[VIDEO] KTMB Dismantles The Last Manual Turn Table In Malaysia
It had been in use since 1913 at Depoh Fleet KTMB Tumpat, Kelantan.
By Daranee Balachandar — 25 Jun 2021, 10:55 AM
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) dismantled the last manual turn table in Malaysia at Tumpat Depot, Kelantan on Wednesday, 23 June
The manual turn table had been in use for 108 years, KTM Berhad said in a Facebook post shared on Wednesday.
A manual turn table is a device used for turning locomotives so that they can be moved back in the direction from which they came from.
Dismantling works took around an hour and half to complete.
Tumpat operations officer Azman Hassan said the reason behind the removal was to make way for upgrading the new track that connects the Tumpat Depot to the train washing station.
The turn table will reportedly be relocated to a new location to be kept as a part of the history of trains so that the future generations can still see it.
The turn table was first put to use in 1913 at the Tumpat Stokereta Depot, Kelantan, which was under the administration of the Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) at that time
It was built in England and exported into then Malaya by Patent Shaft and Axletree Engineers Co Ld.
According to KTM Berhad, an interesting detail about the manual turn table is that it is located at a perfect point of gravity, which enables the trains to be rotated to the opposing direction by only two or three staff
The balance of gravity allows the turn table to rotate the locomotive easily according to the weight of the load.
Watch a video of how it was previously used at the 5:05 mark here.
