Locksmiths chomping at the bit to unlock mysterious old vault
THE CONTENTS of a 100-year-old bank vault in the compound of the Thung Song Railway Junction in Nakhon Si Thammarat will have to remain a mystery for a while longer, said Songchai Wongwatcharadamrong, mayor of Thung Song Municipality.
He said a team of locksmiths had been preparing to open the mysterious vault, which is enclosed in a room in an old office building formerly occupied by Siam Commercial Bank, but the plan was suspended by the governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
The vault is the property of the SRT, said the mayor, who explained that one of the railway authority staff had asked the municipality to find a locksmith to open the vault. He said the vault has four ancient keyholes, which need to be opened at the same time by four keys, but no one knows where to find the keys.
Sitthisak Ruprasert, a locksmith who led the team, said they were certain they could open the vault but it would take three days because only one of the keyholes appears workable. He said it would cost around Bt25,000 to open the vault so as to preserve the keyholes, or they could just be destroyed for 15,000.
Songchai said the vault is located in a spot on the 21-rai area earmarked for preservation under a pilot project to maintain Thung Song’s history and culture. The renovation plan is being aided Silpakorn University, he said, while the municipality is gathering data about Thung Song’s history.
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