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The Railways of West Cumberland – Part 1 – An Introduction The November 1954 issue of The Railway Magazine included an article by C. A. Knight about the railways between Sellafield and Maryport and inland as far as Cockermouth and Kelton Fell. [Quote]Reading Knight’s article encouraged me to begin a review of the different railways and tramways of the area. This article is the first of a series. … [/Quote] http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/05/02/the-railways-of-west-cumberland-part-1-an-introduction/

Parliament and the Railways in 1858. N. Caplan reviewed parliamentary activity relating to railways in 1858 in The Railway Magazine of December 1958. His aim was to encourage research into railway history through the various Acts of Parliament relating to railways. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/05/02/parliament-and-the-railways-in-1858/

[b]Part 1 Introduction and the Route of the Railway from Gällivare to Arvidsjaur[/b] The featured image for this article is a picture of Swedish State Railways (Swedish: Statens Järnvägar) Locomotive No. 907 at Arvidsjaur Railway Station. The image is dated May 1935, (c) Public Domain. [60] Known as Sweden’s Inland Railway, the Inlandsbanan “extends from Gällivare, in Lapland, to Kristinehamn, on Lake Väner, in Värmland, a distance of 800 miles, through scenery that ranges from the tundra of the Arctic to the forest lands of Central Sweden.” [1: p826] The line is known for its leisurely pace, allowing for wildlife spotting (reindeer, elk) and spontaneous stops, with onboard hosts providing commentary. Trains operate with daily departures during the 3 months of high summer, often with packages that include hotels. It also operates for 4 months in the winter. Roger FarnworthSweden’s Inland Railway (Inlandsbanan) – Part 1 – Introdu...The featured image for this article is a picture of Swedish State Railways (Swedish: Statens Järnvägar) Locomotive No. 907 at Arvidsjaur Railway Station. The image is dated May 1935, (c) Public Dom…

Part 1 - A Short History The featured image for this article is a 4-4-0 Locomotive No. 694 – one of a class of 15 built by the North British Locomotive Company in Scotland for Egyptian State Railways in 1905-06, © Public Domain. [1] Egyptian National Railways (Al-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah al-Miṣriyyah) is the national railway network of Egypt. Founded in 1854, it is the oldest railway system in Africa and the Middle East. [1] Much of what follows comes from the Wikipedia article about Egypt’s national railway network [1] and from Hugh Hughes book, ‘Middle East Railways’, published by the Continental Railway Circle. [3] Other sources include Grace’s Guide, [6] the Egyptian Government [7] and the Institute of Developing Economies. [8] [Quote] 1833-1877 Wikipedia tells us that, “In 1833, Muhammad Ali Pasha considered building a railway between Suez and Cairo to improve transit between Europe and India. Muhammad Ali had proceeded to buy the rail when the project was abandoned due to pressure by the French who had an interest in building a canal instead.” [/Quote] http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/04/01/egyptian-railway-history-a-short-version/

The November 1954 edition of The Railway Magazine contained an article by Robert Legget about the Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire. He was surprised to find that in 1954 it was claiming to be 'the first mountain climbing railway in the world'. It is beyond doubt that it is among the pioneer mountain railways of the world, but the first? http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/04/15/the-mount-washington-cog-railway/

Part 6 – The British Mandate and the Trust – The Years of British Rule including the approach of World War II Roger FarnworthRailways of Tanzania – Part 6 – The British Mandate and t...The featured image for this article is a photograph of the first ,’corridor’ mail train leaving Dar es Salaam in 1922. The locomotive is No. 1098 ex NGSR of India (later a TR NZ Class L…

[B]Part 5 – Tanga to Ruvu (and thence to Dar-es-Salaam)[/B] Roger FarnworthRailways of Tanzania – Part 5 – Tanga to Ruvu (and thence...This is the fifth article about the Railways of Tanzania, and there will be more to come. The featured image for this article is an EAR Class 30 locomotive No. 3019 ‘Nyamwezi’ at Tabora…

Following on from a couple of articles about the Tanat Valley Light Railway written some years back, I was reading some older rather tatty magazines and found an article entitled “Rails up the Tanat Valley” in an issue of the Ian Allan publication ‘Railway World‘ – the June 1990 edition. The featured image for the linked article is a photograph taken in August 1963 of an unidentified pannier tank crossing the A495 with a ballast train from Blodwell, heading for Llynclys Junction. One of the train crew is seeing the train across the crossing. An old gas lamp retains its red glass aspect to the road, GWR-style © Andrew Buckley. In his article, Colin Ganley recounted the rise and decline of the minor lines running west from Oswestry, the last remnant of which by 1990 had been ‘mothballed’. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/03/19/rails-up-the-tanat-valley The earlier articles can be found on this forum, failing that these are the relevant links: http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/09/18/the-tanat-valley-light-railway-and-the-nantmawr-branch-part-1 http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/17/the-tanat-valley-light-railway-and-the-nantmawr-branch-part-2

[i][b]The Railway Magazine[/b][/i] of November 1954 reported that East African Railways & Harbours had begun to name its new ’60’ Class Beyer- Garratt locomotives. They chose to name them after past and present Governors. The ’60’ Class were then the most powerful Beyer-Garratt locomotives to be delivered to East Africa. Twenty-seven (29? [1]) had been ordered, and by the Autumn of 1954, twenty-five had been delivered, with 20 already in service. Other locomotive classes were also given names. ... The short linked article focuses on the ass 59 and Class 60 Beyer-Garratts. [Quote]The featured image shows East African Railways (EAR) ’60’ Class Beyer-Garratt steam locomotive No. 6019 at Tabora depot, Tanzania in 1968, © Basil Roberts and licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA 4.0).[/Quote] http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/03/26/named-locomotives-in-east-africa/

Steam Heating Tenders for Class 4E locomotives The November 1954 edition of The Railway Magazine reported that, “An improved type of steam-heating tender for electric main-line trains has been brought into use on the Cape Western and Natal systems of South African Railways. The new tenders are fitted with automatic oil-burning generators and are stated to be both cleaner and more effective than the former coal-burning type." Historically, passenger carriages in South Africa were heated using steam heating systems powered by steam locomotives, or later via steam generators in diesel/electric locomotives. These systems supplied steam through pipes to heaters within the coaches. Other than the short piece in The Railway Magazine, I have been unable to find any reference to the need for SHGs with Class 4E locomotives. Roger FarnworthSouth Africa: Steam Heating Tenders for Class 4E LocomotivesThe November 1954 edition of The Railway Magazine reported that, “An improved type of steam-heating tender for electric main-line trains has been brought into use on the Cape Western and Nata…

Les Chemins de Fer du Sud de la France - Ligne du Littoral - St. Raphael -Toulon. (Chemins de Fer de Provence/Alpes-Maritimes No. 94) This very short post returns to the coastal line between St. Raphael and Toulon. Two videos make use of historic photographs which have been given a treatment using Al and which has created short vignettes with moving images. Roger FarnworthLes Chemins de Fer du Sud de la France – Ligne du Littora...This very short post returns to the coastal line between St. Raphael and Toulon. Two excellent videos scripted in French have been produced by ‘Group Speleo de Vence’. These cover the f…I have written extensively about the three main routes of the Chemins de Fer du Sud in the past, all of the articles have links to them on the forum. Failing that this link can be followed: https://rogerfarnworth.com/category/railways-and-tramways-blog/french-railways-and-tramways/railways-and-tramways-around-nice The first article on this link is the one above and others follow.

600 mm Narrow Gauge Lines used during World War 1 in East Africa – Predominantly in what is now Tanzania 600 mm gauge trolley lines (often known as Feldbahnen or “field railways”) played a crucial role in the East African Campaign of the First World War, particularly in German East Africa (GEA) where they were used for both industrial and military logistics. These narrow-gauge systems were used to connect coastal areas, plantations, and interior supply depots to the main standard-gauge (1,000 mm) railways, or directly to the frontline. [QUOTE]Numerous privately owned 600 mm gauge Sisal Plantation Railways operated throughout the coastal and Tanga regions of German East Africa. These lines linked the plantations to factories and ultimately to the port at Tanga. During the first world war these were adapted for military use and transported troops, supplies and weapons.[/QUOTE] http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/03/16/600-mm-narrow-gauge-lines-used-during-world-war-1-in-east-africa/

Part 10 – The Mkumbara to Neu Hornow Cableway/Ropeway, Usambara Hills, German East Africa/Tanganyika The western Usambara Hills were characterised by precipitous cliffs and deep gorges. The provision of a rail link between Mkumbara and Neu Hornow was not considered practical. A 9 km long ropeway was constructed, under the ownership of “the firm of Wilkens and Wiese, and designed to carry cedar from the Shume plateau to the railway, an enterprise that was never an economic success. The longest span of the ropeway, 907 metres, was said to be the longest in the world when it was built in the years 1910-1911.” [1: p75] Wood was transported via the Goatal/Ngoha Valley in the Schumewald/Shume Forest. [2] Roger FarnworthTanzania Railways – Part 10 – The Mkumbara to Neu Hornow...The western Usambara Hills were characterised by precipitous cliffs and deep gorges. The provision of a rail link between Mkumbara and Neu Hornow was not considered practical. A 9 km long ropeway w…

A number of different articles are under preparation, this is the next completed article: Part 9 – Narrow-Gauge Industrial Lines The featured image for this article shows a train on the Kihuhui Bridge on the Sigi Railway in Tanganyika. Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania) possessed a dense network of industrial narrow-gauge railways, primarily developed during the German colonial era (German East Africa) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to support plantation agriculture and forestry. While the main lines (Central Line and Usambara Railway) were built to 1,000 mm (metre) gauge, industrial, plantation, and forestry lines often used 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) or 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge. Following World War I, the British administration deemed many of the 600 mm “light railways” to be economically inefficient compared to the, at the time, more efficient 1,000 mm metre-gauge lines, leading to a shift away from developing these smaller lines. Early Industrial Narrow Gauge lines included: the Sigi Railway; and the Sisal Plantation Railways. Later industrial lines included: the Southern Province Railway, the Port of Bujumbura Railway, and Narrow Gauge Railways near Moshi. Roger FarnworthRailways of Tanzania – Part 9 – Narrow-Gauge Industrial L...The featured image for this article shows a train on the Kihuhui Bridge on the Sigi Railway in Tanganyika. [3] Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania) possessed a dense network of industrial narrow-gauge…

Part 3 - The Railway Line from Voi to Kahe The majority of this line was in Kenya, built to support the war effort in the First World War. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2026/04/09/railways-of-tanzania-part-3-voi-kenya-to-kahe-and-moshi-tanzania