Steamship Engine Sunk in Sungai Perak, Teluk Intan
The existence of an iron object, previously believed to be a locomotive head due to its shape resembling the front of a train, at the bottom of Sungai Perak near Jalan Pasar in Teluk Intan, is said to be over 100 years old, and most local residents there are already aware of the object's existence.
However, many people argue and claim that the object embedded in the riverbed of Sungai Perak is a train head, and this news was also featured in Utusan Online on January 4, 2017, with the headline '100-year-old train head emerges in Sungai Perak.' With a sense of responsibility, we feel it is very appropriate for us to take this opportunity, given the spread of news about the object, to emphasize that it is likely untrue. The orangperak.com team, together with acquaintances who enjoy conducting private research on history and old relics, do not agree with describing the object as a locomotive head as has been publicized. For your information, loyal readers of orangperak.com, this object can only be seen a few times a year when the river water is truly low, and even then, only for a few minutes before the tide returns. Along with this article, we have included solid factors along with brief explanations that can be given to the public to refute the claims that the object is the head of a locomotive. Below are three factors we have listed, along with brief explanations to refute the locomotive head claims that have gone viral previously.
- The size of the object is small and highly irrelevant when linked to a locomotive head
- The location of the railway tracks is far, making it impossible for the object to have drifted that far
- No information or solid evidence has been recorded, though there may be related stories
The size of the object
is actually irrelevant if it is linked to a locomotive head, which is far larger and longer than the object. Steam train engines of that era were not that small, and they had different shapes and sizes.
Only about 5 to 6 feet long
The claim that it is a locomotive head makes no sense at all when we look back at the location where the object is embedded, which is located
quite far from the location of
the old Teluk Anson port, where the terminal railway tracks were located. It is clearly impossible for an object this heavy and large to have drifted about 1.11km from the old Teluk Anson port location to its current spot.
The end of the railway tracks (old Teluk Anson port) relative to the object
What is more interesting is that there is actually a recorded event that could be considered solid evidence of a collision between two steamships that occurred in Teluk Anson some time ago. The collision involved two steamship companies named Neera and Poh Hin Guan.
This event took place on July 15, 1896. As a result of the collision, the Neera company steamship only suffered damage to the hawsepipe, which might have been protected by the anchor. The ship's hawsepipe is the part of the bow that holds the anchor chain. The Poh Hin Guan company steamship was not as fortunate, as it was in a shallow area and got stuck in a sandy region after the collision, and it is highly likely that the object said to be a locomotive head is actually part of the steamship engine belonging to the Poh Hin Guan company. However, the fact remains that the object said to be a locomotive head still cannot be verified until in-depth research is conducted. Nevertheless, based on the criteria and basic characteristics observed up close by our acquaintance, Lordman Kerol, we believe that the object is not a locomotive head as publicized, and the characteristics and size of the object tend more towards a steamship engine. References and authentic sources:
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18960716-1.2.25
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18960718-1.2.26
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/middayherald18960727-1.2.12
- https://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?58955
- http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/nasional/kepala-kereta-api-berusia-8232-100-tahun-timbul-di-sungai-perak-1.427634
