 janiebaxter's Asmara Travelogues | | | |
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| Page Views: 254 Last Visit to Asmara: October, 2006 | Eritrea - Riding The Old Steam Railway by janiebaxter - last update: Oct 13, 2007 |
The railway was built by the Italians and completed in 1911. It runs from Asmara to Massawa on the Red Sea, and was closed in 1975 by the Ethiopians until 2003 when it was re-opened with the old track and the trains restored to working order. |
|  | Building the Railway The original railway took from 1887 to 1911 to build due to the inhospitable barren, rocky terrain which is between 3000 and 8000 feet above sea level. There are 35 viaducts and 30 tunnels along the line |
The original Railwaymen The railway employs the original railwayworkers, drivers and signalmen who are all in their 80s and 90s. | | |
| | Mountainous Terrain The old steam trains are called narrow gauge Mallet trains because of the special wheels which allow the trains to run on tracks through the rocky and mountainous terrain of Asmara.
You get a wonderful view of the mountains while riding in the train |
Curious Villagers As the train approaches villages, all the people come out to wave and look at the train, attracted by it's loud whistle. | | |
| | Every bit is Useful As the train stops in the village, the women sell goods to the tourists and crew on board and also take the spare hot water which the steam engine produces. Even the smallest children are curious. |
Photo Opportunities The villages in the mountains are quite remote and don't get many visitors. They are very traditional which is often a good photo opportunity | | | Woman in Traditional Dress |
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The trip was organised by The Railway Tourung Company in the UK who specialise in railway trips throughout the world. |
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 Comments for janiebaxter about Asmara | | | | |
lynnehamman Thu Apr 23, 2009 08:14 UTC
Another geat African page, Jane. In Cape Town we also saw so many interesting things made from re-cycled tin. Even hand-bags. And nice to see that a steam train is still running here. They are hard to find nowadays. | olja1234 Sun May 18, 2008 18:01 UTC
Very inticing page. Very good tips and photos. | sachara Fri Oct 5, 2007 23:15 UTC
Nice info about the recycling market and steam railway. | grets Sun Sep 23, 2007 19:45 UTC
How versitile the Africans are - I love the way they recycle stuff! |
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