3020 Steams Again

Click here for the background to this report.

3020 successfully ran to Naivasha on 20th December 2003. Graham Roberts reports:

I will leave someone who was actually on the train (I was chasing it by car to take photos) to fill in details of the full experience - Kenya Railways organised an excellent program full of cultural interest - but here are the salient operating facts:

The plan was to depart Nairobi at 0700, be at Naivasha by 1100, have lunch, and return in the afternoon. The train was about 300 tons (including 120 tons of water tankers, since the pumps for lineside water supplies at intermediate stations have 'disappeared'). Passenger accomodation was a restaurant car and a buffet car, making for good visibility; a staff coach and a caboose completed the load.

The train left at around 0720 and made leisurely progress on the heavy gradients as far as Uplands. The problems of 3020's leaking piston packings and furred-up injectors had been solved in the week before setting off, but the badly-worn driving wheel tires (they are concave rather than planar) and the poor condition of track meant much slipping and slow progress. It also has to be said that the loco still doesn't steam as well as she should; 150 psi can be maintained most of the time (instead of the 180 which should be working pressure) but the loco is easily 'winded' on steep sections and needs to pause for recovery at stations.

Progress onwards from Uplands was, unsurprisingly, relatively rapid (down the Rift Valley escarpment) but the schedule was already in tatters, and Naivasha was not reached until 1500. The loco then progressed a further 30kms to Gilgil to water and turn on the triangle before finally working back to Nairobi under her own steam. The train was taken back to Nairobi by diesel due to the very late running, arriving around midnight, which made a long day for those looking for a family excursion!

All in all then, a mixed day, but undoubtedly a huge success for Kenya Railways in running a steam excursion themselves and for Joe Kamau Gakunga's steam team in getting the loco back to life and fit to haul a train. I certainly had a great day. KR intend to run regular excursions like this one next year, and are open to discuss charters as well.

Typically, Joe (who with his team was up at 4 a.m. to prepare the loco) was already planning reprofiling the driving wheel tires when I left him at 2200 at Naivasha after running back from Gilgil under clear, starry skies with zebra and Thomson's gazelles fleeing the whistling monster. The man just doesn't give up.... and nor does 3020!

Here are some pictures oif the event:

Graham Roberts reported that 3020 set out on a freight train westwards out of Nairobi on 30th October but dropped a fusible plug at Kibera. This was in preparation for the excursion to Naivasha in December. No major damage was done and the trial should be repeated shortly.

Further news came from Graham: "3020 made a test run from Nairobi with a 200 ton freight load on 12th November. There were water supply problems at stations en route and the test was curtailed at Limuru. Hearing the loco in the distance labouring up the grade from Kikuyu was quite a treat. The loco is reportedly to be repainted in maroon shortly, instead of the current sea-green 'livery'."

Graham Roberts added "3020 ran a load test on 10th December aiming to remedy two or three defects found two weeks ago - steam leaking through piston glands, a partially blocked blower ring in the smokebox, and a problem with the atomiser for cylinder lubrication. The blower and atomiser were fixed, but unfortunately the new piston gland packing seems to have been machined incorrectly, and although the loco had little problem on the level with the 300 ton train, she was not able to climb the 1.5% grade from Nairobi West Yard to Kibera due to (spectacularly loud!) blowing glands, much worse than the fault it aimed to correct! After stalling twice for lack of steam, and dismantling the piston glands in section for a look, the test was abandoned and we came ignominiously back to the West Yard in reverse... but at least without diesel assistance! Work is now under way over the holiday weekend to refit new packing and a further test is likely on Sunday or next week. (I will be away from Nairobi next week so will not be able to report on progress) Kenya Railways still hopes to run a steam excursion to Naivasha on 20 December with 3020, but time is now very short."

This is 3020 during a visit to the shed at Nairobi on 10th December 2003:

And in the west yard on the same day.