1928 Royal State Railway Department of Siam City Plan of Bangkok, Thailand

This is a 1928 Thai Royal State Railway Department of Siam city map or plan of Bangkok, Thailand.

A Closer Look

The map depicts the city from the Bangkok Noi Station to the Royal Bangkok Sports Club and from Tejavanij Road to the Chao Phraya River. The focus is on railroads, but 103 other locations are identified numerically and correspond with indexes along the borders. The first, at left, lists locations numerically. The other index, split between left and right, lists streets and klongs (waterways) alphabetically, and the numerically identified locations by category, such as banks, hotels, consulates and legations, post offices, and railway stations. Among the significant sites located are the Grand Palace, the Pasteur Institute, Chulalongkorn University, and the Phyathai Palace.

Railways of Thailand

Four railroads are mapped:

• The Paknam Railway is Thailand's first railroad, established in 1893, runs southeast from the Hua Lamphong Station (1916).
• The Northern and Eastern Railways depart northward from the same station, with the eastern line eventually turning east.
• The Ta Chin Railway - today known as the Maeklong Railway -leaves the city from the Ta Chin Railway Station.on the west side of the Chao Phraya River and heads southwest.
• The Southern Railway departs from Bangkok Noi Station, also on the west side of the river, and travels due west

Census and Publication History

This map was published by the Royal State Railway Department of Siam in 1928. We have been able to locate two other examples in institutional collections. Scarce on the market.