The Swaziland Railway must have been the last significant steam operated railway to have been built in Africa. The country's first railway was constructed between 1962 and 1964, covering some 136 miles its prime purpose being the conveyance of iron ore from the mines at Kadake to Matola near Lorenço Marques (Maputo). The intention was to write off the assets over a period of 14 years after which the ore would be exhausted. In the event an extra line south to South Africa was constructed in the late 1970s and the railway changed its character with abandonment of the top section above Matsapa, initial use of South African steam power and then dieselisation. This section covers only the early operation which was in the hands of steam locomotives from Moçambique.
