East African Railways and Harbours Corporation

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East African Railways and Harbours Corporation
Type Government-owned corporation
Predecessor
Founded1948 (1948)
Defunct1977 (1977)
FateSplit into national companies
Successor
59 class Garratt locomotive 5907 Mount Kinangop at Kibwezi in Kenya 5907-Mount-Kinangop.jpg
59 class Garratt locomotive 5907 Mount Kinangop at Kibwezi in Kenya

The East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) is a defunct company that operated railways and harbours in East Africa from 1948 to 1977. It was formed in 1948 for the new East African High Commission by merging the Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours with the Tanganyika Railway of the Tanganyika Territory. As well as running railways and harbours in the three territories it ran inland shipping services on Lake Victoria, Lake Kyoga, Lake Albert, the Victoria Nile and the Albert Nile.

Contents

Railways

EAR&H Garratt 58 Class no. 5804 Engine unit of East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&HC) 58 class Garratt locomotive no 5804.png
EAR&H Garratt 58 Class no. 5804

The Malayan Railway sold the EAR&H eight metre gauge USATC S118 Class steam locomotives in 1948, and another eight in 1949. [1] The EAR&H converted them to oil burners and numbered them 2701–2716, making them the 27 class [1] and allocating them to its Tabora Depot on its Tanganyika section. [1] They entered service in 1949 and 1950, working the lines to Mwanza, Kigoma and Mpanda where their light axle loading was an advantage and their high firebox enabled them to run through seasonal flooding on the Kigoma and Mpanda branches. [1] EAR&H built further S118 from spare parts in 1953 and numbered it 2717. The EAR&H withdrew them from service in about 1965, and they were moved to Dar es Salaam for scrapping in 1966. [1]

In 1955 and 1956, the EAR&H introduced new and much more powerful steam locomotives for its Kenya and Uganda network: the 59 class Garratt locomotives. These were the mainstay of the section's heaviest traffic between Mombasa and Nairobi until they started to be withdrawn from service between 1973 and 1980.

The EAR&H extended the Uganda Railway from Kampala to the copper mines at Kasese in 1956. In 1962, it completed the northern Uganda railway from Soroti to Pakwach and from there to Arua in 1964, thus superseding the Victoria Nile steamer service. [2]

International ferries

Proposed ferries from East Africa Harbour (E.A.H):

Inland ferries

MV Victoria in Bukoba, Tanzania MV Victoria.jpg
MV Victoria in Bukoba, Tanzania

In 1961, the EAR&H introduced the new Lake Victoria ferry RMS Victoria. [3] This faster vessel doubled the speed of the circular service around the lake, allowing EAR&H to increase sailings from once to twice a week. [4] Elizabeth II designated her a Royal Mail Ship, making it the only EAR&H ship to receive this distinction. [5]

In 1965 and 1966, the EAR&H introduced a train ferry service across Lake Victoria with the MV Umoja and MV Uhuru. [6] [7] In 1967, the EAR&H made harbour improvements at Kisumu on the Kenyan shore of Lake Victoria by scuttling the disused ferry SS Winifred to form a breakwater.

Dissolution

In 1977, the High Commission's successor, the East African Community, was dissolved and EAR&H's rail network was broken up into three national railways: Kenya Railways Corporation, Tanzania Railways Corporation and Uganda Railways Corporation.

In Culture

Kenyan-born singer Roger Whittaker wrote and recorded the song The Good Old EAR&H in about 1982, after a return visit to Kenya.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Rail transport in Kenya consists of a metre-gauge network and a new standard-gauge railway (SGR). Both railways connect Kenya's main port city of Mombasa to the interior, running through the national capital of Nairobi. The metre-gauge network runs to the Ugandan border, and the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, financed by a Chinese loan, reaches Suswa.

MV <i>Uhuru</i>

MV Uhuru1 is a Lake Victoria ferry in East Africa. She is a Kenya Railways Corporation train ferry that operated between Jinja, Mwanza, Musoma and Kisumu. Uhuru means "freedom" in Swahili.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of rail transport in Tanzania</span>

The history of rail transport in Tanzania began in the late nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUR EC3 class</span>

The KUR EC3 class, later known as the EAR 57 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-4+4-8-4 Garratt-type articulated steam locomotives. The twelve members of the class were built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in Manchester, England, for the Kenya-Uganda Railway (KUR). They entered service between 1939 and 1941, and were later operated by the KUR's successor, the East African Railways (EAR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EAR 58 class</span>

The EAR 58 class was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-4+4-8-4 Garratt-type articulated steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in Manchester, England, in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUR EC2 class</span> Class of steam locomotives

The KUR EC2 class, later known as the EAR 52 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt-type articulated steam locomotives operated by the Kenya-Uganda Railway (KUR) and the East African Railways (EAR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUR EA class</span> Class of 6 East African 2-8-2 locomotives

The KUR EA class, later known as the EAR 28 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 2-8-2 steam locomotives. The six members of the class were built in 1928 for the Kenya-Uganda Railway (KUR) by Robert Stephenson and Company in Darlington, England, and were later operated by the KUR's successor, the East African Railways (EAR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EAR 30 class</span>

The EAR 30 class was a class of oil-burning 1,000 mm gauge 2-8-4 steam locomotives. The class was built in 1955 by North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow, Scotland, for the East African Railways (EAR). Its design was derived from the 2-8-2 EAR 29 class, which, in turn, was based upon the Nigerian Railways River class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUR EC4 class</span>

The KUR EC4 class, later known as the EAR 54 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt-type articulated steam locomotives developed under and for use in wartime conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EAR 56 class</span>

The EAR 56 class was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt-type articulated steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in Gorton, Manchester, England, in 1949. The six members of the class were ordered by the Kenya-Uganda Railway (KUR) immediately after World War II, and were a slightly modified version of the KUR's existing EC5 class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TR DL class</span>

The TR DL class, later known as the EAR 23 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-0 steam locomotives derived from the Nigerian Railways Emir class. The six members of the DL/23 class were built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in Gorton, Manchester, England, for the Tanganyika Railway (TR). They entered service on the TR in 1923, and were later operated by the TR's successor, the East African Railways (EAR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TR MK class</span>

The TR MK class, later known as the EAR 25 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 2-8-2 steam locomotives. The eleven members of the class were built by Vulcan Foundry, in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England, for the Tanganyika Railway (TR). They entered service on the TR in 1925–1926, and were later operated by the TR's successor, the East African Railways (EAR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TR RV class</span>

The TR RV class, later known as the EAR 21 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge steam locomotives designed and built for the Tanganyika Railway (TR) as a 4-8-2 development of the 2-8-2 TR MK class. The eight members of the RV class were built by Vulcan Foundry, in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EAR 60 class</span>

The EAR 60 class, also known as the Governor class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt-type articulated steam locomotives built for the East African Railways as a development of the EAR's existing 56 class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TR ML class</span>

The TR ML class, later known and expanded as the EAR 26 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 2-8-2 steam locomotives designed for and ordered by the Tanganyika Railway (TR), as a development of the TR MK class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EAR 27 class</span>

The EAR 27 class, previously known as the EAR MR class, was a sub-class of 1,000 mm gauge 2-8-2 USATC S118 Class steam locomotives operated by the East African Railways (EAR), and, with one exception, previously by the Malayan Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUR ED1 class</span>

The KUR ED1 class was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 2-6-2T steam locomotives built for the Kenya-Uganda Railway (KUR). The 27 members of the ED1 class entered service on the KUR between 1926 and 1930. They were later operated by the KUR's successor, the East African Railways (EAR), and reclassified as part of the EAR 11 class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUR EC5 class</span>

The KUR EC5 class was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt-type articulated steam locomotives built during the latter stages of World War II by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in Gorton, Manchester, England, for the War Department of the United Kingdom. The two members of the class entered service on the Kenya-Uganda Railway (KUR) in 1945. They were part of a batch of 20 locomotives, the rest of which were sent to either India or Burma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UR GD class</span>

The UR GD class, known later as the UR / KUR EB3 class, and later still as the EAR 24 class, was a class of 1,000 mm gauge 4-8-0 steam locomotives built for the Uganda Railway (UR). It was a larger and modified version of the earlier, experimental, UR GC class.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tourret, R (1976). War Department Locomotives. Abingdon: Tourret Publishing. p. 35. ISBN   0-905878-00-0.
  2. ↑ "Cambridge University Library: Royal Commonwealth Society Library, Mombasa and East African Steamers, Y30468L". Janus. Cambridge University Library.
  3. ↑ Cameron, Stuart; Strathdee, Paul. "Victoria". Clyde-built Database . Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ↑ "Gazette Notice No 3467; East Africa Railways & Harbours; Amendments to Tariff Book No 3". Kenya Gazette . Vol. LXIII. 1 July 1961. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  5. ↑ McCrow, Malcolm. "Marine Services". East African Railways and Harbours. Malcolm McCrow. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  6. ↑ Cameron, Stuart (2004). "Umoja". Clyde-built Database. Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ↑ Cameron, Stuart (2004). "Uhuru". Clyde-built Database. Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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