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.