railway life in the Congo

natives on the railway tracks

 

a ballast train and the workers?

 

in contrast to the natives - the civilized colonialists

  

where did the wheels go?

 

the Popular Republic, a separate but neighboring country, a BB 301 class

BB 420 class

One of the above class on 3'6" (1067 mm) gauge track of the Chemin de fer Congo-Océan or CFCO with a train of logs and tree trunks.

One of the e-mails we received this year was from the London based producer of the Extreme Trains TV series wanting to know if we could help with a program on the Congo.  Unfortunately we couldn't but posted a message on a couple of bulletin boards.  

Nevertheless, here are some pictures on what life on the rails has looked like in the Congo during the Belgian colonial years and more recently since the Belgian Congo ended in 1960.

Today the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Congo (SNCC) (formerly Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Zaïrois, SNCZ) officially operates 3,640 km of track although it is doubtful if  much of it actually sees trains and two years ago the World Bank gave the railways a $US 255 million grant.  Most of this is in 3'6" or cape gauge with some metre gauge.

And coverage of the colonial period really needs to have something more from Tintin au Congo (see earlier post)

"First let us clear the track"
"The blacks.. the most soiled: the Coco can return."
"And on the road!"
"You not go! You come with us to the Babaoro'm!"
"Greetings to you powerful king of the Babaoro'm!"
"Greetings to you noble stranger!"
"You good white - you stay here. Tomorrow you hunt seigneur lion with the Babaoro'm"
"Your majesty is too good."