Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge

TT5 was built in England in 1938 by F W Payne and Sons for the Southern Malayan Tin Dredging company, shipped out in pieces and assembled in the Kinta valley, and it worked the tin ground there until 1982. It is enormous - a steel hull the size of a small ship carrying a bucket ladder of over a hundred buckets, washing plant, jigs and conveyor decks, all of it floating on a pond it dug for itself as it went. Malaysia was the world's largest tin producer for much of the twentieth century and dredges like this were how the deep alluvial ground was worked; every other one was scrapped. This is the only one left, kept where it sits and opened for guided visits, with the machinery in place and the decks walkable.

What you actually see

• The last tin dredge in Malaysia - built 1938, worked until 1982, every other scrapped.
• A hundred-plus bucket ladder - the excavating chain along the front of the hull.
• Washing and jig decks - the separation plant still in place inside.
• Its own pond - the water body the dredge dug as it worked across the ground.

When to go

All year; check opening hours before travelling. Two hours.

Honest expectations

Access is guided and hours have changed under different operators - confirm first. The interior is hot, rusty and industrial, with steep stairs. Not suitable for poor mobility.

Nearby

Batu Gajah and Kellie's Castle are north; Ipoh is beyond.