Mallets in the Mountains - Eritrea 2009 Part 1
Eritrea is situated in the region of north east Africa known as the Horn of Africa. It borders the Red Sea and has land borders with Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti. The railway was constructed when Eritrea was an Italian colony and reached Asmara in 1911. It has 89 bridges, 30 tunnels and gradients as steep as 1 in 30. The current length of the line is 73 miles. At one time the line extended a total of 173 miles to Bascia. During Eritrea's war for independence from Ethiopia, much of the railway was destroyed. Following victory, the line was rebuilt from the port of Massawa at sea level to the capital city, Asmara at an altitude of 7684 feet.
Most steam locomotives in use are articulated Mallet 0-4-4-0T built by Ansaldo.
As well as the steam locomotives, the line has some Italian Fiat rail-buses built in the mid 1930's.
Despite the high quality restoration the line is currently only used for enthusiast charters.
This video was shot in 2009 during a visit organised by Bernd Seiler of FarRail tours.
This is video 1 of 5 shot during this visit.
Eritrea - Mallets in the Mountains - 2009 Part 1
Video recorded on a FarRail tour to Eritrea where we covered the whole system from Massawa to Asmara over several days.
Mallets in the Mountains - Eritrea 2009 part 2
Eritrea 2009, video 2 of 5.
Mallets in the Mountains - Eritrea 2009 - Part 5
Steam in Eritrea 2009 Part 5 of 5
Mallets in the Mountains - Eritrea 2009 Part 3
Eritrea 2009 - Video 3 0f 5
Mallets in the Mountains - Eritrea 2009 Part 4
Eritrea part 4 of 5
Eritrea - Mallets in the Mountains - 2009 Part 2
Video recorded on a FarRail tour to Eritrea where we covered the whole system from Massawa to Asmara over several days.
Mallets in the Mountains
Italian built 0-4-4-0 mallet tanks in the deserts and rugged mountains of Eritrea, on the Horn of Africa.
Eritrea - Mallets in the Mountains - 2009 Part 3
Video recorded on a FarRail tour to Eritrea where we covered the whole system from Massawa to Asmara over several days.
Eritrea - Mallets in the Mountains - 2009 Part 4
Video recorded on a FarRail tour to Eritrea where we covered the whole system from Massawa to Asmara over several days.
Eritrea - Mallets in the Mountains - 2009 Part 5
Video recorded on a FarRail tour to Eritrea where we covered the whole system from Massawa to Asmara over several days.
Eritrea - Mallets in the Mountains - 2009 Part 7
Video recorded on a FarRail tour to Eritrea where we covered the whole system from Massawa to Asmara over several days.
Eritrea - Mallets in the Mountains - 2009 Part 6
Video recorded on a FarRail tour to Eritrea where we covered the whole system from Massawa to Asmara over several days.
Eritrea - Mallets in the Mountains - 2009 Part 8
Video recorded on a FarRail tour to Eritrea where we covered the whole system from Massawa to Asmara over several days.
The italian historic railway Asmara Massawa Eritrea. Part 1 The departure from Asmara.
Part 1 The departure from Asmara.
The train start from the station of Asmara and go down to Massawa in the midst of spectacular mountains: the railway, built at the end of 1800, is a masterpiece of engineering.
Dampf in Eritrea/Steam in Eritrea: Mit Mallets von Massawa nach Asmara/
FarRail Tours Reise nach Eritrea 02/2010: Mit Mallet-Dampflokomoitiven von Massawa nach Asmara
FarRail Tours Journey to Eritrea in February 2010: Behind Mallets from Massawa to Asmara
Steam in the mountains: Eritrea
The line from Massawa to Asmara in Eritrea is certainly one of the nicest mountain railway in the world. Climbing from sea level to an altitude of 2349 meters (7706 feet) in only 120 km (75 miles), the line was built by the Italians from 1887 to 1911. It was later extended to Cheren (1922) and finally reached Bischia in 1932. It is built to the Italian meter gauge, i.e. 950 mm. The rolling stock currently includes 0-4-0 tank engines, one light Mallet of class 440 and several heavy Mallet of class 442, Italian railcars known as littorina as well as a number of diesel engines, some relatively recent. Also visible on this video, two old Russian truck (Orion) converted for use on the railway.
Eritrea - Double Headed Mallets - Containers to Asmara (2) - December 2010
In December 2010, we were in Eritrea to witness a first - two shipping containers being moved by rail from the port of Massawa to the capital city of Asmara. The containers were holding machine tools donated by the Danish State Railways to the Eritrean Railways.
In this Part, Day Two, we follow the train over the mountains and through some spectacular scenery, all the way to the Eritrean capital of Asmara.
Motive power is provided by double headed 0-4-4-0 Mallets numbers 442-54 and 442-55.
The final sequence shows 0-4-0 tank number 202-002 shunting the containers in the yard at Asmara.
Recorded in December 2010.
Day One can be found at -
Eritrea 2009 EN/IT
A railway experience from Eritrea 2009 with English narration and Italian subtitles. (Switchable).
98 minutes from this nice country in Africa.
ERITREA 2009 Eritrean Railway
English version is here:
Reisebericht aus Eritrea 2009.
Travel report from Eritrea 2009
Description is available in German:
Bericht ist hier:
Ein Auswahl von dem Film: Stolz und Leid einer Bahn.
The highlight from the film: The Pride and Misery of the Rails
A double DVD album is also available in German or English