Coal trucks filled with memories.

Việt Nam•29/09/2023

During the 1980s, gasoline was extremely scarce and had to be rationed by order. Necessity is the mother of invention; without gasoline, skilled craftsmen modified vehicles to run on charcoal. These charcoal-powered buses are now a thing of the past, but for many, the image of these vehicles will forever remain an indelible memory.

In the 1960s, French Renault buses were imported by transport companies, then assembled into passenger buses. Throughout Southern Vietnam, the sight of Renault buses in their yellow and red colors was ubiquitous. After liberation, especially in the 1980s, the country was under embargo and sanctions, and gasoline was extremely scarce, a strategic commodity that had to be distributed according to orders. Necessity is the mother of invention. Skilled mechanics modified Renault buses to run on charcoal, using the principle of heating charcoal in an airtight container to produce gas. From the moment the charcoal is placed in the container and heated until the gas is released, it takes about an hour. Actually, this wasn't a new invention. This was the same Wood gas technology that had developed in Europe after World War II, when the world was heavily devastated and emerged from the war in a state of exhaustion.

These modified vehicles have fuel tanks at the back made of iron, with a diameter of 40-50cm and a height equivalent to two barrels, mounted vertically on the vehicle. The driver follows closely behind, simultaneously picking up passengers, collecting fares, and acting as a furnace operator, adding charcoal to the tank when the charcoal runs low. Some jokingly call them "rocket vehicles" because of the modified charcoal tank at the back.

In those days, Nha Trang had two bus stations within the city. The intercity bus station was located at the end of Ngo Gia Tu Street, which is now the Ngo Gia Tu apartment building. This station was for buses traveling from Nha Trang to other provinces, consisting of 50-seater diesel buses, the kind from the old Phi Long and Phi Ho companies. The intracity bus station was located at the beginning of Sinh Trung Street, bordering Road 2-4, and was for buses traveling to districts and towns within Phu Khanh province. This station used only Renault buses running on coal.

Back then, I frequently had to travel on business to Tuy Hoa town and the districts of what is now Phu Yen province. Whenever I went on business trips, I had to get a letter of introduction from my agency the day before so I could go to the priority gate at 5 am the next morning to buy a ticket, because there were so many people and so few vehicles, and it was common for tickets to be sold out by the time I got there. At 6 am, the buses, packed with passengers and loaded with goods, would slowly begin their journey. The roads were bad back then, and the coal trucks moved incredibly slowly. At the back of the bus, the conductor would use a long iron rod to poke at the coal and stir the ash to keep the charcoal burning. Coal fragments and ash scattered along the road; anyone sitting at the back of the bus, near the coal bin, felt like... grilled squid. When the bus reached Dai Lan, the driver would stop for passengers to rest before crossing the Ca Pass. The conductor would quickly add more coal and fill the roof with water (at that time, the buses were cooled by water tanks on the roof, with the water flowing directly onto the road). Water stations for the roofs sprung up like mushrooms along the roadside.

The journey over Ca Pass was an unforgettable experience. The bus groaned and slowly crawled up the pass, the bus conductor clutching a wedge, ready to wedge the wheels to prevent the bus from sliding downhill if it felt too weak and jerky. After regaining its strength, the bus crawled up again, and the conductor jumped back on, preparing for the next… jump. Passengers looked exhausted and worried; it took more than an hour for the bus to crawl over the pass. It was around 2 or 3 pm before we finally reached Tuy Hoa. Jumping off the bus, I went into Tuy Hoa market (now the central supermarket on Tran Hung Dao Street) to grab a bowl of cold, bland noodles to regain my strength before walking back to the office. That was just the journey to Tuy Hoa; business trips to Tuy An, Dong Xuan… were even more grueling, often taking until late evening because of the additional distance and mountain passes.

Few people in the 90s generation today know about the arduous journeys of hauling coal in the past. But that's okay; it's the hardships of the past that become deeply ingrained memories. I suddenly remember a line from a Russian female poet: "The years are more bitter, the years are sweeter." If the past was so full of abundance, what is there to remember? Who will still remember those coal truck journeys filled with memories?

MERCURY

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