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Steven Pratt reports on the very mixed success of the second
Railway Touring Company trip to East Africa:
After arriving at Dar-es-Salaam, on Monday 10 October, we joined our steam-hauled charter train for the journey to Soga hauled by “Tribal” Class 29 loco no. 2927 “Suk” (North British: 1955), with a buffet lunch on the platform before returning to the capital. The previous day, we had visited the loco depot and the Chinese-built Tanzam station, with its 3’6” line to Zambia.
On Thursday 13 October, after arriving in Kenya, Class 59 Garrett steam loco no. 5918 “Mount Gelai” (Beyer Peacock: 1955) hauled our charter train from Mombassa towards Nairobi. However, progress was slow and due to sludge blocking the injectors between Maungu and
Ndara, it was decided to call for diesel assistance to haul the train through the night as far as
Kibwezi. After breakfast on Friday, 5918 was run in light steam, with a diesel pilot to haul the train to Nairobi. At Nairobi, the visit to the railway museum revealed many interesting locomotives and archive material.
On Sunday, “Tribal” Class 30 no. 3020 “Nyaturu” (North British: 1955) left Nairobi bound for Kisumu with our charter train. However, shortly after departure, a hole appeared in the blower pipe inside the
smokebox, badly affecting the loco's ability to maintain steam pressure on the testing gradient to
Kibera. We stood for some time in the largest slum in Africa, much to the locals’ amusement, and the loco paused at Kibera station for running repairs to be made using a bolt and asbestos wadding. This solved the problem, but timekeeping was badly affected, so it was decided to use diesel-electric assistance as far as
Nakuru. After superb views of the Great Rift Valley, Nakura was reached at a reasonable time. Over the next two days, 3020's progress to Kipkelion and Kisumu was unassisted and satisfactory, with several superb photo-stops in the sunshine at viaducts and other suitable locations. On arriving at
Kisumu, the loco and train were taken to the docks for more photos.
On Saturday, we heard the bad news that our steam loco had failed. After a rest day on Wednesday, 3020 was due to move to Navasha for the final stage of the trip back to Nairobi on Saturday. Several problems arose during this leg; the Westinghouse pump lubrication failed, the pump ran hot, and had to be isolated, leaving the train with the loco's steam brake only; the left-hand eccentric return crank (which had been replaced after the last safari) turned out not to fit well, and worked loose; and oil fuel ran low. 3020 was declared a failure and taken to Nakuru shed, where fresh oil supplies were available. The air pump lubrication was fixed and the loose return crank shimmed up, in order that the loco could return to Nairobi under its own power. However, this was unfortunately too late for our charter, which completed its
Navasha-Nairobi leg on Saturday under diesel-electric traction, again with superb views of the Great Rift Valley. In all, a pioneering trip that was certainly worth the effort.
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