The Federated Malay States Railways Pamphlet of Information for Travellers was published in 1914, just months before the outbreak of the First World War.

Reading the pamphlet, there was no inkling of the calamitous events to come. The British Empire was at its height, confidence was high and Malaya was positively booming. The tone of the booklet is brimming with optimism and, perhaps, complacency. See this advertisement promoting Malaya near the front of the booklet:

The term British Malaya was never an official title. Malaya comprised the Straits Settlements (a British Crown colony made up of Singapore, Penang, Malacca and the Dingdings), the Federated Malay States (British Protectorates Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Selangor) and the remaining 5 Unfederated Malay States who enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy.

It is interesting to see Big Game Shooting and Snipe Shooting listed among Malaya's top attractions in 1914. Snipe are only shot on camera these days while big game can only be found in zoos. The tin mines, rubber estates, coconut plantations and steamship services are mostly all gone, replaced by palm oil plantations, shopping malls, airports and urban sprawl.

Malaysia still has 'fine roads for motoring' with over 50,000 miles of paved road but of course with a lot more vehicles per mile than in 1914.

A few months ago I came across a booklet called Tours in the Malay Peninsula, Pamphlet for Travellers which was issued by the Federated Malay States Railways in 1914. It provided rail travellers with a guide to the train journey between Penang and Singapore and described the scenery and stops along the way.

Since this Pamphlet will be exactly 100 years old in a few months time, I thought it would be interesting to replicate the journey in its centenary year and compare the sights and sounds of modern Malaysia with the Malaya of yesteryear. 

That is what this website is about. It is a website with a beginning, Penang, and an end, Singapore. So far I've written up about half of the journey - from Penang to Kuala Lumpur. In the coming weeks and months I hope to write up the remainder. Later on I could add on the Jungle Railway, KL's commuter lines, and the mainline north of Penang up to the Thai border and beyond as far as Bangkok, for which another pamphlet exists, dated 1921.

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