Kenya: old escarpment incline

[John Ashworth]

A very interesting day today. Kevin and I drove out to see the old incline down the escarpment into the Great Rift Valley. For anyone who is not familiar with the story, in order to save time by continuing to build the railway down in the valley before the long and winding route down was completed, a funicular railway was built on a steep and straight incline with trolleys on which locomotives and wagons could be lowered. It lasted in operation for only about 15 months, I believe, before the railway reached the valley floor and it became redundant.

The line of the incline can still be seen from the air, from a distance in the Rift Valley, and on Google Earth if you know where to look. A high tension electricity line now follows the route, with pylons at the two winding stations.

We began at the lower winding house, which is right by the Limuru-Mai Mahu road (the "old" escarpment road, built by Italian POWs, with a delightful little Italian chapel at the bottom). The remains of the old winding house can be clearly seen at S 01 deg 00' 48.9" E 036 deg 36' 04.8", altitude 2,058m.

We then drove back up to the main Nairobi-Nakuru road and turned off to the left just after the Uplands turn-off, at S 01 deg 03' 09.8" E 036 deg 37' 50.8". We followed a dirt road which is actually the old trackbed as far as Escarpment Primary School. The teachers were delighted to see us and they escorted us on foot to the upper winding house at S 01deg 00' 48.9" E 036 deg 36' 16.5", altitude 2,188m. We also saw the original Escarpment Station, now someone's house, a railway building from 1936 with bricks stamped "KUR" (Kenya Uganda Railway) which is now used as a school kitchen, corrugated iron houses which were used by Indian staff, a wooden house used by European staff, and an ashpit, all around S 01 deg 00' 47.7" E 036 deg 36' 58.0", altitude 2,265m.

While the incline was only in use for a few months during the construction of the railway, the main line passed through Escarpment until 1948, I believe, before being rerouted. The teachers insisted that we come back again and they will introduce us to some old men who can still remember when the railway passed through Escarpment.

If you look on Google Earth and draw a line between the two winding houses, you can see the scar on the landscape, now more than 100 years old. Just search for "Kenya Escarpment" and you'll probably see it without needing the longitude and latitude references.

No photos, I'm afraid, as I've mislaid my little camera, but Kevin took some which I hope he will send me to post here. And I will be taking the teachers up on their invitation to return, maybe with Maurice, Isaac, Francis and others, and I'll definitely take photos then.

[John Ashworth]

From the East_African_Steam Yahoo group:

A few notes on the Rift Valley inclines from my article "The Planning & Construction of the Uganda Railway" (Transactions of the Newcomen Society, vol 74, No 1, 2004, pp45 to 71).

There were four inclines. The top and bottom ones were metre gauge, along which movement of rolling stock was controlled by cables. The centre two were 5ft 6in gauge (note the Indian gauge connection). On these central inclines cable-controlled "platform carrier trucks" operated, each with a steeply sloping broad gauge chassis which supported a horizontal platform, laid with metre gauge track, on which individual items of rolling stock (including "lightened" locomotives) could be lowered or raised. These inclines had a gradient (for the broad gauge) of around 1 in 2.5, and steam winches were positioned at the head of each of the two central inclines. The design seems to have originated during railway construction in India, where George Whitehouse, the Uganda Railway's Chief Engineer, would have encountered it.

The central two inclines were numbered 1A and 1B, the bottom incline was no 2 and the top one no 3 (according to Whitehouse). No 3 had a grade of 1 in 6, and no 2 a grade of 1 in 10, and the ropes were controlled by "Howard" clip drums. Equipment for the whole system was supplied by John Fowler of Leeds, famous for their rope worked steam ploughing tackle.

Ronald Preston, who played a major role in railhead construction, noted that the Rift Inclines were in operation from 3 May 1900 to 4 November 1901. There was rumoured to have been a final "special train", whose passengers descended the inclines (presumably in a covered carriage) and then returned by firstly travelling on temporary track, laid across the floor of the Rift valley to speed construction forward, and then returning up the newly completed running line which ascended the Rift Valley wall.

Interesting to read of what still remains - lurking in the undergrowth and congratulations to Kevin and John for their explorations.

The Uganda Railway Escarpment Station building can still be seen from the Kenya Railways main line as it starts to descend the side of the Rift Valley,

[Steve Appleton]

A fascinating description, John, which had me reaching for "Google Earth" even before I had finished reading the second paragraph.
It is amazing how, even when on the ground it can be difficult to make out the route of an old railway, Google Earth makes it so easy. Lines of trees, contour paths, field outlines, local roads, old cuttings, culverts, etc, all make an old route obvious when seen from on high on "Earth". That is also true of the route of the old mainline down the escarpment. It is possible to follow the route along the top of the escarpment from the "station", wiggling and winding northwards for quite some way before it finally bears off left, and takes the plunge, winding down the hill. The scar of the new route further north is of course plain for all to see.
Perhaps Google Earth has unwittingly become the apocraphal heaven.

[John Ashworth]

"Then and now" pictures by Kevin Patience.

[John Ashworth]

See http://www.friendsoftherail.com/phpBB2/ ... 799#p26799 for more photos

[John Ashworth]

Three more "then and now" photos by Kevin Patience

[Nathan Berelowitz]

E xcellent set of photos and always nice to see before and after stuff. To think how people toiled in those wild uncharted conditions to bring the railway to the people! Now some people toil wildly and take the railway from the people!!