Buried in the heart of Central Africa, with one border skirting the most southern of the chain of Great African Lakes which nestle in the huge depressions of the continent, is a small, little-known British colony. This corner of the empire is Nyasaland, a tongue of promising territory which thrusts itself southward into Portuguese East Africa.

Though the wealth of this little territory, measuring 550 miles in length, and varying from 80 to 90 miles in width, is incalculable, exploitation of the resources has been handicapped by the complete absence of transportation facilities. The early pioneers and civilising influences visiting the country were impressed with the outlook, and sought to attract settlers. The more hardened and adventurous accepted the invitation, and, finding the country in every way as described, devoted their energies to the cultivation of coffee, which held out most promising inducements. The physical configuration of the country, providing a diversity of hill and dale and ample watering facilities, served to bring about a certain movement towards settlement. Roads were driven in all directions, and, indeed, the internal communication to-day leaves little to be desired.

But the country suffered severely from being cut off from the world at large. There is only one channel by which the country can be entered, and that is from Chinde on the coast, via the Zambesi River until the mouth of the Shiré River is gained, this latter waterway being followed so far as Port Herald. The distance is about 210 miles, and the stern-wheel, shallow-draught steamboats occupy from 4 to 6 days on the journey according to the state of the rivers. For about three months in the year the Shiré River can be navigated for a further 40 miles to Chinde, and occasionally Chikwawa, 310 miles from the coast, can be reached by water.

In the early days a hope was entertained that it would be possible to travel by water from the coast to Lake Nyasa, but this is impossible, as the Murchison Falls, which connect the Upper and Lower Shiré rivers, are an insurmountable obstacle. Had this navigation been possible, the country would have been provided with an excellent artery of communication, and would have brought Blantyre, the capital, into direct touch with the coast. As a matter of fact, however, the normal head of navigation on the Shiré River is Villa Bocage, in Portuguese territory, just above the point where the waterway joins the Zambesi.

In order to remedy this grave disability, which was hindering the expansion of the country to an acute degree, the British Central Africa Company decided to provide a main line of railway between Blantyre and Port Herald. The opportunities were unique, as transport was difficult and costly, while it was pointed out, also, that by means of the iron road the slave-trade around Lake Nyasa could be broken up effectively. Sir Bradford Leslie, K.C.I.E., M.INST.C.E., the eminent engineer whose bridge-building and other works are scattered throughout the Indian Empire, was approached to extend his valuable assistance and skill in the prosecution of the undertaking. The scheme was not ambitious so far as railways are concerned, but there were many peculiar difficulties which had to be overcome. The line promoted was only 114 miles in length, but in that distance a difference of 3,700 feet in levels had to be overcome. The broken character of the country proved that some heavy work would be necessary, for the deep, wide rifts in the mountain sides, though dry in summer, are raging torrents when the wet season breaks.

Sir Bradford Leslie, being interested in the extinction of the slave-trade, gladly co-operated in the scheme, and although he did not visit the country to inspect the outlook on the spot, he prepared estimates from data of the physical conditions extended, upon the basis of his Indian work.

It was intended, in the first instance, that Chiromo should be the base for constructional operations, the primary idea being to connect Blantyre with the river at this point. This represented the building of about 84 miles of line, and promised to remove the isolation and inaccessibility of the capital. At this time a cart road was the sole means of communication, and when this could not be used everything had to be carried on the heads of native porters, while passengers had to travel to and fro by “machilla,” a kind of hammock slung from a pole.

But access to Chiromo was found to be so unreliable, owing to the shallow depth of water in the river and the numerous sandbanks upon which the vessels became stranded, that it had to be abandoned as a base. A further 30 miles of line had to be added to the project, to enable it to be carried northwards from Port Herald. The contractors found themselves hampered at every turn, and it is probable that no railway was ever constructed under such peculiar and exasperating difficulties. Railways, as a rule, have been carried from a base on the coast, where supplies could be landed without very great difficulty, but in this instance this was quite impossible. Then, again, the work was being carried out at an extreme distance from home, and an elaborate organisation was requisite to keep the forces in the field supplied with every little necessity.

When the line was commenced the country was in a very primeval condition. Skilled labour was quite non-existent, and unskilled labour was very scarce. This problem was accentuated by the fact that Nyasaland was being drained of its resources in this respect by agents from the Transvaal, who had received permission to recruit negro labour in this country. The railway authorities endeavoured to meet this situation by importing coolies from India for the purpose of construction, but this action was sternly forbidden by the Government authorities.

The effort to provide the country with the very communication it needed so sorely to bring about its settlement, furthermore, was hampered in another direction. The Government authorities in London insisted that the railway should be built according to the standard of the Rhodesian railways, notwithstanding the fact that Rhodesia was in a very much more advanced position economically, whereas Nyasaland had not reached the moulding stage. This was a somewhat inexplicable attitude to assume, and was of a nature that might have jeopardised private enterprise in this field of endeavour. However, the engineers and builders accepted the terms and the work proceeded.

Under this arrangement the 3 feet 6 inches gauge was adopted as on the Rhodesian railways, so that in the dim future, when the two systems are connected, through running will be possible. The rails weigh 41¼ pounds per yard, and as timber is devoured by white ants and boring beetles, it could not be used in any form. Consequently, steel sleepers, or ties, had to be adopted.

Everything required in connection with the undertaking had to be shipped from England; the country did not assist the builders one little bit. Not an ounce of coal could be obtained locally, there was no lime, and bricks could not be made to assist in the erection of the piers. The country is even deficient in a good quality of stone suited to building purposes, so masonry work was equally out of the question. The only alternative was the utilisation of concrete. The Portland cement for this purpose, by the time it gained Port Herald, cost between five and six times the price for which it could be bought in England—in other words, the expense of carriage was from four to five times the value of the article. This applied to other material beyond cement. In fact, the transportation to such a remote district was a heavy item. The articles were dispatched to Beira, where they were transhipped into coasting steamers, and five hours later were landed at Chinde, where they were loaded upon the shallow-draught river boats and conveyed to Port Herald.

The line follows a northerly course after leaving the southern terminus, and roughly clings to the bank of the river so far as Chiromo. Here it swings across the waterway over a bridge about 420 feet in length, to gain the valley of the Ruo River. This bridge is the outstanding feature of the railway, on account of its interesting lifting span, which is of novel and unusual design. When the railway was plotted the Government stipulated that there should be no interference with navigation on the river, although the waterway, as a highway of traffic, has fallen practically into desuetude since the railway was constructed. However, official requirements had to be met, and these demanded an opening 100 feet wide, and giving a clearance of 30 feet in height at high water. The ordinary type of draw or swing bridge, to satisfy this requisition, was quite out of the question, because the need to open the bridge is very rarely experienced, and when the demand does arise, the time occupied in the operation is of minor importance. Heavy expenditure under this heading, therefore, was not justifiable.

Moreover, as native labour was to superintend the work of opening and closing the bridge, the simplest arrangement possible was essential, and, furthermore, had to be capable of hand manipulation. The designing engineers, Sir Douglas Fox & Partners, and Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bart., evolved an ingenious solution. On the top of two adjacent piers carrying the span in its normal position, a tower was erected on either side of the opening, with two simple, single, vertical racks on either tower. At the top of each tower a platform extending the width of the bridge was provided, together with a large sprocket wheel at either end. A chain passed over each sprocket wheel, one end being attached to a corner of the bridge, and the other to a heavy counterweight.

To open the bridge, all that the natives have to do is to wind a winch which rotates the sprocket wheel, and as the counterweight descends the whole span rises vertically and horizontally, being guided in its movement by the rack on each tower. The counterweight is the full width of the bridge, and when the span has been lifted to its fullest extent the counterbalance weight lies across the track, to form a high barrier to any one attempting to cross the bridge when the span is open.

It will be seen that the bridge acts on the principle of a sash window, where the sash weight counterbalances the weight of the moving portion, and in lifting only the friction of the moving parts has to be overcome. To guard against disaster from tampering or misuse, the bridge, when either raised or lowered, is locked. To lower the bridge it is only necessary to reverse the winding direction of the winch. The span of steel moved in this manner weighs 55 tons, and the whole operation of opening and closing occupies about half-an-hour, eight men under a native superintendent sufficing for the movement of the winches. It is an unusual type of lifting bridge, but it is doubtful whether a simpler and cheaper means of meeting the situation could have been devised, while the maintenance expenses—a vital consideration in such a remote country—are reduced to insignificance.

About 12 miles out of Chiromo the railway commences a heavy climb, as it has to gain a summit level of 4000 feet to reach the plateau. The ascent is through very tumbled country. The ruling grade is 1 in 44, and the minimum curve is of 363 feet radius. As the valley winds amazingly, the line is a continuation of curves winding round crags and bluffs. Here and there the mountain sides are torn by wide clefts that have had to be spanned by bridges, which are supported on steel towers, carried on pedestals or plinths built of concrete. One of the largest bridges of this class is that across the M’Swadzi River, which is 290 feet long.

The Ruo valley is left after the 64th mile is passed, and the line makes a difficult and tortuous ascent along the Tuchili River for nearly 10 miles, when it swings over to the Luchenza River, which is followed until the summit level is gained, 109 miles out of Port Herald. In the next 5 miles a descent of 500 feet has to be made to gain Blantyre. This is the present terminus of the railway, though an extension has been projected northwards to Fort Johnston at the head of Lake Nyasa, and another limb southwards from Port Herald for 60 miles to the Portuguese town, Villa Bocage, the head of navigation on the Shiré River.

In the course of the 114 miles there is at present only one intermediate station with an existing township, at Chiromo. Three other stations have been provided, however, in the anticipation that settlements will spring up and blossom into towns as the country opens up.

Construction was sadly delayed by the difficulties in regard to labour. The native proved an indifferent workman, the maxim being to accomplish as little work in a day as possible. Then, when the rainy season—lasting about three months—set in, the whole of the working force migrated from the grade in a body to cultivate patches of land, and were not seen again until the weather changed. The climate played sad havoc with the Europeans who ventured to the scene of operations to superintend native effort, and the mortality from tropical diseases among the whites was very heavy. In order to protect what European labour is required in the repair shops and the administration offices, the headquarters have been established at Limbi, five miles from Blantyre, where the full benefit of the elevation is gained, this point being at an altitude of 4000 feet above the sea, and one of the most healthy parts of the country.

An amusing story is related by Sir Bradford Leslie in connection with the construction of the railway. Prior to the commencement of this undertaking labour in the country was rewarded in cloth—there was no money currency, and in fact the natives knew nothing about coinage or its value. However, when the line was commenced, the Government insisted that the natives should not be remunerated in kind, but in cash. Wages were paid once a month, and the natives immediately were urged by Hindoo traders to transfer the money for cloth. The latter played upon the native’s ignorance of money to distinct personal advantage, but the natives had to pay dearly for their goods. Moreover, they came to the conclusion that the textiles they received in exchange for their cash were inferior in quality to that given to them in direct settlement of work done. Consequently, they assailed the engineer and complained that his money was bad, in support of which contention they displayed the small quantity of indifferent material they received in exchange for their wages. They certainly did not evince a very marked appreciation for the railway company’s system of paying for labour in sterling.

Although the undertaking cost more than had been estimated, the results justified fully the expenditure, for the railway, in point of construction, compares very favourably with other lines of a similar character on the continent. The engineer in charge of the work, Mr. A. G. Pears, overcame his unique difficulties in a highly satisfactory manner, and its completion in about seven years is a striking tribute to his organisation and methods, while the unceasing expansion of the country supports the initiative of those who fathered the enterprise.