FROM BURMA TO THE RIVER KWAI - English • Great Railways

Producer NICK LERA explores the infamous ‘Death Railway’ built by the Japanese during the Second World War to provide overland access to Burma in support of their ill-fated advance on India. In Thailand we travel by steam train across the creaking wooden trestles beside the Kwai River, and visit the Hellfire Pass where thousands of Allied prisoners and Asian conscripts died in forced labour conditions hacking the line through solid rock. In present-day Myanmar we travel behind classic British steam locomotives from Rangoon towards the Thai border, pausing at the Sittang river where the British lost the bridge to the Japanese in 1942. The exotic settings belie the trauma of their recent history. Filmed in 1999 before steam power was discontinued.
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[@leokrisanto489]

Great documentary, Sir. When I see your video, I remembered The Colonel Bogey March. My respect for all heroes from British, American, Australian,Dutch, Indonesian & all local Asian during this railway construction periods. God bless them all. Regards from Jakarta, Indonesia.

[@sbose64]

bridge on the river kwai has been caught in the imagination of the world ever since WWII and an award winning classic movie made later. the south east asia geography and the story around it is relivened here again. watched with rapt attention.

[@skt1731]

Don't be an ignorant fool. Never forget that the British were the most racist colonial rascals. They enslaved and exploited people of Indian subcontinent, and left what was the world's most economically well off region as dirt poor. They uprooted and took Indians an indentured labor to Fiji, Guyana, Africa, et al. to toil on their plantations. 56000 Indians were killed in World War 2, forcibly recruited by the dastardly British to fight and die on their behalf in a war that had nothing to do with India.

[@WOLFROY47]

my uncle didn't surrender, he was ordered to by his superior officers. during the first world war, the japanese, treated their prisoners well, but this time around, everything was way different. my uncle survived three years of building this railway, by the time he was released he could barely eat normally, it took him years to recover

[@grahamcarter8499]

Yes my uncle was also a POW. He survived. But I remember even during the 1950,s he was still a body of skin and bones. I last saw him in the 1990,s by then he almost looked normal, body weight and size. Took him 50 years to get over to it. Let this may never happen again

[@patricknoveski6409]

I can't even imagine how bad that must have been. Sweltering heat, disease , ass hole guards . No food. Ot must have been hell. That steam engine '# 850 is so beautiful. Wonder if it still runs. Thank you for film.

[@shanthaponnamperuma2432]

May the souls of all who sacrificed their lives receive eternal peace! 😪😪😪 Thanks for the nice video. The film, Bridge over the river Kwai's bridge was temporarily made & filmed in my country.🇱🇰

[@ruthnaswamy4741]

Of the 330,000 prisoners of war on the Death Railway 200,000 were Tamil immigrants from Malaya and Burma. Of the 200,000 Tamil immigrants nearly 150,000 died. This is 60.61 % of the total POW deaths. In the movie " Bridge on the River Kwai" you will not find any Tamil immigrant on the screen

[@akhtarzaidi9454]

IN LOVE & WAR IT EVEN NOWADAYS HAPPENS & ALL THE CATASTROPHE CREATOR IS YOUR MYTHOLOGICAL GOD, BHAGWAN & KHUDA WAND WHO ISN’T IN EXISTENCE & IF OTHERWISE HE DOES EXISTS, HE IS ONLY FOR HIMSELF & NOT FOR ANYONE ELSE.

[@udayanpaul8042]

If you Please watch the movie carefully, when the Colonel arrives in the camp with a new batch of POWs inmates, then he greets few Indians by bowing to them and Namste so the Indians nod to acknowledge. I hope you find this helpful. Jai Hind !

[@radman1136]

You guys are all talking about movies as if they actually matter. Get a life before it's too late losers.

[@geethaanand5346]

You are right the tamilians were not mentioned anywhere their sacrifice and hard work was hidden or. Forgotten

[@braunarsch]

@@udayanpaul8042 🤣🤣 ... oh if only that were real lol

[@billblair3941]

Fascinating, absolutely fascinnating. Very well done.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

My thanks to you Mr Blair for your appreciation. This was one man's labour of love created 25 years ago and inevitably has some shortcomings, pointed out in some Comments in this column, but I felt I had to properly document the railway in geographic and logistical terms, which few people have done, the human factors normally outweighing all other considerations. Though naturally I did my best to properly show respect for those who suffered and died.

[@patrickpafarnis5798]

Very nice to see again, we visit this place more than one time, last time it was only 2 weeks ago.

[@Bernie5172]

several of my family died there , several made it home. 2/30th 2/18 the battalion and 2/10 field regiment AIF

[@johniacono3725]

Nice to see modern roller bearings on the trailing truck of the engine.

[@EntertainmentWorldz]

great video

[@user-pg7iq8zd5u]

Wow...thx...so much history...and I enjoyed the "River Kwai"

[@sunildeshmukh2053]

Beautiful film with all details.

[@skt1731]

Don't be an ignorant fool. Never forget that the British were the most racist colonial rascals. They enslaved and exploited people of Indian subcontinent, and left what was the world's most economically well off region as dirt poor. They uprooted and took Indians an indentured labor to Fiji, Guyana, Africa, et al. to toil on their plantations. 56000 Indians were killed in World War 2, forcibly recruited by the dastardly British to fight and die on their behalf in a war that had nothing to do with India.

[@folkdeska8605]

It amazing!!

[@johniacono3725]

This steam locomotive is beautifully maintained. Must be oil fired. Great documentary.

[@Bruce-1956]

Years ago I took a trip on the railway and was moved by the candles along the line.

[@sethanix3969]

Fascinating! And especially fascinating to see how much this region of the world has changed in the last 25 years...

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

Yes, I agree with you. Most dramatic change is in the Sittang flood plain where Nyaungkashe seems from the latest maps to have been transformed from dead-end hub of an isolated cluster of dwellings to important stopover (checkpoint?) on the new highway from Bago into Mon state, crossing the Sittang beside the remaining stumps of the old 1908 rail bridge. My 1999 film with not a motor vehicle anywhere in sight could have been taken in 1908!

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

Brief correction here - the old Sittang Bridge was actually opened in 1907.

[@morosso1968]

decades ago i read a story on reader's digest of a british soldier a POW telling his horrific ordeal in Kanchanaburi named Eric Lomax. it was such a moving story and it kept in my mind up to this date 2024. he died on the 8th of october 2012 at the age of 93, RIP Eric.

[@benediktmorak4409]

many years ago we were on vacation in Thailand. And saw in Kanchanabury the - son et lumiere - Show.What the bridge and things around REALLY were. No Hollywood glamor. No -stiff Brit upper lip. And we show them WOGS what we can do -. This was Hollywood glamor. Reality was complete different.

[@Travel-by-Train]

Amazing video… I think it takes a lot of time and effort to make it. Well done 🍒🍒🍒 Thank you 🙏 for sharing it

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

Thanks for the compliment. You're right - it took a Burma visit in 1997, then in 1999 Burma again, plus Thailand! Somebody had to do it, and luckily for me it fell to my lot to be the one!

[@097534]

Having been there twice it's stunning very emotional

[@raqibislam5486]

Nice & Historic documentary.

[@Orgruul]

Many Burmese workers died building it, I think the Japanese have built a monument to it, but would also be very nice to mention the upright atrocities the Myanmar military junta has commitited since after the building of the bridge just across the border! It would be very kind to send help.

[@TigerDominic-uh1dv]

Beautiful Video. 😊

[@march3473]

Sadly, No. 953 pulled her last excursion train in 2011 and has been broken since. There are now 4 operating steam locomotives in Thailand, Pacific No. 824 & 850 and C56 No.713 & 715.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

Thank you for the list of working steam locos in Thailand. A shame about No 953, a handsome machine, lovingly tended by the loco crew when I took the video. If only we had 4K video in 1999!

[@folkdeska8605]

I looking for 953's whistle. And it's quite rare

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

It's a shame from the locomotive historian's viewpoint that No 353 wasn't kept on display as it was the last operational 'Mikado' type (2-8-2) in Thailand. But you say it has been scrapped - most regrettable. I suppose one has to recognise the practicality of keeping two locos of the same Pacific 4-6-2 type for ease of maintenance and interchangeability of spare parts, three driving axle/wheelsets and motion being more economic to maintain than four. The last I heard was these main line locos only ran up a boring looking city suburban line as far as an ugly concrete flyover about twice a year. Is it any better now? Do they ever ply the more scenic run as far as Kanchanaburi for the Festival there? It would be nice to see the Pacifics earning their keep in attractive surroundings.

[@march3473]

​@@NicholasLera-kd5tj No. 953 wasn't scrapped, she was kept in the Thonburi Locomotive Depot. The Pacifics run six times a year, but still run in the same suburban line and last year the locos went to Kanchanaburi for the festival, because the Moguls were broken.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

@@march3473 Thank you for the clarification. When you wrote 'broken' I thought you meant 'broken up', a phrase often used in English instead of 'scrapped'. I see now that you meant 'broken down' i.e. out of order due to a mechanical or boiler defect. Presumably the C56 Moguls are now in the same category, but at least they still exist. Will they be put in working order again? It would be interesting to know.

[@telcelmagdalena6288]

Exelente video y bien narrado o explicado. No hablo bien inglés pero entendí bien algunas palabras, lastima ke no esté traducido al Español.

[@QuadMochaMatti]

Madness!

[@Swaggerlot]

Quality 1980s video.

[@expattaffy1954]

Having lived here in Thailand for the last twenty years I can say theI took my Thai wife and family on that train over the bridge and back. You only go about one mile before the train reverses back over the bridge. The train is always very crowded. While out here I did watch a documentary where one of the survivors stated, we never marched to Colonel Bogey

[@GarethJonesPilipala]

A really informative video. A highly professional account of a terrible period of our history.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

Thank you for your appreciative assessment of my film. This was one man's labour of love created 25 years ago and inevitably has some shortcomings, pointed out in some Comments in this column, but I felt I had to properly document the railway in geographic and logistical terms, which few people have done, the human factors normally outweighing other considerations. Though naturally I did my best to show proper respect for those who suffered and died.

[@122max]

บรรยายได้ดีมากครับจากคนไทย🇹🇭

[@mucmatthias5284]

That's a good history document. Unfortunately it's not possible to visit the Myanmar railway part. It's a to high risk to go there. The railway part in Thailand gives a good impression of the entire track in a wonderful landscape.

[@vinodkumarverma6683]

nice.

[@pkshome123]

We did visit Kanchanburi way back in 2016. Wanted to visit my father's cousin memorial there. The monuments for the long gone British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers are there. Alas there is not even a single monument for the Indians particularly Tamil fellows who died in the construction of Death Railways.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

The problem with the WW2 war cemeteries is that Thailand's WW2 status was neutral. They were not combatants, and the Japanese presence on their territory was by Treaty, under the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere initiated by the Japanese. The war cemeteries at Kanchanaburi are therefore accepted as a courtesy to the former WW2 Allies who suffered on the Death Railway, and the large number of their descendants who visit as tourists, but it is not a national obligation on the part of the Thais. It wasn't their war. In Myanmar however it is a different story. Former Burma was at the heart of the British conflict with the Japanese and it is here that the principal Asian war cemeteries were established by the British War Graves Commission; the one devoted to the Death Railway at Thanbyuzayat at the northern end of the Death Railway appears in this documentary at 50.19. Though regrettably not filmed in a rush visit crammed into a tight schedule, I can assure you that I saw many graves of South Asian Allied victims there. Perhaps a study tour of Myanmar would be in order, to include the most important British cemetery of all, at Bago about 40km N of Rangoon (Yangon).

[@pkshome123]

@@NicholasLera-kd5tj Do not know what you meant to say or justifying a historical error!

[@patricknoveski6409]

This film was very eye opening. Everything there is so old. Mind blowing.😢😢❤❤

[@escapefelicity2913]

well done

[@bradleyhurt4500]

I think they should run steam train excursions on the Death Railway all the time during the tourist season, just like they do with the Jacobite in Scotland.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

The main reason steam was discontinued on the daily tourist trains was that the locomotives don't work efficiently at walking pace - they need to do at least 25kph to be economical and pull a decent load (excepting special designs for hill railways, etc). No 353 is seen hauling just 4 coaches on the Wampo trestles. Diesel locos take around 6 or more vehicles on today's tourist trains on the 'crawl' section - they have low gears, steam locos don't. But that said, I agree with you that the C56 locos should at least work periodic outings along the Kwai, with short trains at premium fares for special holidays and historical occasions. For example, having steamed up two locos at Kanchanaburi for the December Sound & Light event (one for the show, and one in reserve) it couldn't cost much more to operate the locos at least once to Wampo, before returning them to store in Bangkok depot until the following year.

[@frankcherry3810]

Think I will pass riding this route…

[@sureshtopkar7805]

I have. seen the. war film. Bridge. On The River. Quaint which is thrilling

[@TheSamuiman]

Been there, done it...

[@ZEUS-pz9]

At that time the steam locomotive Mikado 953 was still in use.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

Also Pacific No 850

[@user-qt5ri4hc2f]

السلام عليكم كيوخار شكرا من.ال.يابان.no.comento

[@andrewfraser4347]

This looks like it was filmed in the late 90’s.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

As stated in the film description beneath the title page, the footage was shot in 1999.

[@andrewfraser4347]

I didn’t see that, I enjoyed the film as I was living there then but didn’t get to see as much of the Burmese steam as I wanted too due to the restrictions.@@NicholasLera-kd5tj

[@tedkrasicki3857]

Many RR bridges today are crossed at a slower speed than normal traveling speed.

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

Yes, but not normally at walking pace, all the time!

[@musictheoryforeveryone7938]

This is a great companion documentary movie that can accompany the viewing of the famous movie, “Bridge over the River Kwai”!

[@krishnamurarisingh6491]

Krishna murari singh kisan village Barma po kaithma district Sheikhpura Bihar India vary good bidio.

[@garycampbell1985]

Been there

[@ArtStoneUS]

Burma/Myanmar drives on the right side on the roads?

[@andrewfraser4347]

Yes, with RHD cars.

[@johningersoll8206]

Switched over from left side driving shortly after independence from Great Britain

[@andrewfraser4347]

It was in 1970

[@andrewfraser4347]

@@johningersoll8206 22 years after Independence, 1970

[@davidhouser5759]

The score was settled by the 509th compsite group of the 20th Air force and the boeing B29 Superforess over Japan.

[@Howoldareweanywayyipes]

these people are fasinated with the camera looking at them.

[@asifshahzad3788]

50:54, Anybody from Pak Army Frontier Force Regiment watching this.

[@illumencouk]

I can't help but wonder how those poor souls who perished building this railway, feel about the annual sound and light show? A celebration involving an original Japanese locomotive complete with flags and cardboard cut out Japanese soldiers. No recognition whatsoever is awarded to the dead constructors and yet those cruelly responsible, they are fondly remembered and celebrated every single year.

[@WOLFROY47]

good old british workmanship, built to last, people took a pride in what they helped build back then. now it's all, throw it away buy a new one. people should realize that that applies to them as well ? buy a machine who needs workers ?

[@grip2617]

Can't you replace the heavily contaminated word "tourist" with the word "visitor"?

[@khawajariaz6851]

💕💕💕💕🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰

[@eberhardbach]

Man könnte sich ja mal informieren, wie man Thai Namen ausspricht, sonst klingt das Ganze lächerlich.

[@user-BuuBuu.]

Hình ảnh rõ nét đẹp, thankyou!

[@salildas1232]

Condition is just like India.

[@saurabhade1079]

Which shit hole state do you live ? Oh just come across your name. So the answer most probably state of Waste Bengal. So no surprise on your opinion.

[@johnnyhunter4345]

Ohio

[@hemachandramanamperi5450]

Nevertheless, Japan was the only ASIAN formidable enemy The British and Americans had to face during WW 2.

[@hamshackleton]

The film could not possibly portray the brutality of the Japanese in 1940 etc.

[@escapefelicity2913]

"SHE" ?

[@bobevans9996]

just ask the burmese around to give u correct pronunciation - how hard is that

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

It is surprisingly hard. When compiling the documentary here in London there was a distinct shortage of Burmese 'around'. Few of them can afford to travel. Besides which it is normal for pronunciation of overseas names to reflect the manner of speech of the film maker, not all of whom take the trouble to make clear informative maps as I have. Your criticisms of this one man band producer/cameraman are ill-founded. What do you expect? Miracles? None of the TV companies with large staff and deep pockets have made the slightest effort to document the railway as I have. My research is entirely original. And what's more your viewing of the film is absolutely free! I'm sorry about the mis-pronunciations, but it would behove you to adopt a more generous approach to what so far is a unique work.

[@patasalada2726]

Oh, down the memory lane... The British empire is no longer. as the days of colonialism. Alas, no Tamils mentioned in this documentary either. Let's remember them when we see the Hindu British PM. Qué todos descansen en paz... Who were worse - the Brits or the Japanese?

[@NicholasLera-kd5tj]

Brits and Tamils all suffered together on the Japanese 'Death Railway'. I'm sorry you are disappointed in the film's coverage, but it is essentially a film about the railway per se. There have been hundreds of documentaries about the travails of those who suffered and died in its construction.

[@user-tn5fz4kp8j]

If you don't really know the answer then you show you have no idea of history

[@Nespanolurigue-gy1yo]

THEY LOOKING LIKE HES GOD BC WE ARE GODS BLACK PPL COME FROM GOD THE BLOOD OF CHRIST Śaar puu shar puu ꧾ kam bhaw jaśeatsarr kyee ꩿ The black moors been in that country 600 ᪕᪖᪗᪘᪙᪠᪡᪢᪣᪤᪥᪦ᪧ᪨᪩᪪᪫᪬᪭ Africans been living there for over 2,000 years ago

[@Nespanolurigue-gy1yo]

Africans been living there for over 2,000 years ago

[@bobevans9996]

bago is pronunced ba go - not bay go - no y

[@bobevans9996]

shwe da gon - the pronunciation n spelling r all incorrect

[@bobevans9996]

lose the music when people r trying to listen it's disturbing distracting disservice

[@bobevans9996]

look at the black smoke - ewwwwww - stop it