A tour named Forestry Railroad Cepu was conducted in Cepu, a region in Blora district, Central Java Province, on 28th December 2008. Its participants were members of IRPS and other people.
In 1915, railway tracks of 1067 mm gauge were laid in the teak forest in Cepu for transporting timber. The length of the line was said to be about 300 kilometres, and the choice of 1067 mm gauge was thought to enable trains transporting the timber to enter the main line of Semarang-Surabaya. There was no accurate record of numbers and types of steam locomotives which had served on the line in the teak forest.
The locomotives left in a traction depot of Perum Perhutani Cepu were three Berliner Maschinenbau-Actien-Gesellschaft (BMAG)-made steam-powered locomotives named Tudjuhbelas, Agustus, and Bahagia—they were made in 1928; two Du Croo & Braun-made shunters; and a Ruston & Hornsby-made diesel-powered locomotive. There was also a steam locomotive made by Hanomag in 1922, then PJKA’s C29 02.Bahagia was the locomotive used to haul three passenger cars and two tenders on the occasion. In the past, it was used to haul timber-loaded wagons from the teak forest to a temporary storage. But now, it hauled tourists-loaded passenger cars to Gubug Payung Monument.
The train departed at 08:00 AM from a locomotive depot of Perum Perhutani. The route taken by the train was BKPH Ledok, Kendilan, Pasar Sore, Blungun, Nglobo, Cabak and Nglebur. Some of these locations were located in the subdistricts of Cepu, Sambong, Jepon and Jiken in Blora district, whereas the others were located in Kasiman subdistrict of Bojonegoro district in East Java Province.The train made several stops so that its passengers could visit a timber storage in Batokan, Cepu Timber Processing Industry, and a teak plantation field inside the complex of Cepu Research and Development Center.The train also stopped at other locations to let the passengers enjoy the scenery and take some photos. The train reached its final destination, Gubug Payung, at 11:20 AM.
The passengers went to the rest area, which was 300 metres away from the shelter where the train stopped. There was a 150-year-old teak near the rest area, but unfortunately it had been cut down.The train departed Gubug Payung shelter at 1 PM and arrived at the locomotive depot of Perhutani Cepu at 2:48 PM.
