Steam Power & Sugar Mills: The 19th-Century Legend Guarding the Old Station
As you walk out toward the bustling intersection of Malioboro from the historic East Gate (Pintu Timur), look over to the north wing of the entrance. Tucked right beside the grand old colonial building sits a massive, black, steampunk-looking iron beast. While everyone calls it the “old locomotive”, it holds a fascinating secret: it isn’t actually a train engine at all.
This mechanical artifact is a Marshall Britannia Portable Steam Engine, often called a lokomobil in Indonesia. Manufactured in Gainsborough, England, in the late 19th century, it didn’t run on tracks. Instead, powered heavy industrial equipment, like sugar factories.
Because railways and the booming sugar industry grew up hand-in-hand across Central Java during the colonial era, this steam giant was chosen to stand guard outside the old Stasiun Tugu.
Also read the post about Stasiun Tugu (Pintu Timur) Yogyakarta.
