Malacca Government Railway 2, the last of the class, went to Siam in 1924. Sourced from the Stephenson Locomotive Society library collection.

Became class A from July 1901 when the Perak and Selangor Railways were merged, although they were not physically connected until 1903. The Malacca Railway was absorbed in 1905, the Sungei Ujong Railway in 1908 and the Singapore Railway in 1912 although the latter remained isolated until the opening of the Johore Causeway in 1923. The Johore Railway opened in 1909 and was originally leased to FMSR. All were built with outside cylinders 10" x 16" and a note in le Fleming's 1936 list states "All A class 440T rebuilt to 11" x 16"." Driving wheel diameter was 3' 3" and boiler pressure was initially 120 psi, later being raised to 140 psi.

From 1912 onwards some of these locomotives were transferred to the Construction Department as newer locomotives were purchased and many survived into the 1930’s.

Below: Hunslet 379 of 1886 was supplied to the Selangor Government Railway as their number 3, becoming FMSR 8 after the 1901 merger and passed to the Construction department as CD 18 in 1915. It was withdrawn in November 1931.

 * Indicates a number previously carried by another locomotive

Class B

A further series of 7 4-4-0T locomotives built by Hunslet (5) and Hawthorn, Leslie (2).  

Below: Singapore Government Railway 5 or 6 at Tank Road station between 1906 & 1912. Photograph reproduced with permission from the Stephenson Locomotive Society, it is thought to be from the H M le Fleming collection.

Above: Singapore Government Railway 5 or 6 at Tank Road station between 1906 & 1912. Original source unknown.

Above: Malayan Collieries No 3 at Batu Arang colliery. Built by Hunslet as Works no 898 in 1906 it was supplied to the Johore State Railway for construction of the line which opened in 1909 and it became their No 2. It was taken over by the FMSR in 1912 and numbered 27, being sold on to Malayan Collieries in 1925. One of this type was still at Batu Arang in 1940. Photograph reproduced with permission from the Stephenson Locomotive Society, it is thought to be from the H M le Fleming collection.

Below: Works photograph of Singapore Government Railway 7, Hawthorn Leslie 2831/1911. Reproduced courtesy of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.

 These became Class B and were a heavier, more powerful, version of the class A, with larger cylinders.

 * Indicates a number previously carried by another locomotive

One of the former Johore locomotives may have survived into the 1940s.

A Hunslet list shows two locomotives sold to Singapore as number 5, 896 in 1906 and 936 in 1907. Hunslet 896 has a note saying it was renumbered to Singapore 1 but Hunslet 748 was Singapore 1 until renumbered to 14 in 1912. H M le Fleming (assistant CME in the 1930's) states that 936 was Singapore Railway 6.

Some sources state that Hunslet 897 became Malayan Collieries 3 and 898 became Malayan Collieries 4, however H M le Fleming states the reverse.

In the 1930s H M le Fleming, FMSR assistant CME, supplied 2 lists to the Stephenson Locomotive Society giving details of all locomotives up to that time. The above data was compiled using these lists as all other data I have has come via third parties.

A Malayan Collieries listing held in the SLS library shows a No 7 received from FMSR sometime after 1930. It is described as a 4-4-0T with 12" x 18" cylinders and 3' 3" driving wheels so would appear to be another B class. As Hunslet 936 was withdrawn in Feb 1932 from the Construction Department it is possible that it was this one which became MC7. Further information would be appreciated. 

NOTES: 1. The Singapore Railway has been variously known also as Singapore Government Railway, Singapore – Kranji Railway, Singapore - Straits Railway and Singapore – Johore Railway, and was opened in 1903. To add to the confusion  the Singapore Tramways (1885 - 1894) has also been erroneously reported variously as the Singapore – Kranji Railway and Singapore – Woodlands Railway, but in reality it was never extended beyond the city limits. It was operated by a series of 16 Kitson-built steam tram locomotives. Upon closure the stock was sold to the Tanjong Pagar Dock company

              2.  Singapore is the name of both the group of islands south of Malaya and the city at the southern tip of the main island. The southern terminus of the railway was by Fort Canning in Singapore from 1903 to 1907and at Pasir Panjang when that line opened in 1907 while the northern terminus was at Kranji, near Woodlands. Johore is the southern-most state of Malaya and the main town, across the straits from Woodlands, is known as Johore Bahru. A railway ferry service was established between Woodlands and Johore Bahru and operated until the causeway was opened in 1923. A January 1907 extension from a newly-built Tank Road station ran past the docks complex to Pasir Panjang. At this time the old Singapore station by Fort Canning became a goods station only. In 1933 a deviation was opened from a point approximately 1 mile south of Bukit Panjang, in the centre of the island, to Tanjong Pagar, near the docks, avoiding the city. The earlier line to Tank Road was then closed and much of the formation was used for new roads.

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Page created 24th December 2004.

Last updated 18th September 2021.

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