Bamboo train transportation performs a key role during the advancement of societies. Sumerians invented the wheel in 3500 BC to aid during the movement of hefty stone as they designed their temples; Romans created a vast network of roads across their Empire so soldiers could march and conquer more efficiently; Egyptians constructed ships to access more markets for trade and later on, canals were created to give additional passage. In the 1800s, America's own Industrial Revolution was spurred on by expanded transportation including the Cumberland Road (now part of Interstate 40), the creation of the Steamboat, the opening of the Erie Canal and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.
Their selection of materials is an unusual combination from the strong and abundant bamboo that surrounds them and parts from abandoned military tanks. Described as a "bamboo slab on wheels," these trains sprung up within the late 70s where they were controlled by a series of levers and hand-cast controls. They have since upgraded to wooden footbrakes and small motors that poured into the country, courtesy from the United Nations relief effort during the 1980s.
Efficiency is key for this train system. They use the existing railroad tracks and spurs to travel. When they meet an additional bamboo train on the tracks, whoever has the least passengers merely lifts their train off the track to let the other one by. They keep a razor-sharp ear out for the infrequent freight trains that come through and when they reach their destination, they simply pick the train up and turn it around to head back.
These bamboo trains, or "Norries" as they are known as by locals, offer a link between villages, a way to get produce and animals to the market, a way to transport lumber to building sites and a means of income for several as rich tourists pay up to $2/day to ride them. In Cambodia, that may equal two months wages to most citizens. A local village has even turned into a "little Detroit" and builds up to 10 trains a month for sale and use. Not only are they building them, but they want to make them more beautiful to help encourage the tourists to ride them.
Necessity is the mother of invention and in a nation that desperately needs (and wants) to rebuild itself, these bamboo trains are an ingenious solution.
Douglas Michaels Jr. writes educational articles for Green Earth News, the authority on everything Bamboo. Read the full article on Bamboo Train Cambodia. Check out Green Earth Bamboo for bamboo sheets, bath towels, duvet covers, womens clothing, all made from the world's most sustainable and renewable resource on the planet
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