The first tramway route between the Grand Palace and Bangkok Port.

 

by Zazithorn Ruengchinda

 

The Royal Danish embassy released the latest photo album, as part of 400 years relations with Thailand celebration on 5 March 2021, a day after H.M. King Vajiraklaochaoyuhua’s Coronation day celebration on 4 May. The memo reads,

 

It was on this exact day in 1887, that King Chulalongkorn from his own hand gave the Dane Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu the concession to establish and run the first ever tramway line in Bangkok.

 

This is one of the earliest examples of close infrastructure collaboration between Denmark and Thailand. For the 50-year deal to operate the tram service on seven routes, a limited company was established, in which The King bought shares and for a period of time he held 50%. Richelieu himself also held substantial portions of the shares.

 

Full story: https://scandasia.com/tramway-line-in-thailand-was-established-by-danish-businessmen/

 

-- © Copyright ScandAsia 2021-05-11

 

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There was also Belgian involvement in the early tramway system of Bangkok.
More here:
 

Edited May 11, 20215 yr by orchis

Very interesting story and it makes one wonder how much of the infrastructure we see today was actually thought of and built in cooperation with other countries.  I know a few of the bridges and structures have the dual sign, like the Thai-Belgian flyover bridge near where we live here in Sathorn.  Pretty cool to learn some more history.

The Danes made electric trams cars in Bangkok before in Copenhagen, and they also established Maenam Motorboat Company in 1906, which operated scheduled passenger boat routes, of course synchronized with the tram system, from Klong Toey to Nonthaburi.

 

The trendy Asiatique riverfront is the old Danish company The East Asiatic Company Limited's pier and warehouses, in Danish language it is named Østasiatisk Kompagni and was by that time, in the beginning of the 1900s, the biggest Danish company...????

 

Today...

 

Same warehouses around 1935...

Perhaps they could help out in Pattaya, a nice tram would be a lot better than the monstrosity of a monorail they're planning.

17 hours ago, orchis said:

There was also Belgian involvement in the early tramway system of Bangkok.
More here:
 

For those interested, the publisher of the book seem to have a distribution problem and most books are difficult to find. Hence you might want to get in touch with his publishing house "White Lotus" directly. This publishing house is more a hobby than a commercial enterprise and full of Siamese and Indochinese goodies ..... 

White Lotus Press
Mr. Diethard Ande
145/3-6 Soi Huay Ya Chin
Huay Yai/Banglamung
Cholburi 20150
phone: 038-239'883 or 884
ande (at) lox info.co.th
GPS: 12.862083 100.97992 

4 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

For those interested, the publisher of the book seem to have a distribution problem and most books are difficult to find. 

indeed
https://www.whitelotusbooks.com/index.php?p=wl