Some African Scenes

[Focalplane]

During the last 20 years of my working life I spent time in Africa and most of the time I had little time for railways. Only when the railways came to me, as it were. I am looking through my library of photos taken during that time and a few seem to be worth sharing.

I'll start the first post in a place that could be called the "Crewe of Congo Kinshasa". Located half way between Kinshasa and the coastal port of Matadi, it is also on the main highway. Well, the only paved highway of any length in the entire country. Likewise the railway is the mainstay of Kinshasa's well being, for all supplies have to come into the country from Matadi by road or rail or by air. The Congo River is not navigable between Kinshasa and Matadi, in fact it has huge rapids for much of the distance downstream.

The railway is in terrible disrepair and is likely to stay that way without any inward investment. Neighbouring Congo Rep. has had money put into its railway so that Asian countries can extract timber and other useful resources from the hinterland - more of that country later.

in 2012 we were doing geological fieldwork along the main road and stopped to show our papers at the town of Mbanza Ngungu. Across the highway was what looked like an engine shed so we asked if we could look around. The staff and manager were friendly and showed us inside - we later found out they thought we were "investors". I have no idea about the locomotives - perhaps others can fill in the details.

The complex is not on the main line but several kilometers from it along a very windy single track:

First sighting from the regional government offices:



The main complex, largely overgrown. Most working locomotives were out on the system.



A locomotive actually running!





The manager poses with my young Congolese geologist co-worker, Sylvain:



Outside with some of the non-functioning diesels:





Finally, a bit of history. Once the Belgian Congo, the management were expats and they lived in prefab bungalows which had two roofs, both metal, one on top of the other, a bit like old Land Rovers. I didn't photograph one but this cut away model of a steam locomotive is still proudly displayed for the workers to see:



And it has its own roof!

Photographic notes. The weather was very humid and overcast, plus smoke from the town's kitchens pervaded the atmosphere, so photographic conditions were far from good. Also I only carried a waterproof Pentax camera (for security reasons) and its quality was not as good as I had hoped. It eventually filled up with water while wading in a stream, the seal having gone after two years use.

Hope you like these, I have some more from the (old French) Congo Brazzaville to load up while waiting for glue to set.

 

[Peter Cross]

I have trouble here with rubber products, it is the westhwe conditions. It effects shoes, tools, my camera rubber socket covers, even the soft grips on my mini drill have melted. So my be what happened to your camera.

Lovely photos. Visiting these places makes you realize those they say are in poverty in the uk etc, don't really know what poverty is really about.

 

[Focalplane]

Thanks Peter.

I just had a four hour internet outage. First time in France since 2008! What on earth could I do to relax from track laying!!! So I started looking at the photo library - I use Apple's defunct Aperture - and came across these photos from Africa.

The tropics does terrible things to colour slides as well. I lived in non-airconditioned housing in Singapore from 1974 to 1980. All my slides got eaten by fungus while Ektachrome did its thing only more quickly. Digital is certainly an improvement in this respect. Well, I suppose it's an improvement in all ways, until your hard drive craters and you haven't backed it up.

Paul

 

[Focalplane]

Still in the DRC, but this time in Kinshasa, the capital. A group of us had just crossed the Congo River from Brazzaville to Kinshasa by speed boat. It wasn't my favourite way to cross because if the outboard failed we would be off down the rapids to the Atlantic. But we always made it. Each side had its immigration facilities so the actual journey across was fast, everything else was, well, the way it usually is! Once through Kinshasa immigration we boarded a 4 x 4 and exited the port just as a locomotive in the most drab colours I have ever seen blocked our passage:





Now you may be wondering how a Maersk container got to Kinshasa. Probably by road or rail from Matadi. So why is it coming out of Kinshasa port? Because the port deals with traffic upstream only, all the way to Kisangani (which was called Stanleyville at one time) and this is probably where the container has been, on a river barge.

Of course, being Africa, no photography is allowed in such areas. So I asked my boss, sitting in the front seat, to take them for me! Well, he had a better view. . . .

 

[Focalplane]

Next we go to the "other" Congo, today known as the Congo Republic or Congo Brazzaville. Originally a French colony (unlike DR Congo which was originally King Leopold's own territory, but that is a whole other story). In simple terms we often think of the two countries as French Congo and Belgian Congo though they are completely independent.

The capital, Brazzaville is two kilometers across the Congo River from Kinshasa but like Kinshasa difficult to get to across the coastal range. In the 1920s the French built a railway from Pointe Noire on the coast to Brazzaville. It was, and is, called the Chemin de Fer Congo Ocean, CFCO. In addition a branch line was built north toward Gabon but that is now closed (Gabon built their own railway). The railway is said to have had huge loss of life during construction. In Pointe Noire there is a restaurant in the old Governor's Mansion with lots of photos on the walls. Sadly I enjoyed the food too much to think of photographing the photos. But nearby there is a plinthed tank engine:



This photo was taken in 2006 and I am sorry to report that its condition has deteriorated badly since then.

The station at Pointe Noire is outstanding though again, since I first photographed it the condition has been declining. It is next to the ocean and in a tropical climate so this not surprising. Even so:





The first photo was posted on Flickr and has garnered nearly 10,000 views. It has been likened, architecturally, to a Tesco Supermarket. Though they don't have etched glass palm trees.

Pointe Noire has always had a better history than the capital - generally untouched by civil war no doubt due to the presence of the oil industry - otherwise this building probably would not have survived. The station has one long platform with numerous sidings, all crossed by the road to the staff house I stayed in:



The coaches in the distance formed the old "express" to Brazzaville. They have been replaced by a South Korean set with air-conditioning! In the other direction is the port, getting busier these days as more and more timber and other resources are exported. This view is at another street crossing up the line toward the interior.



Next, we go inland by 4 x 4 to look for rocks (and trains).

 

[Jordan]

The diesels look like Alco export models to me.

 

[allegheny1600]

They're very American looking!
I'd say General Electric units myself - probably something like a U15, U20 or U22C (?). I can't immediately find any sources to confirm this but it looks like GE's are very common indeed in central/southern Africa. Most of Africa really.
Fascinating scenes anyway, thanks for posting.
Cheers,
John.

 

[Jordan]

You're probably right John; as the Soo Line eventually became a 'vanilla' Railroad (all locos from one maker, in this case EMD) my knowledge of other manufacturers' engines is slightly lacking :fool:

 

[Focalplane]

I would agree that the DRC locos probably were built in America. They probably weren't bought or delivered directly, though. Many trucks in Kinshasa still have the signage of the previous owner on the cabs, even right hand drive British lorries! The Communist bloc had a strong influence in many African countries and this is sometimes seen in their trains, though most are gone now, worn out and poorly maintained.

I have only a few loco pictures from the Congo Rep. partly because photography was strictly forbidden. It would be easier today with a smart phone.

 

[Focalplane]

The Chinese and South Koreans have both invested heavily in the Congo Republic in order to extract much needed natural resources such a timber, minerals and so on. The Chinese have built a modern highway through the coastal mountains, while the South Koreans have improved the CFCO, even putting in cutoffs to improve the overall schedule.

The trains used to move so slowly because there were frequent derailments. And derailments meant that the locals could help themselves to whatever freight was available. A response to this, reported by the BBC a few years ago, was that a shipment of mosquito nets was welded inside the box cars. Don't be too keen to blame the locals for this, remember that shipwreck off the East Devon Coast a few years ago with people walking off the beach with BMW motorbikes?

I would have liked to have taken the train just one time but to be honest the flight only takes an hour with European pilots in Air France certified planes. An easy choice when time is money.

So, what does the CFCO look like in the mountains? Well, first you have to find it!



A rare view from the road. The last time I was there the road looked like this but the jungle was reclaiming it fast:



It was while on this road that we stopped at a pique-nique place for lunch - some rotten logs and termite infested tables - and I went for a short walk, the way one does, and found this:







As always happens when foreigners think they are alone, the locals found us. A few questions later and it turns out this track has been out of use since the Koreans built the cut off, though one train a week still used the line. Ah well, there'll always be another chance, but there wasn't, I decided to retire and build model railway layouts instead.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

In the 1920s the French built a railway from Pointe Noire on the coast to Brazzaville.

It's curious why the French would build a railway in Belgian territory?

 

[Focalplane]

Not really. There are two Congos! The Belgian Congo is DRC with Kinshasa (Leopoldville) as its capital. The French Congo is Congo Republic with Brazzaville as its capital. The Congo river runs through both countries and the two capitals are opposite each other. Hope this helps. Paul

 

[allegheny1600]

You're probably right John; as the Soo Line eventually became a 'vanilla' Railroad (all locos from one maker, in this case EMD) my knowledge of other manufacturers' engines is slightly lacking :fool:

Nothing "foolish" about your previous answer, buddy - you tried to help and at the very least your response could have been all that was needed!
I just happen to have a passing interest in most "export" diesels as I have travelled to a few fairly exotic countries such as Morocco, Sri Lanka, Cape Verde and so on - nothing like as exotic as the Congo however!
Plus, I model a little bit of Greek outline where all 'modern' locos are imports anyway so you can see machines built in many different places, all operating alongside each other.*
Cheers,
John.

*It's opportunities like this that make such countries fascinating to me.

PS IF any of the abandoned locos pictured above, happened to have "shovel" noses (very ungainly!), they almost certainly were GE's and bore a resemblance to such units used in Alaska.

PPS When you start looking at just how many locos were exported over the years - the numbers are HUGE! (even if the Hp were low!).

 

[Focalplane]

John, thanks for the post above. You have reminded me that I have a few photos and videos from Sri Lanka taken over Christmas 2014. I'll have to add them to WT some time in the future, though not just now as I am not having to wait for glue to dry for a while.

 

[Jordan]

PPS When you start looking at just how many locos were exported over the years - the numbers are HUGE! (even if the Hp were low!).

Agreed. My eyes were opened to that when I started reading the books by the late Colin Garratt, although his focus was steam.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

The first photo was posted on Flickr and has garnered nearly 10,000 views. It has been likened, architecturally, to a Tesco Supermarket. Though they don't have etched glass palm trees.

The difference is if the station is original it has architectural significance (to western eyes) as it is French Colonial late Art Nouveau/early Art Deco.

Not really. There are two Congos! The Belgian Congo is DRC with Kinshasa (Leopoldville) as its capital. The French Congo is Congo Republic with Brazzaville as its capital. The Congo river runs through both countries and the two capitals are opposite each other. Hope this helps. Paul

It does help as my African colonial history is somewhat sparse.

 

[Focalplane]

A few locomotives at Pointe Noire. First a surprisingly clean switcher running back to the port:



You can see that the station building has started to weather.

This appears to be a double headed freight leaving the port for Brazzaville:



This one is a real wreck and doesn't look American - any ideas? Sorry about the quality, through the windshield on a rainy day.



This one has the new South Korean passenger rake at the far end:



A freight/container train arriving in Pointe Noire. The photo was taken at the grade crossing on the road to the airport. Two shots, it was moving slowly! I would say Eastern European?

 

[Roger Pound]

I would agree that there is an Eastern European, possibly Czech, influence on the loco at the crossing. The switcher in the first picture seems to have some similarity to the Vossloh products which now flood the railways of continental Europe.
Thanks for posting these most interesting and fascinating pictures.

Roger

 

[allegheny1600]

Hello Paul,
More fascinating pictures, thanks!
The blue (off)centre cab switcher (shunter!) looks to be either DDR or Czech manufacture to me, the big six axle diesels have a very GM (EMD) look, the red one with the green stripe says "Spoornet" so I'd guess ex South African xx34xx? I think Lima made a H0 model! See: South African Class 34-800 - Wikipedia
As to the smokey unit through your windshield - I can't even hazard a guess. It looks like it has a passenger compartment within the body and such short wheelbase bogies.
I don't know the latter grey machine either but I'd guess at Korean or maybe Japanese?
I love this game!
Cheers,
John.

 

[Neil]

I believe that the mystery smokey diesel is one of these. I've yet to track down its manufacturer but I'm going to stick my neck out and hazard a guess that it's French if only for the styling cue of the rather short wheelbase bogies.