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In 2003 the main line of Zambia Railways (ZR) running from the Zimbabwean
border at Victoria Falls to Kitwe, and some branch lines in the copperbelt, was
privatized. The new company, named Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ),
announced in the press that they would stop running down the infrastructure
and that they would improve the condition of the railway network. Nothing has
come of this so far, as anyone can see on a visit to Zambia.
The branch line from Livingstone to Mulobezi was not included in the
privatization and it is still controlled by ZR. The Njanji Commuter Service in
Lusaka was not included either, it had already closed down. My last visit in
Zambia was 8 years ago and now, more than two years after the change of
ownership, I was eager to see the present situation. For me as a self confessed
railway archaeologist, a large number of steam locomotives dumped in the
north of the country over 30 years ago was another reason to plan this trip.
The Mulobezi Railway
Completed in 1931, this line was a part of the private Zambesi Sawmills
Railway (ZSR) network. The purpose was the transport of timber, cut from the
rich forests to the north and west of Livingstone. Railway sleepers for the
Rhodesia Railways (RR) were a speciality. The workshops and running shed of
the ZSR were located in Livingstone, they have become the railway museum.
The main line to Mulobezi exists, but all of the branches were lifted in the
beginning of the seventies. In January 1973, after the Zambezi Sawmills
closed, the line was taken over by Zambia Railways. The sawmill in Mulobezi
finally shut down around 1994. The people of this small town were faced with
the choice of moving or looking for another living. The responsibility for these
people is the reason why the government, through ZR, still provides a weeky
mixed train to Mulobezi. The Investor who is now running the line to the
copperbelt did not wish to become involved with the rail service to this rural
part of the country. There is no direct road from Livingstone to Mulobezi and
the indirect way is mostly unpaved and impassable during rains. A stoppage of
the rail service would be disastrous for the local people. The railway is the
nerve centre of the region, as can be seen by anyone riding on the train to
Mulobezi.
“The train to Mulobezi should depart every Wednesday at 8 am.“, said the
Livingstone Station Master on the phone. He did not want to talk about other
details, like arrival time in Mulobezi or the return in Livingstone. Usually the
train arrives back at the end of one week, barring serious problems. Fitted out
with these little gems of information before leaving Germany, we started our
adventure. The tour started in Bulawayo on the Victoria Falls train at the end
of May 2006. The two man expedition was completed by Graham, a
Zimbabwean friend, who had never been to Zambia before.
After arrival in Livingstone the railway museum was the first item on the
agenda. About twenty steam locomotives of the former RR and ZSR are
displayed in an extensive area in superficially good condition. I did not visit to
the RSZ loco shed because I did not expect to find any steam locomotives
there, they were all scrapped or sent to the museum around 1995. On a visit in
1994 I saw many dumped Garratts and 12th class engines in the shed yard.
The Area Manager of Livingstone told me that nowadays there is only one
steam locomotive is left. It is proposed to put it up as a monument in front of
the railway station. Unfortunately I could not find out the running or builders
number. (12th Class # 204. Ed).
Right in time, some minutes to 8am, one European and one Zimbabwean
traveller turned up at Livingstone station, loaded with water and canned food
for one week, to be on the safe side. The ticket to Mulobezi can not be
purchased at the ticket office in the main building, where one can only get
tickets towards Ndola. To buy a ticket for the Mulobezi train, you visit a small
building in the station forecourt, where the office of the Mulobezi railway is
located. The fare for a single trip to Mulobezi, 163 km away, is 18.000
Kwacha, nearly 5 Euro.
Sammy, the Train Manager, was very sorry to tell us that the train would not
depart in time. The only platform was still blocked by a RSZ train, which had
arrived from Ndola in the night. He could not say when the coaches would be
removed so that our train could be accommodated. Indeed, it was only at 1
pm. that our train found the line to Mulobezi after a short shunt in the Victoria
Falls direction. This was necessary because the line branches off from a
headshunt in the opposite direction to the station. All trains to Mulobezi leave
Livingstone Station backwards.
The arrangement of the train was very interesting: A U15C type diesel loco (No.
02-311), build by General Electric, three quite battered economy coaches ex
ZR, one staff coach, a snack car, a tank wagon for water and plenty of mostly
empty wagons for freight and cattle. The crew of the train was remarkable as
well. Two drivers, a train manager, two conductors, one freight conductor with
some helpers, a chef plus assistants, two railway policemen with submachine-
guns, three wagon examiners and three permanent way workers. Not counted
were persons belonging to the train, but who could not to be identified.
The first stop of the train was only a few kilometres outside of Livingstone at
“Sawmills”. This compound was erected by the Zambesi Sawmills Company for
its employees. At this stop all available standing room was occupied and the
train got really packed. At a snail’s pace the ride continued through the typical
bush landscape of the southern Africa. The milestones helped to calculate the
speed, which did not exceed 15 km/h most of the time. On the way to
Mulobezi the train gets emptier stop by stop as the people who went to
Livingstone to sell their goods, mostly charcoal and livestock, arrived home.
Some stops where made to provide the rural population with water from the
tank wagon. They were waiting for the train with empty containers to fill up with
the essential stuff and to carry home by ox teams. This is another reason to
keep the weekly train running despite the ailing infrastructure.
Time was running faster than the train, and soon we had to prepare for the
night. Fortunately we were equipped by woollen blankets, which we wisely
bought in Bulawayo before the trip to Victoria Falls (for 5.3 Million Zimbabwe
dollars each). The NRZ did not offer bedding even in first class. On the
Mulobezi train the blankets were double helpful. The slowly swinging coaches
sent me to sleep promptly and I missed the crossing of the Ngwesi River on the
new bridge, more than 100 meters long and about 10 meters high. I made the
same mistake on the way back to Livingstone. In the morning I noticed that the
train wad grown by two wagons in front of the locomotive: a truck with timber
and a cattle wagon. Obviously both were picked up by the train along the main
line during night. Sammy told me that the empty coaches were left on the line
on the way to Livingstone to be loaded prior to the return of the train. Because
there are no sidings except at Ngwesi, the coaches had to be pushed to
Mulobezi.
I should comment on the snack car, which was not at all expected. The lively
chef offered grilled chicken with rice or nshima, the Zambian counterpart to
the Zimbabwean sadza. Beside that we purchased some crisps, Cola, Fanta
and of course, Chibuku. This stuff was sold tot by tot from a big container, not
packed in cardboard boxes. On the way back the menu changed from grilled
to boiled chicken in recognition of the toughness of the rural type of bird
bought in Mulobezi. Most of our tinned food was not needed.
On Thursday at around 12 pm. we arrived at Mulobezi station. The remains of
the former sawmill systems let us know how busy the place once was. Today
the area seems to be in a state of hibernation. Three steam locos are rusting at
the station, waiting for the opening of a museum, I was told. Let’s see what will
come of that! Three other more or less complete engines are dumped in the
high grass some hundred meters outside of the station yard at the former line to
Lonze forest. All of those locos were bought second-hand from Rhodesia
Railways or South African Railways.
Surprisingly it was not a problem to find accommodation in Mulobezi. There is
a guest house not far away from the railway station so there was no need for
another night on the train. Certainly there is no electricity and no running
water and only one toilet of African style for the entire establishment, but
everyone tried hard to give every possible comfort to the European stranger.
And a candlelight dinner of corned beef and canned tuna fish can be very
romantically.
The next day we were back at the station very early. The departure of the train
back to Livingstone was scheduled for 8 am. and we did not wish to be left
behind. Our U15C was already on the train, turned as if by magic with the cab
in front. The triangle of Mulobezi seems still to be serviceable. In Zambia the
turning of locomotives is done by triangles. As far as I know only on turntable
exists, in Kapiri Mposhi and owned by TAZARA.
We left nearly on schedule around 9 am. Most of the cattle wagons were now
occupied by four-legged passengers, some of the freight cars were loaded with
bags of charcoal and the timber was behind the loco and not in front as on the
way there. This was particularly favourable to the locomotive drivers who
watched the condition of the line during the trip like hawks to stop the train
before any derailment. Four whistles sent the track workers out of their
compartment or the snack-car to repair the line. This racket was repeated
several times, day and night. We stopped often for bags of charcoal to be
loaded into the wagons. The production of charcoal seems to be the main
business in the area around Mulobezi after forestry has nearly completed
closed down.
In the late evening we finally witnessed the event we had expected on the way
to Mulobezi, a derailment. One bogie on a cattle wagon derailed. However,
the staff in the carboose at the rear stopped the train by the operational (!)
emergency brake and because of the low speed, there was no major damage
of the permanent way. The track workers appeared straight away with re-railing
ramps, similar to those used on a model railway, and put them behind the
derailed bogie. After a hand signal the locomotive driver shunted the train
slowly backwards and in less than 15 minutes after the derailment the train was
back on the track and the drive went on. Unfortunately I could not take photos
of the procedure, dusk was already setting in.
After a second night on the train and a cosy trip through the African morning
we arrived at Sawmills around 11 am. The train emptied suddenly and the
friendly conductor gave us the advice to leave here, too. It could take hours
until the signalman at Livingstone station give us right of way to the platform
track, the RSZ has priority. We managed to get hold of a taxi to the hotel and
only after checking in, the desired shower and a first Mosi Lager at the hotel
bar did we hear the whistle of the Mulobezi train arriving at Livingstone station
- the conductor turned out to be exactly right. An adventurous journey along
the African bush came to a good end for all those involved.
border at Victoria Falls to Kitwe, and some branch lines in the copperbelt, was
privatized. The new company, named Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ),
announced in the press that they would stop running down the infrastructure
and that they would improve the condition of the railway network. Nothing has
come of this so far, as anyone can see on a visit to Zambia.
The branch line from Livingstone to Mulobezi was not included in the
privatization and it is still controlled by ZR. The Njanji Commuter Service in
Lusaka was not included either, it had already closed down. My last visit in
Zambia was 8 years ago and now, more than two years after the change of
ownership, I was eager to see the present situation. For me as a self confessed
railway archaeologist, a large number of steam locomotives dumped in the
north of the country over 30 years ago was another reason to plan this trip.
The Mulobezi Railway
Completed in 1931, this line was a part of the private Zambesi Sawmills
Railway (ZSR) network. The purpose was the transport of timber, cut from the
rich forests to the north and west of Livingstone. Railway sleepers for the
Rhodesia Railways (RR) were a speciality. The workshops and running shed of
the ZSR were located in Livingstone, they have become the railway museum.
The main line to Mulobezi exists, but all of the branches were lifted in the
beginning of the seventies. In January 1973, after the Zambezi Sawmills
closed, the line was taken over by Zambia Railways. The sawmill in Mulobezi
finally shut down around 1994. The people of this small town were faced with
the choice of moving or looking for another living. The responsibility for these
people is the reason why the government, through ZR, still provides a weeky
mixed train to Mulobezi. The Investor who is now running the line to the
copperbelt did not wish to become involved with the rail service to this rural
part of the country. There is no direct road from Livingstone to Mulobezi and
the indirect way is mostly unpaved and impassable during rains. A stoppage of
the rail service would be disastrous for the local people. The railway is the
nerve centre of the region, as can be seen by anyone riding on the train to
Mulobezi.
“The train to Mulobezi should depart every Wednesday at 8 am.“, said the
Livingstone Station Master on the phone. He did not want to talk about other
details, like arrival time in Mulobezi or the return in Livingstone. Usually the
train arrives back at the end of one week, barring serious problems. Fitted out
with these little gems of information before leaving Germany, we started our
adventure. The tour started in Bulawayo on the Victoria Falls train at the end
of May 2006. The two man expedition was completed by Graham, a
Zimbabwean friend, who had never been to Zambia before.
After arrival in Livingstone the railway museum was the first item on the
agenda. About twenty steam locomotives of the former RR and ZSR are
displayed in an extensive area in superficially good condition. I did not visit to
the RSZ loco shed because I did not expect to find any steam locomotives
there, they were all scrapped or sent to the museum around 1995. On a visit in
1994 I saw many dumped Garratts and 12th class engines in the shed yard.
The Area Manager of Livingstone told me that nowadays there is only one
steam locomotive is left. It is proposed to put it up as a monument in front of
the railway station. Unfortunately I could not find out the running or builders
number. (12th Class # 204. Ed).
Right in time, some minutes to 8am, one European and one Zimbabwean
traveller turned up at Livingstone station, loaded with water and canned food
for one week, to be on the safe side. The ticket to Mulobezi can not be
purchased at the ticket office in the main building, where one can only get
tickets towards Ndola. To buy a ticket for the Mulobezi train, you visit a small
building in the station forecourt, where the office of the Mulobezi railway is
located. The fare for a single trip to Mulobezi, 163 km away, is 18.000
Kwacha, nearly 5 Euro.
Sammy, the Train Manager, was very sorry to tell us that the train would not
depart in time. The only platform was still blocked by a RSZ train, which had
arrived from Ndola in the night. He could not say when the coaches would be
removed so that our train could be accommodated. Indeed, it was only at 1
pm. that our train found the line to Mulobezi after a short shunt in the Victoria
Falls direction. This was necessary because the line branches off from a
headshunt in the opposite direction to the station. All trains to Mulobezi leave
Livingstone Station backwards.
The arrangement of the train was very interesting: A U15C type diesel loco (No.
02-311), build by General Electric, three quite battered economy coaches ex
ZR, one staff coach, a snack car, a tank wagon for water and plenty of mostly
empty wagons for freight and cattle. The crew of the train was remarkable as
well. Two drivers, a train manager, two conductors, one freight conductor with
some helpers, a chef plus assistants, two railway policemen with submachine-
guns, three wagon examiners and three permanent way workers. Not counted
were persons belonging to the train, but who could not to be identified.
The first stop of the train was only a few kilometres outside of Livingstone at
“Sawmills”. This compound was erected by the Zambesi Sawmills Company for
its employees. At this stop all available standing room was occupied and the
train got really packed. At a snail’s pace the ride continued through the typical
bush landscape of the southern Africa. The milestones helped to calculate the
speed, which did not exceed 15 km/h most of the time. On the way to
Mulobezi the train gets emptier stop by stop as the people who went to
Livingstone to sell their goods, mostly charcoal and livestock, arrived home.
Some stops where made to provide the rural population with water from the
tank wagon. They were waiting for the train with empty containers to fill up with
the essential stuff and to carry home by ox teams. This is another reason to
keep the weekly train running despite the ailing infrastructure.
Time was running faster than the train, and soon we had to prepare for the
night. Fortunately we were equipped by woollen blankets, which we wisely
bought in Bulawayo before the trip to Victoria Falls (for 5.3 Million Zimbabwe
dollars each). The NRZ did not offer bedding even in first class. On the
Mulobezi train the blankets were double helpful. The slowly swinging coaches
sent me to sleep promptly and I missed the crossing of the Ngwesi River on the
new bridge, more than 100 meters long and about 10 meters high. I made the
same mistake on the way back to Livingstone. In the morning I noticed that the
train wad grown by two wagons in front of the locomotive: a truck with timber
and a cattle wagon. Obviously both were picked up by the train along the main
line during night. Sammy told me that the empty coaches were left on the line
on the way to Livingstone to be loaded prior to the return of the train. Because
there are no sidings except at Ngwesi, the coaches had to be pushed to
Mulobezi.
I should comment on the snack car, which was not at all expected. The lively
chef offered grilled chicken with rice or nshima, the Zambian counterpart to
the Zimbabwean sadza. Beside that we purchased some crisps, Cola, Fanta
and of course, Chibuku. This stuff was sold tot by tot from a big container, not
packed in cardboard boxes. On the way back the menu changed from grilled
to boiled chicken in recognition of the toughness of the rural type of bird
bought in Mulobezi. Most of our tinned food was not needed.
On Thursday at around 12 pm. we arrived at Mulobezi station. The remains of
the former sawmill systems let us know how busy the place once was. Today
the area seems to be in a state of hibernation. Three steam locos are rusting at
the station, waiting for the opening of a museum, I was told. Let’s see what will
come of that! Three other more or less complete engines are dumped in the
high grass some hundred meters outside of the station yard at the former line to
Lonze forest. All of those locos were bought second-hand from Rhodesia
Railways or South African Railways.
Surprisingly it was not a problem to find accommodation in Mulobezi. There is
a guest house not far away from the railway station so there was no need for
another night on the train. Certainly there is no electricity and no running
water and only one toilet of African style for the entire establishment, but
everyone tried hard to give every possible comfort to the European stranger.
And a candlelight dinner of corned beef and canned tuna fish can be very
romantically.
The next day we were back at the station very early. The departure of the train
back to Livingstone was scheduled for 8 am. and we did not wish to be left
behind. Our U15C was already on the train, turned as if by magic with the cab
in front. The triangle of Mulobezi seems still to be serviceable. In Zambia the
turning of locomotives is done by triangles. As far as I know only on turntable
exists, in Kapiri Mposhi and owned by TAZARA.
We left nearly on schedule around 9 am. Most of the cattle wagons were now
occupied by four-legged passengers, some of the freight cars were loaded with
bags of charcoal and the timber was behind the loco and not in front as on the
way there. This was particularly favourable to the locomotive drivers who
watched the condition of the line during the trip like hawks to stop the train
before any derailment. Four whistles sent the track workers out of their
compartment or the snack-car to repair the line. This racket was repeated
several times, day and night. We stopped often for bags of charcoal to be
loaded into the wagons. The production of charcoal seems to be the main
business in the area around Mulobezi after forestry has nearly completed
closed down.
In the late evening we finally witnessed the event we had expected on the way
to Mulobezi, a derailment. One bogie on a cattle wagon derailed. However,
the staff in the carboose at the rear stopped the train by the operational (!)
emergency brake and because of the low speed, there was no major damage
of the permanent way. The track workers appeared straight away with re-railing
ramps, similar to those used on a model railway, and put them behind the
derailed bogie. After a hand signal the locomotive driver shunted the train
slowly backwards and in less than 15 minutes after the derailment the train was
back on the track and the drive went on. Unfortunately I could not take photos
of the procedure, dusk was already setting in.
After a second night on the train and a cosy trip through the African morning
we arrived at Sawmills around 11 am. The train emptied suddenly and the
friendly conductor gave us the advice to leave here, too. It could take hours
until the signalman at Livingstone station give us right of way to the platform
track, the RSZ has priority. We managed to get hold of a taxi to the hotel and
only after checking in, the desired shower and a first Mosi Lager at the hotel
bar did we hear the whistle of the Mulobezi train arriving at Livingstone station
- the conductor turned out to be exactly right. An adventurous journey along
the African bush came to a good end for all those involved.
| Crawling along in the Bush A Train Journey in Zambia in 2006 By Dietmar Fiedel |
| Filling up the jars of the local people with water from the tank waggon at Situmpa, 25.05.06. In front of the locos one can see the timber- and cattle waggons, mentioned in the essay. |
| After arrival in Mulobezi, 25.05.06 |
| Loco 10-155 (ex ZSR), North British 27798/1922 in Mulobezi, 25.05.06 |
| Loco 9-112 (ex ZSR), North British 21475/1917, same place |
| Loco 8-75 (ex ZSR), North British 19358/1910, Mulobezi station, 25.05.06 |
| Loco 10-154, North British 27797/1922 and 7A-992, Sharp Stewart 4149/1896 (both ex ZSR), Mulobezi. 25.05.06 |
| Stop in Mulange for loading charcoal, 26.05.06 |
| 02-311 (RSZ), GE/USA 39564/74, with mixed train Livingstone – Mulobezi stopping at Livingstone- Sawmills, 24.05.06 |
| All words and photographs on this page are copyright to Dietmar Fiedel |