Kaeng Khoi Junction #1

An interesting junction, part 1.

By Grant Cameron

June 26^th, 2018

Busy rail yard

Leaving Ban Phachi, it took us just over 30 minutes to reach Kaeng Khoi Junction. Still early morning, the heat and bright sun wasn’t an impediment to our enjoyment at seeing this interesting yard, but of course after some time walking around and exploring, the sweat in our eyes was making photography difficult!

Where we parked didn’t initially give us a grand view, but we walked right (north) and soon came in sight of the work sheds, 7 bays in all.

Tea break?

It was clearly taking these workers some time to get their water pot fixed to be able to enjoy their mid-morning tea!

2-8-2 Mikado

We came across this exquisite model of a 2-8-2 Mikado outside the shop. After chatting with one of the workmen, it seems the model has been there for a few years but will soon be moved to a display location. My Thai language skills were not good enough to know when, or to where it will be moved, but I am sure he said a temple. While taking the photo of the front of the locomotive, the same workman was unhappy that the lei was not properly arranged and rushed over to place it nicely - as can be seen in the slight difference between the last 2 images.

I took a number of images of a General Electric type UM12C locomotive, but only post a few here.

An air-conditioned Daewoo DMU sped by as we were there, but on reflection, perhaps “sped” is not quite the right word.

A CSR Qishuyan type SDA3 locomotive sat patiently and partially in the shade awaiting service attention.

There was lots to see and photograph in Kaeng Khoi junction, and I will shortly post a part #2.

Getting There

As you can see from the map, Kaeng Khoi junction sits just off the main Highway from Bangkok to Nakorn Ratchasima. The easiest way to get there, apart from by train of course (!), is to leave Bangkok heading north past Don Mueang Airport, following Highway 1 to Saraburi, switching to Highway 2 just before Saraburi and head north east. The GPS coordinates are shown below, but please note that they are for the entrance road to the junction and repair yardson your left, not the main station, which can be accessed by crossing the line.