Visitors to the Bedono train station turned museum get a rare chance to ride the old trains on exhibit here.

People quickly look for seats to settle themselves in for the one-hour ride on this old steam train.

Thick smoke pours out of its chimney as the crew adds more wood to the fire.

The old steamer creates a hissing sound as it travels on the tracks.

[Galuh Fajar, Tourist]:
"I like the scenery and most importantly, we get to travel as a group on this train ride."

As the German-made locomotive pushes the cars up the mountain, the funicular system begins to operate. This system helps to prevent the train from derailing on a steep climb.

The Ambarawa-Bedono trip has no regular schedule and is only operated on request.

A two-hour trip, with two carriages holding 80 passengers, costs $350 U.S. dollars.

The Javanese landscape of paddy fields, volcanoes and running streams are a common sight during the trip.

[Yosef Djakababa, Tourist]:
"The opportunity to ride an old train like this is unforgettable and I think this is one of a kind. Not many old trains with track available anymore in Indonesia."

Maintaining the old locomotive is challenging as suitable materials are harder to find nowadays.

[Eko Mulyanto, Head, Ambarawa Train Station]:

"Our problems with these old train are spare parts and teak wood. We have been practicing cannibalism where we take spare parts from broken trains. It is difficult to get dry teak wood in this rainy season.”

Mulyanto says he has to limit the 103 year-old train operation to only twice a day, due to a shortage of available teak wood.

More than 400 tourists take the mountain steam train ride each month.

The railway system was built by a private company to improve transportation between the port of Semarang and the agricultural spots of Central Java.