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Other lines were also constructed. A short branch of 5.5 miles (8.9 km) length was built in 1903 from
Freetown to Hill Station, at 748 feet (228 m) above sea level. Acting Resident Engineer (August 1903) was James William Turner. The line allowed Europeans to live in the healthier hills area
410:
for mainline use. These locomotives were a limited success, speeding up operations and reducing costs, but were not without their problems. Batteries supplied on them were not large enough to start the engines, and a van with additional batteries had to accompany them as a tender. Overall, the
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design from
Hunslet, which proved very successful and enduring; a large number were built between 1898 and 1920. Further locomotives of this design continued to be supplied throughout the steam era, the last two being built in 1954. Elements of this design were used in the construction of a
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The equipment of the railway was renewed in the 1950s with the introduction of diesel locomotives and the purchase of some 155 new freight wagons. Both freight and passenger traffic increased during this decade. Independence came to Sierra Leone in 1961, and as an independence gift, the
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Most of the line was built with a 1 to 50 gradient, but some sections were as steep as 1 to 39. The Hill
Station line had a gradient of 1 to 22. Some 139 bridges had a span over 20 feet (6.1 m) on the line, the longest being of six spans and 716 feet (218.24 m) across.
463:
After a further overhaul, the locomotive commenced a new tour of duty in 1992. Significant firebox repairs were carried out in 2000, and then it ran again until 2010, when it was withdrawn, being in need of a new boiler. In 2011, the locomotive went on display at the
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to 5 tons. Some of the extensions were built as "tramways", with rail weight reduced to 20 and even 15 lb. To increase axle loadings and the speed limit above 20 mph (32.2 km/h), some sections of the line were rebuilt with 40 lb rail in the 1950s.
374:. Experience with these modified Garratts influenced the final steam class purchased by the railway. In 1956, 14 modern 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts were purchased from Beyer, Peacock & Company. These locomotives increased the maximum load over 1:50 grades from 200
480:
In Sierra Leone, a collection of rolling stock was retained at the former railway workshops to form a museum. Locomotives included one of the 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts, a
Hunslet tank, and two of the diesel locomotives. Several coaches were also kept, including the
193:, protesting against discriminatory requirements applied to black clerks seeking pay raises. The strike lasted six weeks, but was a failure despite support from the black elite, with the strikers forced to take lowered pay and extra hours as punishment.
471:
With the W&LLR preferring to operate balcony-ended carriages, the Sierra Leone vehicles fell out of favour in the late 1990s; however, two of them were refurbished in 2007-2008 and have since appeared on occasional special workings.
249:, though, which recommended closure, was adopted. The Makeni branch was closed in 1968, followed by the Kenema-Pendembu section in 1971. Further closures as far as Bo occurred in 1973, and the railway finally closed completely in 1974.
493:, this collection disappeared from sight and it was feared it had been destroyed, but the collection survived despite the workshops being used as a centre for displaced persons. Following the initiative of a
349:
placed great demands on the railway, and its importance was demonstrated by the railway being supplied with a number of new locomotives. Six new
Garratts were supplied in 1942, and 20 4-8-0s were built by
181:(84 miles/135.2 km) in 1914. It was later extended to Kambai (104 miles/167.4 km), but subsequently cut back to Makeni in 1930. At this time, total route length was 311 miles (501 km).
411:
railway had difficulties in maintaining the diesel locomotives, and steam locomotives continued to operate. At closure, the railway possessed five operating steam and four diesel locomotives.
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Increased road traffic and changes in government policy in the 1960s led to a decline in traffic, and various proposals for its future. They included a new branch to serve a
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Following the railway’s closure, in 1975, the last of the 2-6-2T Hunslet locomotives to be built for the railway, No. 85, and four of the carriages built by the
100:
colony of Sierra Leone date from 1872, including a proposal for a trans-Sahara railway, all of which came to naught. Finally in 1893, a proposal financed by the
406:
duties, followed by five more in 1960. A class of larger diesels was supplied by the same maker between 1958 and 1961. The class consisted of 24 225 HP 29 ton
1212:
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is open in Cline Town, Freetown. As of 2016, the museum has seen ongoing improvements by a dedicated team of supporters, which includes
Colonel Davies.
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was adopted, and surveying commenced. Survey parties confronted many difficulties, especially disease, which delayed completion of the survey.
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500:, Colonel Steve Davies, restoration of the equipment commenced in 2004. The former president of the Republic of Sierra Leone,
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from 1897 to 1974. It was unusual in that it formed a national railway system constructed solely to a
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of a 2-6-2T with a 4-8-0. The 2-8-2T had proved unsuitable, and all were withdrawn by the mid-1920s.
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above
Freetown, but with competition from motor cars, it was closed in 1929.
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695:
609:. Narrow Gauge Album No. 4. Chippenham, Wilts, UK: Mainline & Maritime.
468:, before return to Llanfair Caereinion by way of a nationwide tour in 2017.
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331:, bringing the total to 17 by 1921. The 1926 introduction of 2-6-2+2-6-2
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The Sierra Leone
Government Railway: from creation to preservation
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394:. The first were purchased in 1954, being three 145 HP, 20 ton
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Sierra Leone
President visits railway collection at workshops.
57:: Congo (Town) Bridge, Mountain Railway, Sierra Leone, 1910s.
177:
A more substantial branch was built from Bauya
Junction to
485:'s coach, and a coach specially prepared for the visit of
315:
from Hunslet were supplied in 1906, to be followed by two
119:
in 1896, and the first section of railway was opened to
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and supplied in 1897. These were quickly followed by a
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123:(7 miles) by March 1897. Subsequent openings were:
664:Durrant, A E; Lewis, C P; Jorgensen, A A (1981).
323:in 1910. Further 4-8-0 locomotives were built by
96:A number of early proposals for a railway in the
489:in 1961. Through the years of civil strife and
450:Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company
630:. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press.
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201:The railways assumed increased importance in
8:
390:In the meantime, the railway had turned to
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1203:2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Sierra Leone
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758:National Railway Museum of Sierra Leone
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624:Beale, Phillip; Mitchell, Vic (2004).
454:Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway
715:. Adelaide: Rigby. pp. 236–237.
7:
805:History of rail transport in Africa
506:Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
20:history of rail transport by country
1213:1897 establishments in Sierra Leone
731:The Sierra Leone Government Railway
362:locomotives that had been built in
744:Scrapbook of Narrow Gauge Drawings
14:
452:, in 1961, were purchased by the
285:supplied to the railway were two
1104:Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
874:Democratic Republic of the Congo
532:
518:
466:National Railway Museum, Shildon
325:North British Locomotive Company
267:Railway stations in Sierra Leone
189:In 1926, workers on the railway
46:locomotive no. 50, taken in 1926
746:, 7mm Narrow Gauge Association.
649:. Leeds, UK: Holne Publishing.
647:Sierra Leone: Railway Adventure
256:Map of the Sierra Leone Railway
226:gave 45 new passenger coaches.
63:Sierra Leone Government Railway
31:Railway network of Sierra Leone
1208:Rail transport in Sierra Leone
548:Rail transport in Sierra Leone
419:The railway was built with 30
1:
769:World-wide 30" Gauge Railways
713:Atlas of the World's Railways
502:Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
329:Hawthorn Leslie & Company
382:) to 270 tons (274 tonnes).
356:Andrew Barclay Sons & Co
337:Beyer, Peacock & Company
241:, and conversion to a wider
115:Construction commenced from
40:Beyer, Peacock & Company
18:This article is part of the
711:Hollingsworth, J B (1980).
456:(W&LLR) and shipped to
321:Nasmyth, Wilson and Company
247:United Nations Special Fund
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264:
739:No. 41 Dec 1997-Jan 1998.
736:Locomotives International
627:Sierra Leone Narrow Gauge
553:Transport in Sierra Leone
366:were brought in from the
162:(227.5 miles/366 km) 1907
150:(103 miles/165.8 km) 1903
859:Central African Republic
645:Coulls, Anthony (2014).
72:2 ft 6 in
156:(220 miles/354 km) 1905
144:(56 miles/90.1 km) 1900
138:(32 miles/51.5 km) 1899
300:Welsh Highland Railway
291:Hunslet Engine Company
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58:
47:
32:
1019:SĂŁo TomĂ© and PrĂncipe
879:Republic of the Congo
603:Ashby, Helen (2020).
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368:South India Railways
358:. Additionally, six
42:works photo of SLGR
1094:States with limited
588:September 2009, p14
540:Sierra Leone portal
298:locomotive for the
105:Chamber of Commerce
55:Lisk-Carew Brothers
760:- official website
487:Queen Elizabeth II
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245:. A report of the
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1121:other territories
894:Equatorial Guinea
679:978-0-600-34946-4
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67:Sierra Leone
65:operated in
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1096:recognition
1049:South Sudan
939:Ivory Coast
426:, limiting
415:Engineering
364:Switzerland
283:locomotives
272:Locomotives
185:1926 strike
77:762 mm
1197:Categories
1151:(Portugal)
1109:Somaliland
1029:Seychelles
994:Mozambique
979:Mauritania
964:Madagascar
919:The Gambia
854:Cape Verde
722:0727003054
704:Q111363476
668:. London:
559:References
352:WG Bagnall
281:The first
121:Wellington
92:Beginnings
984:Mauritius
696:15088099M
428:axle load
398:built by
302:known as
102:Liverpool
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1164:(France)
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1136: /
1132: /
1084:Zimbabwe
1059:Tanzania
909:Ethiopia
904:Eswatini
884:Djibouti
849:Cameroon
834:Botswana
700:Wikidata
512:See also
483:Governor
444:In Wales
404:shunting
372:adhesion
333:Garratts
261:Stations
169:Branches
160:Pendembu
142:Rotifunk
130:Waterloo
117:Freetown
1160:RĂ©union
1156:Mayotte
1147:Madeira
1142:(Spain)
1138:Melilla
1069:Tunisia
1039:Somalia
1024:Senegal
1009:Nigeria
999:Namibia
989:Morocco
954:Liberia
949:Lesotho
899:Eritrea
869:Comoros
844:Burundi
819:Algeria
688:9014344
498:officer
305:Russell
236:bauxite
230:Closure
217:Renewal
111:Opening
98:British
87:History
44:Garratt
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396:0-8-0s
386:Diesel
380:tonnes
313:2-8-2T
295:2-6-2T
287:0-6-0T
179:Makeni
154:Baiima
22:series
1134:Ceuta
1054:Sudan
1004:Niger
959:Libya
944:Kenya
924:Ghana
914:Gabon
889:Egypt
829:Benin
564:Notes
458:Wales
378:(203
360:2-8-0
335:from
317:4-8-0
311:Five
277:Steam
243:gauge
211:Egypt
136:Songo
1064:Togo
974:Mali
864:Chad
717:ISBN
684:OCLC
674:ISBN
651:ISBN
632:ISBN
611:ISBN
424:rail
376:tons
354:and
327:and
239:mine
61:The
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491:war
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