Sigibahn
| Tengeni-Sigi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route length: | 23.7 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 750 mm ( narrow gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 40 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minimum radius : | 40 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country: | Tanzania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Sigibahn was a branch line of the Usambarabahn , which was built as a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 750 mm in what is now Tanzania and what was then German East Africa .
Building history
The route led from Tengeni station near Muhesa (today Muheza ) on the Usambara Railway to Sigi in the densely wooded eastern Usambara Mountains . The railway was primarily intended to transport wood (mainly of the tropical wood species Beilschmiedia kweo, local name: Mfimbo, and Milicia excelsa, local name: Mvule) from the mountainous and impassable terrain of the Usambara Mountains to the nearest railway station of the Usambara Railway and from there on to the Port to serve Tanga .
At that time, the Usambara Mountains were hardly accessible to traffic, which significantly impaired economic development. The area could only be reached by caravans via forest and mountain paths. As a result, the transport options for goods and goods were considerably restricted. In order to be able to use the rich forest cover economically and to be able to plant coffee, tea and rubber plantations in the mountains, which are ideally suited to the climatic conditions, new transport routes and means of development had to be built urgently. Since the Imperial Gouvernement was already making slow progress with the construction of the Usambara Railway and no initiative to build a railway line was to be expected from there, Sigi-Exportgesellschaft mbH decided to set up its own private railway to develop its properties in Sigi.
The construction work began in 1904. Due to financial difficulties, the work had to be interrupted again and again, so that the line could only be opened to public transport in full on September 1, 1910. Before the First World War, it became the property of the German Timber Society for East Africa . This company was founded on July 23, 1908 in Berlin with a share capital of 925,000 marks and then took over the logging and operation of the sawmill on the Sigi property from the Sigi export company. In total, the company owned over 12,000 hectares of valuable forest in this area. There was also a rubber plantation. After the loss of the possessions in World War I, this company was only a holding company for investments in two planting companies from 1914 and belonged to the sphere of influence of the German East African Society (DOAG). In 1939 it was dissolved.
In addition to goods traffic, the railway was also used for passenger transport, as there were no roads in the area around Sigi and Amani in sufficient numbers for development. From the beginning, the terminus at Sigi also served as a train station for the Imperial Biological-Agricultural Institute in Amani .
Route and equipment
The route had its starting point at Tengeni station ( 185.9 m above sea level ) on the Usambara Railway . The Tengeni train station was at 44.0 km from Tanga , the then important export port in the north of German East Africa . The area of the Tengeni station belonged to the Treasury and had been leased to the German Colonial Railway Construction and Operating Company. With the approval of the Imperial Administration, the latter sub-leased it to Sigi-Exportgesellschaft mbH and later to Deutsche Holzgesellschaft für East Africa for 30 years. There were several buildings there that had been built by the Sigi export company. One of the houses was covered with tiles and was equipped with a waiting room and an office for the "native" goods clerk. Another room was rented to the Usambarabahn to issue tickets. A larger residential building covered with corrugated iron served as overnight accommodation for the travelers traveling to Sigi.
While the other railways in German East Africa ( Usambarabahn and Zentralbahn ) were built in meter gauge , the Sigibahn was the only line in the German colonies to have a 750 mm gauge , as the route was difficult to route due to the mountainous topography . Because of the cost advantages of building the line as a narrow-gauge railway, the lower performance was accepted as well as the disadvantage that all transported goods had to be reloaded at the Tengeni connecting station for onward transport with the Usambara railway to the port of Tanga. The Sigi-Exportgesellschaft had extended the railway to 17.6 km during its time as the owner. The extension and completion was then already carried out on behalf of the German Timber Society for East Africa.
Since the owner was a private company, the route was built as cheaply as possible. That is why there were gradients of up to 40 per mille, minimum radii of 40 meters and even four switchbacks on the 23.7 km long Sigibahn through the gorge-rich jungle landscape of the Usambara Mountains . In this operationally difficult way, the 252 vertical meters to the final station Sigi ( 437.9 m above sea level ), to which there were also several inclines lost, were mastered. By using the terrain profile as optimally as possible, it was possible to obtain a relatively simple longitudinal profile with a fairly uniform gradient. The section near the old end point in Sigi was particularly interesting. In order to wind its way up the mountain slopes, the railway described almost complete circular lines and had three of the four existing switchbacks over less than a kilometer, so that the train was pulled and pushed alternately by the locomotive several times in quick succession.
The average travel speed was only about 10 km / h due to the unfavorable route, so that a train needed 2 hours 20 minutes to travel the entire route. Between Tengeni and Fanussi, rails weighing only 10 kg per meter and a rail length of 7 m were used. The old route was only graveled in the arches and on otherwise important parts of the route. On the other hand, on the line extension to Sigi, the tracks were completely ballasted and rails with a weight of 15 kg / m were installed. The ballasting of the tracks for the entire line was planned, but was no longer carried out before the First World War. The rails were laid on iron sleepers with base plates, whereby the sleeper model on the old route was chosen so that the existing rails could be replaced with the new, heavier rail profile. Instead of the previously existing flat plates, the old route was reinforced by inserting angled plates. For comparison: On the Usambarabahn , rails with a meter weight of 20 kg and on the Otavibahn in German South West Africa with a track width of only 600 mm, those with a weight of 15 kg were installed.
As far as possible, engineering structures were not erected. Nevertheless, the nature of the mountains made it necessary to build numerous smaller bridges over torrents, to carry out blasting work and to carry out embankments, especially on the new route. The construction of a large steel girder bridge over the gorge of the Kihuhui River could not be avoided. Unfortunately, the exact length of the bridge could not be determined. All that is known is that it had two supporting pillars, which were also made of masonry, between the masonry abutments.
The railway administration building, a storage and goods shed, the locomotive shed, a wagon shed and a water tower for locomotive feed were located at Sigi station. There were also three houses to accommodate the European employees, one of whom was a train driver. Right next to the train station was the sawmill of the timber company, for which the railway carried out the timber transport.
traffic
The management of the Sigibahn was incumbent on the Deutsche Kolonial-Eisenbahn-Bau- und Betriebsgesellschaft (DKEBBG), which had also been the operator of the Usambara Railway since 1905 . The DKEBBG was a subsidiary of the well-known company Lenz & Co. in Berlin, which at the time built and operated a large number of small railways of different gauges in Germany.
The entire route was equipped with a telephone line for communication and train reporting. The Sigibahn was mainly operated with mixed passenger and freight trains, which in Tengeni offered connections to and from trains on the Usambara Railway. If necessary, pure freight trains were used, as contemporary photos show. The 1914 timetable provided for three trains a week in each direction, which ran at the following times:
Timetable
| station | Tuesday and Thursday | Sat | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tengeni | from | 13.20 | 12.30 | |
| Sigi | on | 15.40 | 14.50 | |
| station | Tuesday | do | Sat | |
| Sigi | from | 05.40 | 09.30 | 09.20 |
| Tengeni | on | 08.00 | 11.50 | 11.40 |
There were no train stations or stops apart from the terminal stations. If necessary, it was held on the open road. Letters and parcels were also transported to and from Sigi on the scheduled trains. In passenger transport there was a so-called "European class" (1st class, fare 15 Heller per tariff kilometer = 3.50 rupees / total distance) and a so-called "native class" (3rd class, fare 2.5 Heller per Tariff kilometers = 0.60 rupees / total distance).
With the complete commissioning of the line, great expectations were associated with its development function for the entire East Usambara region. Hans Wettich explained this in 1911 in his book The Development of Usambara under the Influence of the East African Northern Railway and its private branch lines with special consideration of the Mkumbara-Neu-Hornow cable car :
“Of these railways, the Sigibahn, in particular, will gain great importance because it not only serves to transport wood, but also mediates other goods traffic and passenger traffic between the Usambarabahn and East Usambara. In its lower part it cuts through the fertile Bondeiland, in which Negro cultures of all kinds thrive. It also allows the plantations in Ostusambara to conveniently transport their produce, which up to now had to be brought to the Usambara line on the heads of the natives. In addition, the Sigi branch line makes it much easier to visit the extensive cultural facilities of the Imperial Biological-Agricultural Institute in Amani, which can be reached in less than an hour from Sigi train station. "
Due to their more pleasant climate compared to the lowlands and the coastal region, the Usambara Mountains were a popular destination for the Europeans living in the colony. Because of their abundance of game, they were also the target of many hunters. That is why the DKEBBG even offered special trains from Tanga to Tengeni for travel companies with the option of changing trains to Sigi.
These trips were advertised in the travel guide "From the coast to Kilimanjaro with the Usambara Railway" published by the DKEBBG in 1914 as follows:
“A special trip to Tengeni to tour the Sigibahn and to visit the Agricultural Institute in Amani would cost 100 cents. On the Sigibahn, the scheduled trains are to be used at the tariff rates. (One way 3.50 Rp.). [...] A ride on the Sigibahn with its magnificent views of wild gorges, lush valleys and dense primeval forests is one of the most beautiful excursions in German East Africa. "
vehicles
Locomotives
According to consistent information from the few existing literature sources, the Sigibahn had two wood-fired tank locomotives of different strengths at its disposal for the operation of the line. Unfortunately, the exact data of the locomotives can no longer be determined exactly.
According to Schroeter, they are said to have been C-coupled locomotives from Orenstein & Koppel , which are said to have been built as early as 1904.
According to another source (Ramaer), the locomotives were only built in 1910. The more powerful of the two locomotives then had an output of 50 hp with a weight of 10.7 t, a drive wheel diameter of 580 mm and an axle base of only 1,400 mm. The weaker locomotive is said to have only produced 40 hp with otherwise similar dimensions. The 40-hp locomotive could only carry a load of 13-14 t on the incline. This means that this locomotive should not even have been able to move the scheduled, fairly light trains on the route alone, without the support of the second engine.
According to Wettich , the locomotive fleet consisted of one 45 hp and one 60 hp three-coupled tank locomotive.
The existence of at least one C-coupled locomotive is proven by the well-known photo of the train on the Kihuhui Bridge.
The stronger of the two locomotives, however, was obviously a mallet locomotive of the type B'Bn4vt. A photo in the collection of the colonial picture archive of the University of Frankfurt / Main proves the error in the literature that has appeared so far. The locomotive shown with a Kobel chimney and the tender box for the wood supplies that is “attached” to the driver's cab is clearly a mallet locomotive and not a C-coupled locomotive with a rigid chassis. The photo is inscribed with the title “Zug der Sigibahn”.
The Orenstein & Koppel company built a large number of mallets for plantation and field railways around the world between 1902 and 1912 . At least optically, the Sigibahn locomotive is locomotive 13 of the Frankfurt Feldbahnmuseum ( Orenstein & Koppel , B'Bn4vt, 1909/3902, 30 HP, 600 mm, ex. Locomotive 4 of the sugar factory Gending / Java, 600 mm) and the locomotive of Statfold Barn Railway / England (Orenstein & Koppel, B'Bn4vt, 1905/1473, 60 HP, 762 mm, ex.Lok 5, sugar factory Pakis Baru / Java, 750 mm) very similar.
A mallet would certainly have been much better suited to the needs of the railway than a C-coupled machine, as it could have a significantly larger tank and four instead of two cylinders to increase performance. Thanks to the articulated design of the chassis, good running properties could still have been achieved in the narrow radii of the track. Since the previously available literature sources (cannot) provide any evidence for their assumptions, they seem to be refuted by the photo that has now emerged.
Some questions regarding the Sigibahn locomotives remain open. What has been clarified, however, is that the locomotives had the company numbers N ° 1 and N ° 2 . The original number plate of locomotive N ° 2 made of cast bronze with the inscription "Deutsche Holzgesellschaft für Ostafrika N ° 2" is still there and is in the collection of the German Historical Museum in Berlin. It is shown there in the permanent exhibition.
After the First World War, attempts were initially made to operate the line by hand without locomotives, but this resulted in several fatally injured employees. This led to the fact that the two remaining parked locomotives under the direction of the British-founded Tanganyika Railways (TR) in 1919 and 1920, despite a shortage of spare parts, were given basic overhauls. Since the locomotives continued to cause technical problems afterwards, brief thought was given to relocating two B-coupled locomotives built by the Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Heilbronn for the 600 mm routes in Lindi and Tabora and moving them to the Sigibahn. After further deliberation, it was determined that the small and light locomotives were not suitable for the difficult route of the Sigibahn, so that the plans were not implemented.
Passenger and freight cars
The car equipment was modest. There were only one half-open, two-axle passenger car, two covered and two open two-axle freight cars, six four-axle stake cars for transporting wood, two firewood cars and three railway master cars. Since there was only one passenger car, passengers were transported in the two-axle open and covered goods wagons on a case-by-case basis.
Despite the steep gradients, all Sigibahn cars only had hand brakes. This made it necessary to occupy the trains with brakes on the platforms of the wagons. The manufacturers of the wagons are not known.
Shutdown
The Sigibahn ceased operations in July 1923. The cessation of operations was a belated consequence of the First World War, as a result of which German East Africa came under British mandate administration as Tanganyika trustee area. Most of the Germans were expelled and expropriated. The expulsion also affected the German scientists in Amani, who had already been released in 1920. The economy in the mandate area fell to the ground after the end of the war. In addition, there was a constant shortage of spare parts for the Sigibahn vehicles, as spare parts from Germany were no longer available for the British. Therefore, in 1927 an attempt was first made to auction the route and the remaining operating resources. As no acceptable bid had been submitted, the auction was canceled and the railway closed. This led to a violent protest by the members of the British "Usambara Planters Association" at the also British Mandate Government for Tanganyika. As a result of this protest, it was decided in 1928 to recondition the line and put it back into operation. Work began immediately and in October 1929 a new locomotive was even ordered for the railway in England.
However, the planned reopening of the Sigibahn failed in 1930 when the three-axle locomotive with a standing steam engine and water-tube boiler supplied by Kerr, Stuart and Company in Stoke-on-Trent , England, in June had proven to be inoperable. Since the manufacturer had ceased operations in 1930, it was not possible to rework the machine and remedy the defects there. Therefore, it was initially decided to carry out the necessary work on site in East Africa. The repair work did not lead to a decisive improvement in the performance of the locomotive. Due to further deteriorating economic conditions, the restart of the line was no longer pursued. In the period that followed, the tracks were completely dismantled and the newly acquired locomotive scrapped.
What is left?
Today the former railway line between the village of Ubembe and the railway station in Sigi serves as a road. The bridge over the Kihuhui Gorge is now used as a road bridge. The station building of the terminus Sigi no longer exists. In contrast, the former wooden house of the station master built on the rocky slope in 1905 still exists. This is where the information center of the Amani Nature Reserve is located, after the spacious building initially served as a primary school for many years after the railway line was closed. The bracket for the former station bell can still be seen on the rock in front of the house. A few other buildings at the former terminus in Sigi seem to be used for other purposes. Remnants of the water tank for supplying the steam locomotives and the sawmill built in German times are still there. A guest house for overnight visitors was built on the site (Sigi Guesthouse). Several hiking trails in the nature park have their starting point at the former station area.
Passenger transport has been taken over by buses from East Usambara Bus Co. Ltd , Tanga, (better known locally as Liemba), which depart from Muheza to Amani, 35 km away, twice a day. The travel time by bus is 1–1.5 hours in good weather and road conditions and sometimes 2–3 hours in the rainy season.
See also
literature
- Franz Baltzer : The colonial railways with a special focus on Africa. Berlin 1916. Reprint, Leipzig 2008, ISBN 978-3-8262-0233-9 , p. 96.
- Deutsche Kolonial-Eisenbahn-Bau- und Betriebsgesellschaft (Ed.): From the coast to Kilimanjaro with the Usambarabahn. Berlin 1914, pp. 15-18.
- Roel Ramaer: Gari la Moshi - Steam Locomotives of the East African Railways. Malmo 2009.
- Helmut Schroeter: The railways of the former German protected areas in Africa and their vehicles. (= The vehicles of the German railways . Volume 7). Frankfurt 1961, p. 6.
- Helmut Schroeter, Roel Ramaer: The railways in the formerly German protected areas then and now. Krefeld 1993, pp. 25, 26, 29, 39.
- Hans Wettich: The development of Usambara under the influence of the East African Northern Railway and its private branch lines with special consideration of the Mkumbara-Neu-Hornow cable car. Berlin 1911.
Web links
- Colonial image archive at the University of Frankfurt
- www.statfoldbarnrailway.co.uk/locomotives_Mallet
- Development of Forest Trails and Drive Routes in the Amani Nature Reserve (PDF, pp. 16, 19, 46, 51 ff.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Schroeter, Roel Ramaer: The railways in the once German protected areas then and now. P. 26.
- ^ Roel Ramaer: Gari la Moshi - Steam Locomotives of the East African Railways. Malmo 2009.
- ↑ Hans Wettich: The development of Usambara…. P. 15.
- ↑ Hans Bloecker: German East Africa then and now. Sachers & Kuschel, Berlin 1928, p. 32.