Kenya update

[John Ashworth]

A very comprehensive report from the East_African_Steam Yahoo group by someone who has been very involved in Kenyan rail preservation:

I visited Kenya in January, mostly for non-railway purposes, but I
was able to catch up with some old friends and make brief visits to
the Nairobi railway museum, the central workshops, and the area round
Nakuru. This is a long and rather rambling note, so please pardon the
intrusion and move on if you're busy or simply not interested!

The museum was a pleasure to see – clean, busy with tourists, with
well-informed guides explaining the exhibits. Preserved ED1 class
tank loco 327 has been repainted in KUR graphite, more accurately
than previously,and is now protected by a neat steel shelter. The
parts of the Museum building previously occupied by the weighing
machine and refrigeration maintenance groups have been vacated and
are to be filled with new museum exhibits. The platform and loop line
adjacent to the building on its south side are also now part of the
Museum, with the intention of running heritage trains from it one
day. Composite Buffet Bogie 4600, dating from 1948, has been added to
Museum stock and is in the adjacent sidings awaiting shunting. The
security of the Museum itself has been greatly improved by sealing
off pedestrian access from Uhuru Hghway and placing a gate and
guardhouse on Museum Road next the former Catering department. Glue-
sniffing street boys are thereby excluded, and tourists who
previously were driven past the site in minibuses without stopping
now pay to see the exhibits. I spent time talking to both the
curator, Maurice Barasa, and his deputy Tom Nyika, and they clearly
have interesting plans – including the revival of steam-hauled
excursions. 3020's November 2008 steaming was meant to be in
connection with the second anniversary of concessioning, and a trip
had been scheduled to Naivasha – with a platform full of expectant
people ready for the trip early one morning! RVR staff threw a
spanner in the works at the last moment by saying they hadn't been
consulted and weren't ready to sign off on the scheme without further
consideration. Maurice Barasa was left with an angry crowd to calm
down, and 3020 was dumped unceremoniously a few yards away from its
shelter in the workshops, where it still lies two months later,
awaiting shunting back into the shed.

Barasa has plans for steam excursions from Voi to Maktau on the
mothballed Taveta branch, in connection with a museum planned by a
German entrepreneur for the WW1 battle site there. This would be a
wonderful journey - the branch's 56lb rail should be adequate for
3020 and the ruling gradients of 2.5% (1 in 40) would produce some
spectacular noise if the loco was kept in good condition. Don't book
your air ticket yet, though – some of the rails on the branch have
been stolen by scrap merchants ... My favoured scheme of a tourist
train from Nanyuki to Naro Moru with snow-capped Mount Kenya in the
background is also on Maurice's list. It's a challenging task and I
hope he succeeds. Meanwhile, the three steam locos are in the
workshops, filthy but intact as far as I could tell from a rapid but
fairly extensive inspection. They are under the eyes of RVR's
private security staff.

I was sad to see that many of the historic wagons and coaches which
I'd tried to get set aside for the Museum in 2005 have disappeared,
presumably scrapped. I didn't have time to investigate thoroughly,
particularly within the workshops area. The yards are certainly much
less clogged than before.

I'm glad to say that Joe Kamau Gakunga, who headed the team which
brought steam locos 5918 and 3020 back to working order, is in good
health. Now in his 70s, he and his wife welcomed me to their new
house in Kitengela on the edge of the Athi Plains. I also met up with
three of the fitters who did most of the work in bringing 2409 back
to working order, and with Fred Anyasi, their former supervisor.

RVR has applied its Sheltam-house-style green livery to several
locomotives and to the two sets of coaches used for Mombasa trains,
as well as most catering vehicles and some of the commuter coaches.
Others of the latter are in colourful all-over advertising liveries,
echoing South African practice I believe. RVR-liveried locomotives
have the traditional EAR-style brass numberplates removed and
replaced by large painted white numerals, an unimportant change
perhaps but one which I regret.

For the diesel fans, I was able to get some details of RVR's loco
stock from unofficial contacts in the workshops. In December 2008
this was said to be as follows:

93 class: 25 locos concessioned. Available:
01,03,04,05,06,08,10,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,23,24,26. Awaiting
spares: 12,20,22,25. Awaiting accident repair: 02,07,09.
94 class: 10 locos concessioned. Available: 01,02,04,05,06,08,09.
Awaiting spares: 03,07. Awaiting accident survey: 10.
92 class: 12 locos concessioned. Available: 08,10,15. Awaiting
spares: 13. Stored unserviceable: 03,04,05,06,07,12,14
87 class: 11 locos concessioned. Available: 40,42. Awaiting spares:
11,23,41. Awaiting accident repair: 20. Stored unserviceable:
16,19,22,39
71 class: 1 loco concessioned. Available: 05.
72 class: 3 locos concessioned. Stored unserviceable: 03,04,10
62 class: 34 locos concessioned. Available:
17,21,23,27,28,34,40,46,49,50,53,55. Awaiting spares: 26. Stored
unserviceable:
03,04,05,06,07,10,11,13,14,16,18,22,24,29,30,35,37,45,52.
47 class: 26 locos concessioned. Available: 01,06(hired to
Magadi),18,21,27,31,33,34,35. Stored unserviceable:
02,04,07,08,09,10,11,13,14,17,20,22,24,26,29,32.
46 class: 2 locos concessioned. Stored unserviceable: 13,21

In fact, the locos I have listed as "stored unserviceable" are given
no status at all, and may be severely damaged, or in bits, or used as
part donors to keep others running other, or all or none of the
above! But this is the best I can do for the number bugs. Any loco
not on this list in some form was not concessioned to RVR, and
therefore has probably been scrapped (but note that 6219, 8701 and
8734 survive at Nakuru shed, as noted in Geoff Warren's December
posting). Magadi's locos are not included in this list of course.

By early January 8720 had been released from workshops and I saw it
on a down train between Nakuru and Njoro. I also saw 8740, still in
KRC blue, on an up train on the Kisumu line, travelling very slowly
indeed – perhaps 10mph – over long distances. The driver was said to
be a cautious type, but even so it struck me as odd. If visiting, be
warned that 87s are not always available betwen Nakuru and Nairobi
for the Kisumu passenger train: I saw it twice, once hauled by a 94,
once by 8742 (in RVR livery). 7105 is usually restricted to Eldoret,
but did visit Nakuru shed for light repairs in mid-January and
returned in daylight with a load. Unfortunately I was not able to see
it do so.

As a practical aside for potential English Electric hunters, the
Nairobi-Nakuru road has been greatly improved and can now be driven
safely (in daylight) in under two hours. The Naivasha-Gilgil section
near Morendat is still very dangerous after dark (I speak with some
feeling on this, having survived a head-on collision there in 2005).
The "old" road down the escarpment via Mai Mahiu is also in excellent
condition along the valley floor. Nakuru-Eldoret is being upgraded
and is very slow and hard on vehicles. Similarly, the road from
Nairobi to the Athi River/Namanga junction is in very poor condition
and very slow. From that point to Mombasa it is in good condition. As
others have noted recently, Nairobi urban traffic has become markedly
worse as the conomy has expanded over the last few years, to the
point that visiting the station or museum may involve hours stuck in
traffic jams, especially if it rains. Make sure to leave enough time
if you have to catch a flight, even from Wilson airport.

RVR's reforms elsewhere have focused on reducing cost of operation.
Track maintenance gangs based in landhies (lineside housing in-
section) have been withdrawn, replaced by motor-trolley teams. Of
course on a single line, the trolley has to be withdrawn from section
for extended periods to let trains pass. All the track I saw was weed-
grown, a startling difference from the clean, neatly-edged ballast of
only three years ago. I am not sure whether RVR has mechanical
ballast cleaning technology but if they do, it is not in widespread
use. Dirty ballast makes the permanent way more prone to washouts and
subsidence - no wonder there are now extensive speed restrictions
over the whole system.

The Tyer's No 6 single-line electric token system has been abandoned
over the whole railway, with an improved radio system supplemented by
mobile phones used to communicate between block posts. A paper ticket
based system ensures safety. Each stationmaster has two books of
forms, one for offering trains forward, one for recording asnwers
given to trains offered from elsewhere. He (or she) also has a unique
book of "private numbers" – random two-digit numbers used in strict
sequence. In detail the system works thus, with all communication by
radio or failing that mobile phone:

- Stationmaster offers a train to the next block post, records time
of offer
- When ready to accept, remote block post quotes private number, both
ends record time and private number is filled in on ticket
- Ticket is detached and given to train driver as authority to proceed
- Time entering section recorded in books at both ends
- Time out of section recorded in books at both ends

This is clearly much less costly to maintain than the Tyer's
machines, which required an old-fashioned two-wire telegraph circuit
between each block post which frequently failed (and whose failures
sometimes led to serious accidents when the correct failure procedure
was not followed by poorly-trained staff).

RVR itself is clearly now undergoing quite large upheavals as Sheltam
is pushed out of the driving seat. Kenya Railways Corporation has
initiated legal proceedings to withdraw RVR's operating concession
(and RVR's first attempt to rebut this has been over-ruled by the
High Court, so it may really happen). The war between KRC and RVR has
become increasingly open and bitter, with consequences being played
out in many ways all over the system. A small example: RVR's three
senior expatriate engineering staff – a British CME, South African
operating manager and South African workshops manager – were
retrenched at short notice late in 2008, and not replaced, leaving
the Kenyan senior workshops production manager running the show. As
he attempts to do this by working 16-hours days and weekends, KRC has
abruptly withdrawn his low-rent housing, forcing him to move his wife
and kids into temporary accomodation. An appeal to the transport
ministry, citing his 30 years service and demanding job, fell on deaf
ears. If KRC returns as employer, the higher (but market-rate)
salaries paid by RVR will be abruptly withdrawn with a desultory sum
offered as compensation.

Most staff I spoke to were dissatisfied with RVR, and frustrated by
their arbitrary approach to long-standing railway rules and
regulations. Disciplinary and seniority practices have been radically
altered, with promising staff given rapid promotion over the heads of
older employees, then just as rapidly dropped from favour or
retrenched, but without the new seniority being made clear.
Unsurprisingly this leads to difficulty and uncertainty in Kenya,
where seniority is part of the cultural ethos. At the same time,
there has not been a complete overhaul of procedures, whether for
staff matters, operating, or anything else. Confusion is rife.

It is hard to draw any firm conclusions from the small experience I
had of the current situation, and I made no attempt to meet senior
officials of either RVR or KRC. RVR's post-Sheltam shareholders, if
they have any affiliation at all, are mainly identified with one
community (Kikuyu), while the political force driving the
modernisation of the railway, as well as the current CEOs of both RVR
and KRC, are not. I have no inside knowledge of how this fundamental
contradiction will be solved, or whether the World Bank and German
Development Agency will try to force continued concessioning as the
price for releasing coveted development funding (after all, money is
needed to campaign for the the next election, due before the end of
2012). Since money is now tight for development agencies as well,
though, my guess would be for effective re-nationalisation before the
end of 2009.

regards
Graham Roberts

[John Ashworth]

And there's more! Graham added a couple of afterthoughts.

I think there's a lot of energy from [Kenya prime minister] Raila
Odinga to make something happen, and he has got the Ugandans on board.
At a press conference recently they said they saw the planned USD 10m
feasibility study as a waste of money: they knew what they wanted, now
all they had to do was build it, if the colonialists had spent time on
feasibility studies a century ago there would be no railway now, and so
on (not true - the colonialists appointed three very senior engineers
to steer the project, surveyed the route in detail, surveyed it again
half way through and rerouted the remaining portion, and disputed cost
and progress in Parliament for 12 years). Of course no lender will come
up with construction funds without a detailed study.

Tight credit due to the current recession is not the main problem -
this project would take decades, and by the time they are ready to
start the credit should be sorted. The bigger question is how bankable
the project really is, and whether a way can be found to keep
corruption and nepotism from strangling it.

I can't see this happening unless Kenyans raise their own capital and
risk their own funds, rather than investing mostly in land and leaving
supranational lenders to prop up sham democratic processes. A big
change in attitudes is needed. But this is somewhat off-topic for a
steam group, so I'll put the soapbox away with apologies to anyone who
is offended by my offshore cynicism. I think there's anough business in
Uganda/Rwanda/Burundi/Congo/Sudan for a four-lane highway, a metre-
gauge railway and a Stephenson gauge railway all to be kept busy. It
would be great if they all got built and kept in good order.

> Reports from [the Museum] last year though talked of missing and
> damaged plates on locos. What did you see?

All Geoff's November/December observations [message 1547 on this group]
were accurate - perhaps I should have said so. 2921's nameplate is
still there, but only by one bolt. Someone has had a go with a chisel
(not very expertly - anyone knowing what they were doing would have it
off in ten seconds flat). I spoke to the curator about it but of course
they have no hardened bolts or fitters to put them on. Now that you've
reminded me I'll do something about it, assuming the plate is still
there. As Geoff said, one 5505 plate has gone. I couldn't see evidence
of further piping theft but only had a quick glance round the museum
park. I didn't check whether the pile of injectors and other fittings.
in the storeroom are gone. To be honest there's not a lot left to nick!

One reason the Museum is lively is that the KRC CEO has time on his
hands, not having a railway to run, and he has been taking a personal
interest, paying weekly visits and making limited funds available (plus
Museum gate takings are up since they moved the previous curator on and
fixed the security). This is a welcome change from the recent past;
what a pity it didn't happen years ago. If KRC have to run the railway
again, probably the Museum will move out of the limelight again.

One important thing I didn't mention is that the irreplaceable EAR
photo archive of prints was saved when KRC had to clear out of the old
HQ building - it's safely in the Museum, though so far just dumped in a
storeroom. (Most of the surviving original large-format celluloid
negatives are there too, but they were made unusable years ago by poor
storage. As far as I know, no glass plates survive from the earliest
days). There are plans to re-index the archive and make it more widely
available. The colonial-era 16mm film archive is also there - there are
some nice incidental shots of steam locos on some of them, but mostly
they are pure period-piece colourful 1950s imperial propaganda - and
there are plans to transfer it to DVD and publish it. KRC previously
transferred them at low quality to VHS tape.

It helps that both curator and assistant curator have university
degrees, there is a much better understanding of conservation, research
and the link with leisure and tourism. Barasa's challenge is to turn
his plans into reality without getting distracted or compromised along
the way. He deserves support I think.

regards
Graham

Thanks to the eagle-eyed Geoff Warren for pointing out an error in my
list - 8735 should be shown as "awaiting spares". And I've noticed
two further errors: 9202 should be shown as awaiting accident survey,
and the total of the 62 class should be 32 locos, not 34. Apologies.

For those who care, a corrected version of the list follows:

93 class: 25 concessioned. Available:
01,03,04,05,06,08,10,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,23,24,26. Awaiting
spares: 12,20,22,25. Awaiting accident repair: 02,07,09.
94 class: 10 concessioned. Available: 01,02,04,05,06,08,09. Awaiting
spares: 03,07. Awaiting accident survey: 10.
92 class: 12 concessioned. Available: 08,10,15. Awaiting accident
survey: 02. Awaiting spares: 13. Stored unserviceable:
03,04,05,06,07,12,14
87 class: 11 concessioned. Available: 40,42. Awaiting spares:
11,23,35,41. Awaiting accident repair: 20. Stored unserviceable:
16,19,22,39
71 class: 1 concessioned. Available: 05.
72 class: 3 concessioned. Stored unserviceable: 03,04,10
62 class: 32 concessioned. Available:
17,21,23,27,28,34,40,46,49,50,53,55. Awaiting spares: 26. Stored
unserviceable:
03,04,05,06,07,10,11,13,14,16,18,22,24,29,30,35,37,45,52.
47 class: 26 concessioned. Available: 01,06(hired to
Magadi),18,21,27,31,33,34,35. Stored unserviceable:
02,04,07,08,09,10,11,13,14,17,20,22,24,26,29,32.
46 class: 2 concessioned. Stored unserviceable: 13,21

regards
Graham