Eritrea: Rebirth of a railway

Producer Nick Lera took his cameras to the Horn Of Africa in 2002 and 2003 to record the dramatic revival of a war-ravaged mountain railway they said could never be rebuilt. This highly visual portrayal of a railway reborn follows vintage 95cm gauge Mallet locomotives steaming up the Rift Valley escarpment on a series of hairpin bends with breathtaking views on a 2200 meter climb from the Red Sea coast to the mountain capital Asmara, in a distance of only 110 kilometers. The time-warp in this former Italian colony is well illustrated by classic 1930s art deco architecture along with a restored 1930s ‘littorina’ railcar.