The "bamboo train" runs along a few kilometres of track outside of Battambang. Apparently it was installed during the French period in the 1930's and it goes something like this.
First you take a long length of track ... not necessarily in the same condition as when it was installed.
Place 1 front axle with original wheels ... these things are VERY heavy!
Place the other axle on the track ... this one has an extra "Drive" wheel off centre. This is for the V-Belt to run on.
The train deck is then placed across the 2 axels
The deck sits across bearings that encircle the axle
Next the engine is placed on-top, "floating"on 2 pieces of angle iron. The V-Belt is attached around the axle and the Engine pully. This v-belt sits loosely until a short stick is leavered against the engine, sliding it backwards, to make the belt tight. This is what give us drive ...
Before you know it the train is ready to roll
Behind us on the deck are our 2 moto's. In NZ, it would be considered good practice to strap these down with something to ensure they didnt tumble. It seems this is deemed unnecessary, and the drivers simply sit on the bike and apply the brake while the train is in motion .... i'm not 100% convinced although it gave the train driver some piece of mind.
The train rockets along ... not exactly sure how fast because we are very close to the track ... and after about 30 minutes we come to our stop.
Meeting on-coming trains is common and our departure was delayed a few minutes while some in-bound trains were offloaded. Part way down the track we came across 2 more on-coming trains ... and because we had the heaviest load, the opposing trains needed to be dismantled to allow us through ... everybody pitches in and nobody seems to mind ... it's all in a days work.
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