The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Steam motive power and operations in the rest of Africa
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

The East African Railways and Harbours Corporation began to look at replacing its steam locomotives with more modern power units. This next post is part of that story.

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... 48-to-1977

It is impossible to exaggerate the tractive effort required from the motive power on the line through Kenya and Uganda. In the UK we make a great deal of fuss over the strain placed on standard-gauge locomotives on the West Coast Mainline. Shap, Beattock and Drumuachdar are significant climbs which taxed the most powerful of locomotives. The gradients and the heights which the East African lines surmounted dwarf that UK mainline. These feats of endurance and the relative power of the locomotives required to achieve them on narrow-gauge lines is astounding.
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

Two posts remain to complete the story of the line. This is the first of these. It brings the story of the line up to date (to 2018).

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... 77-to-2018

In 1977 the East African Railways Corporation (EARC), formerly the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) was broken up. The three countries which made up the East African Community were unable to agree about many things and it became necessary for them to go their own ways. Three railway companies were formed: Kenya Railways Corporation; Uganda Railways Corporation; and Tanzania Railways Corporation. In this post we will focus on the first two of these and on later arrangements with Rift Valley Railways which ended in 2017 when the two Corporations were reformed. At the end of the post, which is essentially about narrow-gauge railways we will highlight developments relating to the new standard-gauge lines which may well dominate the future in Kenya and Uganda.

Very sadly, at least from a heritage perspective, the metre-gauge line and its trains have largely been replaced between Nairobi and Mombasa. No doubt the new trains are infinitely better. But their advent has brought to an end the real sense of adventure that travelling the metre-gauge line from Mombasa to Nairobi evoked!
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

I anticipate that this is the final post in this series about Uganda Railway and its successors. I trust that you have enjoyed these posts. If you have, then I have been posting about metre-gauge lines in France and you might wish to look at those posts in due course!

https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/20 ... 95-to-2018

Metre-Gauge Railways in East Africa - Rolling Stock

This post provides a short survey of carriages, goods wagons and brake vans/cabooses on the network in Kenya and Uganda from the inception of the Uganda Railway in the 19th Century to through the demise of the East African Railways Corporation in 1977 on to 2018 when this post is being written. The approach is eclectic rather than structured and the post includes some interesting vehicles.
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

Over Christmas 2018, I have taken some time to look through older Railway Magazines which have been waiting for my attention for months. I have enjoyed looking at copies of The Railway Magazine from 1950 and found a complete copy of an article about the Kenya-Uganda Railway in the April 1950 edition of the magazine.

I thought the full article may be of interest here. Please follow this link:

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/12/28/u ... april-1950

Continuing to read through the 1950 editions of The Railway Magazine, I came across this article in the June issue:

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/01/ug ... -june-1950
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

At the end of 2020 I acquired copies of the 2 volume series compiled by M.F.Hill entitled 'Permanent Way'. These two books were produced for the East African Railways and Harbours, Nairobi, Kenya and, while being focussed on the Uganda Railway were as much a social and economic history of East Africa.

This link will take you to some preliminary reflections which come from reading Hill's book and which I hope are not seen as being too far off topic:

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/12/18/ug ... da-railway

In order to provide the context for the construction of the Uganda Railway, M.F. Hill saw it as imperative in his book to provide a social and economic history of the East African region. It is impossible for me to judge the veracity of what he writes, but it clearly is written from a British Colonial perspective. In addition to covering the strife between the European powers who sought to increase their influence in the Great Lakes region of the continent of Africa, Hill provides extensive quotes from leading British figures in the region about the Uganda that they knew before the coming of the railway.
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

The Uganda Railway at the beginning of 20th century.

Further reflections on the Uganda Railway and the book, "Permanent Way" written by M.F. Hill.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/12/26/th ... th-century
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

The Uganda Railway during the Great War. ...

"The Uganda Railway" was essential to the sustenance of the East Africa Protectorate and the Uganda Protectorate during WW1. It suffered greatly from lack of maintenance during those critical years:

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/12/28/th ... -world-war
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

The Uganda Railway after WW1. .....

In the years immediately after WW1, further European settlement was encouraged and 'European' electoral areas were set up. By 1921, the Census revealed the European population of the EAP to be 9,651 and the Indian population to be 22,822. ..........

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/01/08/th ... orld-war-1
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

The Uganda Railway and it's Gilded Years - 1924-1928

The railway saw significant increases in turnover and working profit in the years prior to the Great Depression

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/02/06/th ... -1924-1928
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

Sugar Factory Branches near Kisumu, Kenya

An on-line acquaintance has recently pointed out that the tenth article in this series about the Uganda Railway is incomplete in that it omits to cover two branch-lines which serve Sugar Cane Mills/Factories. I have returned to the trip along the Uganda Railway to complete the omitted part of the story - that of the Chemelil and Miwani Sugar Factory Branches. ........

On the final approaches to Kisumu the line passed through a significant sugar cane growing region. Sugar processing factories were set up in two locations along the line - Chemelil and Miwani. Both these locations were provided with short branch-line connections to the main Nakuru to Kisumu line.

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/03/24/u ... -to-kisumu
rogerfarnworth
Posts: 303
Joined: 21 Dec 2018, 23:33

Re: The "Uganda Railway" - its history and life until development of the Standard Gauge

Post by rogerfarnworth »

This is the last post based around the book by M.F. Hill which was published in 1949 just as the Tanganyika and Kenya/Uganda networks became one organisation. It cover the Second World War and the few years immediately after. .....

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2021/03/...s ... -and-after
Post Reply

Return to “Rest of Africa - Steam Motive Power”