cannot but feel a sense of loss when these level crossings are all gone.  The only ones that can still be found are along the railway line that runs along the east coast.  Along the west coast, only a few remained and these too have their days numbered.

This level crossing is at Gunung Semanggol, along the line from Taiping to Butterworth, going across the road from Kamunting to Gunung Semanggol.  This road will be closed when the fly-over is ready.  

This is the same level crossing as the above, but as you can see, construction of a fly-over is in progress.  In fact, by the time this picture is published in this blog, the level crossing no longer exists.  The fly-over has been built, this road is now closed to all traffic and the level crossing was demolished.

This level crossing is more fortunate because it will not be replaced by a fly-over so soon.. It is located at Sungai Petani, Kedah, and the construction of the double track railway will not reach there so soon.  The focus of the construction activities, at present, is centred along the the Ipoh - Butterworth line.  

FALIM RAILWAY DEPOT

 

This is the remains of the railway depot station at Falim, near Ipoh.  The place has  been razed to the ground and there is no sign of the depot except this building and a display railway wagon by its side. 

This piece of display wagon still stands on the depot ground.  I think it is a wagon that was used to carry important cargo, perhaps cash, because of its solid steal walls and doors.

There is no sign-board to tell us anything about this wagon.  On closer look, we could see that this wagon was made to the Indian Railway Standard in 1944.

Fryer Road Ipoh

Fryer Road is a very little known road which runs behind the Ipoh railway station.  Not many people use that road because it is rather narrow and doesn't seem to lead to anywhere significant in town.  Today, it has been renamed Persiaran Tun Perak.  Just to go down memory lane, I went along that road again this morning to see  if things are still the same.  I remember walking along this road whenever we wanted to go to Ipoh town and also to school when I was a boy.  So what did I find?  First, I felt rather disappointed because the railway quarters along this road are no longer there.  Next, I went looking for the turn-table - the place where they used to turn the old railway engines around because as we know, railway engines could not make a u-turn on the railway lines.  That too was gone.  But fortunately, after going down the road a bit further, I came across some familiar sights.

The Hindu temple is still there!  It was just a small shrine during my childhood days and I can still remember hearing the sound of its bell every evening.  To many of us, when we heard the sound of the bell, it meant that it was time to stop playing and to go home.  Today, the shrine has bloomed into a beautiful temple and I am sure its bell still rings every evening.

The temple seems to be standing alone, looking so lonely, unlike in the past when it was surrounded by rows and rows of railway workers' quarters. We used to call those quarters Down Quarters because they were located in a valley below the level of the road.  Today, there is no sign of those quarters, they have all been demolished.      

I was surprised to see this sea-coconut tree next to the hindu temple.  This is a very old tree and is the only one of a few left in this area along Fryer Road.   There used to be so many of these trees in this place. The fruit is delicious with its jelly-like flesh.  

                    This is the name plate of the hindu temple with a lot of information in  great details.
          

Just next to the Hindu temple, is the prayer hall for the Sikhs.  It also survived the wind of change and remains where it used to be.  Of course, like the hindu temple, it has undergone some changes and has looked nice and beautiful too.   

Like the hindu temple, this sikh gurdwara also has a magnificent tree by its side to give shade. It is so good to know that such trees are not chopped down in the name of development.
 

A few meters down the road, is another Hindu shrine. This one is relatively new and was not there during my childhood days.  Nevertheless, I think a lot of art work has gone into erecting this shrine and it looks so peaceful too with those coconut trees all around it. The fact that there are so many places of worship located along this short stretch of road, reflects the rich cultural history of the people who stayed here in the past and the level of tolerance and harmony that existed at that place.

    

Then, I was delighted to know that our "tunnel" or the subway beneath the railway lines is still there.  This is the longest subway which pedestrians can use if they want to get from Fryer Road to the Ipoh Railway station.  There used to be short subways between platforms at this railway station, but they have all been filled up and closed up.  Overhead bridges have been built in their place.As you can see in the picture above, there is ample parking space and the entrance to the subway is just a simple structure with no signboard at all.  Those people who are unfamiliar with this place will not even know what it is if no one tells them about it.  Those days, the entrance used to house a small Hainanese canteen where the best coffee and toasted bread in town were sold. Anyway,  tt is good to know that although the Ipoh Railway station has undergone a lot of changes, many aspects of  its heritage has been preserved.

At the end of Fryer Road, there is a junction to Jalan Tun Perak.  This is another road which is rich in historical landmarks.  Very near to the junction is an old railway crossing.  The railway lines lead from Ipoh Railway Station to Falim station.  It was a line used for shunting purposes and there was also a railway workshop in Falim.  The railway line is now not used anymore, so it is slowly being overgrown with grass and weeds. 

The picture above shows the home of the gatekeeper and also a small concrete structure in the foreground which was where the signal lamps (oil lamps) were kept.  Both of these places are now not in use anymore.
 

As you can see in the picture above, these are the levers which the gatekeeper had to pull to allow the train to go on the right or left line when there is a fork at the railway lines. They are also used to control the signal lamps - red or green for the on-coming trains.  This was used before they were replaced with electric ones.    

r

As shown in the picture above, when the gatekeeper pulls the lever, the signal will fall from a horizontal position.  If it is night, then the signal will be lighted with an oil lamp behind it so that when it is in horizontal position, the red plate of the signal will be lighted up, but when it falls, the green filter will be lighted up. If you see carefully you could see a ladder going up the structure, this is for the gatekeeper to climb up at night to put the oil lamps behind the signals. In this picture, the signal on the left has fallen, so the train driver knows that the gate at the level crossing is opened for the train and closed to road users.   The younger generation will no longer see such signals along the railway tracks in the very near future because they have all been gradually replaced by electric lamps like those at road junctions.

At the base of these levers we can see the names of the manufacturer and the year in which it was made.
It was made in London in 1947 and was patented in 1921.  Until today, it still remains solid and could still be used despite the exposure to the sun and rain. 

Ng Boo Bee Fountain in Taiping

     Ng Boo Bee may not be very well-known among the younger generation in Taiping but he was a prominent tin miner and a philanthropist who once built and owned half of Taiping town.  Today, all that is left in this man's name is a short road in the centre of the town named Jalan Boo Bee and a fountain in the Lake Gardens.  I strongly suggest that local students do a research / project on this man.  He was also said to be the de facto Finance Minister of Perak during the British administration. 

This is the Ng Boo Bee fountain located at the Lake Gardens in Taiping.  At a closer look, one notices that it is made of cast-iron. It has not been switched on for a long time and I am not sure if it still functions. I hope it does.  Once it was THE attraction at the garden and there were many wedding phototgraphs taken at this fountain.  Make a visit to any old photo studio in town and one would most likely to come across black and white wedding photos taken at this fountain.