Roger Farnworth Railways

[rogerfarnworth]

Re: The Duke of Sutherland
The Duke of Sutherland’s Saloons, Locomotives and Railways

In January 1950, G. Charles published a short (2 page) article about the Duke of Sutherland’s railway interests. [1]

It was only the nationalisation of the British railways which brought to an end the Duke of Sutherland’s hobby of owning and running his own train with running powers over LMS lines.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/06/06/the...-railways/

[rogerfarnworth]

Re: The Highland Railway again. ...
The Highland Railway - Part 2 - The First Direct Line Between Inverness and Perth (via Forres) – the Dava Line

H. A. Vallance tells us that “The proposed new railway through the Central Highlands left the Inverness & Aberdeen Junction Railway at Forres, 24 miles East of Inverness, and turning sharply to the south, rose steeply for several miles to cross the hills separating the valley of the Findhorn from Strathspey. Beyond the summit at Dava, 1,052 ft above sea level, the approximate course of [a] route surveyed … in 1845 was joined, and the line proceeded by way of Grantown and the west bank of the Spey to Kingussie. There followed a long, steep climb up the northern slopes of the Grampians to the head of the Druimuachdar Pass, and a corresponding descent to Blair Atholl and the Pass of Killiecrankie. Crossing the Tay near Dalguise, the line reached Dunkeld, where it made an end-on junction with the Perth & Dunkeld Railway.” [17: p24]

The enabling Act of Parliament was passed in July 1861 and authorised the Inverness & Perth Junction Railway to take control of the Perth & Dunkeld Railway. That amalgamation took place in February 1864.

Work on the line commenced in October 1861. The first 13 miles (Dunkeld-Pitlochry) opened at the beginning of June 1863. The length from Forrest to Aviemore opened in early August of the same year. The last length (Aviemore-Pitlochry) was completed in September, just a month or so later. Vallance notes: “The chief engineering works on the line were the seven-span masonry viaduct over the Divie, near Dunphail, 477 ft long and 105 ft high; the girder bridge across the Tay, near Dalguise, 515 ft long and 67 ft high; and the ten-span masonry viaduct, 54 ft high, over a deep ravine in the Pass of Killiecrankie. Smaller masonry bridges were required to carry the railway over the Bran, north of Dunkeld, and the Garry, at Struan. The latter was remarkable in that its main span crossed not only the river, but also the stone bridge carrying the Rannoch Road over the Garry at the same point. At Blair Atholl the Tilt was crossed by a single-span lattice-girder bridge. … Only two short tunnels were found necessary-one in the Pass of Killiecrankie (128 yd long), and the other north of Dunkeld (350 yd long). South of Dunkeld there was a third tunnel (310 yd long), but this had, of course, been constructed by the Perth & Dunkeld Railway. (These, incidentally, were the only three tunnels on the Highland Railway.)” [17: p25] ...

This article covers the route from Forres to Perth. ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/06/28/the...ay-part-2/

[rogerfarnworth]

RE: Roger Farnworth Railways
The Railways of Namibia (the former South West Africa) – Part 1 – Windhoek and the Northern Lines

The Railway Magazine of February 1952 carried an article by Charles E. Lee about railways in what was German South West Africa. This encouraged me to have a look at the history of Namibia’s railways and their condition and extent in the 21st century. The 1952 article also caught my attention because Manchester Diocese (I was a priest in Manchester Diocese before retirement) is linked with the Diocese of Namibia.

The territory was formally colonized by Germany between 1884-1890. It covered an area of 835,100 sq. km. It was a settler colony and had attracted around 3,000 German settlers by 1903, who primarily settled in the central high grounds. [2]

German South West Africa, now known as Namibia, was a German colony from 1884 to 1915. It was not a province within the German Empire but a separate colonial territory. From 1891, the capital was Windhoek, which also serves as the capital of modern-day Namibia. [2]

The arrival of German settlers disrupted the existing socioeconomic balance and led to conflicts, particularly with the Herero and Nama people.

“In 1883 Franz Adolf Lüderitz, a merchant from Bremen, Germany, established a trading post in southwest Africa at Angra Pequena, which he renamed Lüderitzbucht. He also acquired the adjacent coastal area, which he named Lüderitzland. These areas were constituted the first German colony under German protection on April 24, 1884. The German occupation subsequently extended inland. By the latter 1880s the German Colonial Company for the South realized that it was incapable of administering the territory, and the German government immediately took over the colony’s administration. As a result of the Zanzibar Treaty (1890) between Germany and Great Britain, German South West Africa acquired the Caprivi Strip (named after the German chancellor Graf Leo von Caprivi), a tract of land 280 miles (450 km) long in the extreme northeast of the territory; the colony thus gained access to the Zambezi River.” [3]

German colonial rule was harsh, leading to insurrections and resistance. “Major Theodor Leutwein, governor of the colony in 1894–1904, suppressed insurrections of the Khoekhoe (1894) and of the Hereros (1896). In 1904, however, the Hereros fomented a far more dangerous rebellion. The German force, at first only 750 strong and supported only by one artillery battery, had to face an army of some 8,000 men equipped with modern weapons. Reinforcements increased the German force, ultimately under the command of General Lothar von Trotha, and resulted in a decisive German victory on the Waterberg River. Further Khoekhoe rebellions were put down in 1904–07.” [3]

German South West Africa was occupied by the South African Union Defence Force in 1915 during World War I, and Germany formally ceded the territory under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Its administration was taken over by the Union of South Africa (part of the British Empire) and the territory was administered as South West Africa under a League of Nations mandate. It became independent as Namibia on 21st March 1990. [2]

The Railways

The railways in German South West Africa played a crucial role in the colonial administration and the First World War campaign. The German colonial authorities built a railway network between 1897 and 1914 to enable colonial territorialization and facilitate the extraction of resources. [4]

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/06/15/the...ern-lines/

[rogerfarnworth]

RE: Roger Farnworth Railways
The Railways of Namibia (the former South West Africa) – Part 2 – Windhoek and the Southern Lines

In Part 1, we looked at the railways in the North of Namibia. This article covers lines which left Windhoek and covered the South of the country.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/06/20/the...ern-lines/

[rogerfarnworth]

Re: The Highland Railway again. ...
Part 3 – The Inverness to Aviemore Direct Line.

The Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway was built by the Highland Railway to provide a shorter and more direct route between Inverness and Aviemore, carrying its main line traffic to Perth and the south.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/07/01/the...rect-line/