In a short video available on Google Video, the Cambodian Norry railroad story is presented in an enjoying short video..

Bamboo Railway - Battambang, Cambodia

The story of how the Cambodian people could recycle pieces from the weapons of a genocidal war to fashion a working means of communication with the help of critical U.N. technical assistance in the form of gasoline engines shows how U.N operations can be effective with little cost. This railway operation benefits from the Cambodian ingenuity and cooperative values.

The very simple design of the rail car is economical in use of materials, only the basics beyond the gasoline engine. It's one use of gasoline where its an amazing and appropriate energy source. These engines are simple, rugged, and effective. The use of a stick on the axle as a brake is, perhaps, not enough safety for me however.

One wonders what they will do when the supply of abandoned battle tanks runs out that provide the wheels for the Norry. The absence of bumpers requires a certain fatalism from the passengers. Low speeds and the lack of rail traffic make this system practical.

Since the car must be taken off the tracks when a "REAL TRAIN" comes along or one Norry must pass the other, the design has parts that can be moved by at most two people, even one. Obviously the passengers are expected to help with taking the car on and off the tracks..... This limitation in the design is quite a challenge. The bamboo in the car platform deck is a locally grown resource and lightweight

I found this web video after following a link from a Facebook posting to a video by Gib Cooper where a Mexican master craftsman shows how to bend bamboo culms with heat. From there the YouTube suggestions with keyword bamboo had this video. I love railroads and bamboo, so I went there. What a gem!

The vision to create this informal rural rail system had huge and lasting beneficial impact on the lives of the survivors of the Khemer Rouge genocide. The U.N. is a vital part of our international community when it acts in this way. A catalyst and an enabler of the things that make life better.