Charles wrote:Hello everyone,
Saturday’s [3rd May 2014] trip to Naivasha and back to film 3020 was a great success. The timings are as follows:
Nairobi
Dep 07.47
(held for 23 minutes after Kibera to allow a Nairobi bound freight to pass)
Dagoretti
Arr 09.26
Dep 10.14
Kikuyu
Arr 11.06
Dep 12.50
Limuru
Passed 13.37
Uplands
Arr 14.25
Dep 14.40
Matathia
Passed 15.25pm
Kijabe
Arr 15.53
Dep 16.02
(five minute halt for filming)
Suswa
Passed 16.56
Munyu
Passed 17.15pm
Naivasha
arr. 17.36pm
It was a requirement of RVR that we had a diesel locomotive ‘in attendance’ so 6217 followed, banking through Kibera and as far as a few miles north of Limuru where it was detached and 3020 climbed to the summit of the escarpment unaided and continued thereafter without assistance as the train was being filmed by helicopter. I went back to Nairobi with the film crew, but understand that 3020 returned to Nairobi in light steam hauled by 6712. I saw it this afternoon safely back in 006 shop. There were no mechanical problems apart from a sticking piston on one of the Westinghouse pumps which was dealt during the stop at Dagoretti.
This week is very busy as I will be in Cape Town delivering a series a lectures, but I will try and post photos and provide a bit more detail next week. Meanwhile, a few photos are attached…approaching Nairobi stationn at dawn, at Uplands, Kijabe and Naivasha.
We have now established a team and a network of communication which I hope will make future rail tours less of a struggle to set up than in the past...
Charles Raven
(Chairman, Friends of Nairobi Railway Museum)