East African Railways and Harbours

Nairobi to Mombasa

A 57 Class hauls a freight from Mombasa into Nairobi Yard (left) - PHOTO EAR&H. 5909 Mount Mgahinga showing clearly the oil fired furnace (left). PHOTO - Kevin Patience

59 Class Garratt 5928Mount Kilimanjaro heads No 1 UP into Nairobi's platform 1 (left).  Large bogied caboose:  often goods trains would have one of the small four wheeled cabooses in the consist.  PHOTOs George Gilliland

With the Ngong Hills as a backdrop, an unidentified and un-modified 59 Class hurries a coast-bound freight in the vacinity of Embakasi.

This 59 still has not yet been fitted with a Giesel ejector which was eventually fitted to all the 59s to improve steaming performance and fuel oil consumption.

PHOTO - Harry Dodge

 

A freight headed by a 59 Class Garratt arrives at Athi River (left). The unmistakable silhouette of a 59 Class as it heads its train into the night. PHOTO - Ron Bullock

 

Legendary 5918 Mount Gelai with a freight (left). What a pity so many ended up in this condition - a 55 Class abandoned at Voi (right). - PHOTOs Kevin Patience

Unidentified 59s head freights between Nairobi and Mombasa. PHOTOs - Kevin Patience.

 

 

A 59 Class heads a rake of tank cars past Sultan Hamud (left). The 59s displaced, a Kenya Railways diesel heads a similar train in the nineties (right). PHOTOs - Kevin Patience

 

Line gang settiing to work at Kabini Hill near Sultan Hamud to repair the line which had been washed away in a flash flood.  PHOTO George Gilliland

59 Class 5933 Mount Suswa (left) and 5914 Mount Londiani (right) in contrasting Kenya scenery - PHOTOS Colin Garratt

59 Class 5931 Ulguru Mountains (left) works an up freight through Konza. - PHOTO Hugh Ballantyne. 59 Class 5904 Mount Elgon (right) takes water between Nairobi and Mombasa - PHOTO Colourviews.

 60 Class (left) 6011 - formerly Sir William Battershill - complete with Giesel ejector and, by then, characteristic open tank cover. (right) 6023 Sir Edward Northey and 6020 Sir Evelyn Baring sandwich 3113 Bamba at Voi - PHOTOs Kevin Patience.
On 7 May 1956 the restaurant car "Longonot" and one of the new aluminium First Class coaches, attached to the Mombasa-Nairobi Mail were burnt out.  The fire was discovered between Simba and Emali and the coaches were uncoupled from the train at considerable risk.  The first class coach is seen blazing (left) while the remains are shown (right).  PHOTOs EAR&H Magazine April 1956

One of the new 59 Class locomotives heads a freight through an unidentified station - EAR&H Magazine December 1956

Nairobi-Mombasa Mail Train in 1956 - note the first class aluminium coaches (left) and the then recently cascaded from first to 2nd Class coaches behind the Garratt (right) - PHOTOs Ron Bullock

 

 

5911 Mount Sekerri takes water at Voi (left). PHOTOs - Kevin Patience. 60 Class 6023, with traditional EAR&H caboose, heads a short freight on the branch from Voi to Moshi (right) - PHOTO A E Durrant Voi was allocated several 60 Class Garratts to work the Voi Moshi branch.

An unidentified 59 Class (left) - PHOTO Colourviews - rolls a freight into a typical wayside station between Nairobi and Mombasa as the fireman holds out the token for the section of line just covered. Apart from a few miles to the west of Nakuru all the system was single track. 59 Class 5934 Menegai Crater (right) - PHOTO A E Durrant - approaches Changamwe

5927 Mount Tinderet Class approaching Miritini where it stops to take water. PHOTOs - Kevin Patience.

5927 Mount Tinderet taking water and departing Miritini. PHOTOs - Kevin Patience

5927 Mount Tinderet departs Miritini where later a freight arrives at dusk headed by an unidentified 59. (right) PHOTOs - Kevin Patience

60 Class Garrat heads over a US-style bridge at Mazeras. PHOTO - Ron Bullock

Driver's eye view from the cab of a 59 Class. The photo on the above shows the spiral loop near Miritini - PHOTOs - Kevin Patience

Changamwe is a mere 180 feet (60m) above Sea Level where an unidentified 59 arrives from up-country with a freight. PHOTO (right) - Kevin Patience.

5930 Mount Shengena departs Changamwe (left). The same train at a barriered level crossing (right) - PHOTOs - Kevin Patience.

Double heading was not uncommon, but often it resulted from a locomotive breaking down. A 59 appears to be propelling a dead 59 (left), while a relief engine hauls a failed loco and its train (right). PHOTOs - Kevin Patience

59 Class 5921 Mount Nyiru arrives with a heavy freight somewhere between Nairobi and Mombasa - PHOTO A E Durrant. 59 Class heads a freight train into Mombasa across Macupa Causeway (right) - PHOTO EAR&H Magazine.

A 59 Class Garratt heads No 1 Up over the new Magongo Bridge near Mombasa (left) while work goes on with the new road passing underneath - PHOTO - EAR&H 1964 Annual Report. Magongo Bridge with a failed 59 and its train being hauled by a relief 59 (right) - PHOTO Kevin Patience.

A late running Mail Train (left) hauled by a 59 Class Garratt runs through the Game Park east of Voi. The same Mail Train about to cross Macupo Causeway as it nears Mombasa (right).

A 59 Class heads No 2 Down (Nairobi to Mombasa Mail Train) over Macupa Causeway into Mombasa

The 1955 Christmas Card (left) showed 60 Class heading a passenger train into Mombasa across Macupa Causeway. Five years on - a 90 Class heads a Mombasa bound train over Macupa Causeway. - PHOTOS EAR&H

A 23 Class heads a local freight near Mombasa (left). A 29 Class heads a local passenger out of Mombasa (right). PHOTOs - Kevin Patience.

Mombasa Station platform (left). A relatively slack period in the Kilindini Marshalling Grid (right) with an 85 Class leaving the port for Mombasa Marshalling Yard taking traffic for up-country. PHOTOs EAR&H

The heyday of 5918 Mount Gelai

Legendary 59 Class in pristine condition with Kirpal Singh in charge leaving Mombasa with a freight for Nairobi while the locomotive was still in revenue service.

The following sequence of photographs by Ian Stone traces Gelai's progress to MacKinnon Road with its famous railside mosque.

PHOTO - Ian Stone

Mount Gelai approaching the Miritini Spiral. PHOTOs - Ian Stone. . Mackinnon Road was a wartime air station (part of HMS Kipanga II, under control of HMS Kipanga, the Kilindini naval air base at Mombasa).

Mount Gelai negotiating the Miritini Spiral. PHOTOs - Ian Stone

Mount Gelai passing the mosque at Mackinnon Road. PHOTOs - Ian Stone

Mount Gelai in the typical scenery between Mombasa and Voi as it continues with its train through Tsavo National Park.

Gelai is now preserved.

 

Kirpal Singh driving 5918 near Kibwezi in the late 1970s - PHOTO Hugh Ballantyne a well known EAR  photographer. The structure on the hill is the microwave telecom tower that links Nairobi and Mombasa on a line of sight.

East African Railways & Harbours