Ipoh Railway Station

In 1894, a new stretch of the Kinta Valley Railway opened between Ipoh and Batu Gajah, with virtually identical railway stations in both towns. In 1896, 36 wagons were entirely built in the Ipoh workshop, "only the iron-work, wheels and axles having been imported from England". The construction of the present railway station and hotel began in 1914 but was interrupted due to a shortage of materials and high costs of labour during World War I. Completed in 1917, the station has three platforms, commodious offices for railway staff, and a restaurant and bar. The hotel at first had 17 bedrooms opening out to the deep upper verandah; this was upgraded to 21 rooms by 1936.   The ground floor loggia, which is 183m long, runs the entire length of the station's frontage. The Ipoh Railway Station was designed by the Government Architect, A. B. Hubback, with classical elements harnessed to the British "Raj" style, surmounted by Moorish domes and turrets.  Hubback was also the architect for the ornate Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, completed in 1911, after working on the final stages of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building designed by R. A. J. Bidwell. A traveller from Medan, Sumatra, who visited Ipoh in the 1920s called the IpohRailway Station "number two" after the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station.  According toanother description, "The size and magnificence of the Railway Station, with its first class hotel accommodation on the upper floor, gives the stranger a hint as to the wealth and importance of the town of Ipoh". An automobile guide of 1925 stated that "The railway hotel at Ipoh supplies the best accommodation to be found in Perak - nice airy rooms, up-to-date sanitary arrangements, the best of food". To the locals, the Railway Station is the "Taj Mahal of Ipoh".  The landscaped garden in front of the Railway Station accentuates its sense of grandeur.