Gone but not forgotten
Though the Sierra Leone Railway closed in 1975, much of the infrastructure still remains. Some stands derelict, whilst some remains intact as silent monuments to our railway history.
Congo Bridge, Mountain Railway is now the main footbridge between Brookfields and Tengbeh Town.
Water Street Railway Station, Freetown (2018)Original Source: Helen Ashby OBE, Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Water Street Station - railway terminus
The former Freetown railway terminus is now the national bus station. Water Street has been renamed Wallace Johnson Street.
Hastings
Hastings railway station, some 22 km from Freetown, is now inside a school compound. The station building has been renovated and altered, but the water column for the steam engines still stands proudly in situ reminding us of the long gone railway.
Songo Railway Station (2016)Original Source: Helen Ashby OBE, Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Songo Station
Many station buildings were destroyed by the rebels in the 1990s during the civil war. At Songo, the railway station is now derelict and nature is taking over.
Bauya Station
At Bauya, 64 miles from Freetown, the empty railway station still stands proudly.
In 2020, it was declared a national protected heritage asset, and regular working parties help to preserve if in good condition.
Bauya Railway Station (2020)Original Source: Helen Ashby OBE, Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Bauya Junction
Bauya was once a thriving railway junction between the branch to Makeni and the main line to Bo and Pendembu.
You can still see the old station platforms, the underpass taking passengers safely under the tracks and, in the distance, the old engine shed.
Hangha Railway Station (2019)Original Source: Helen Ashby OBE, Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Hangha
Eastwards to Hangha, close to the former chromite mines, the old Goods Shed is now used as the village school.
Bridge at Daru (2019)Original Source: Helen Ashby OBE, Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Moa River Bridge, Daru
The railway tracks are long gone and a new road bridge has been built alongside the old railway bridge.
The bridge is now a footbridge and is famed as the location of the shooting by the Sierra Leone Army of rebel mercenary Charles Timber, known as RAMBO, during the civil war.
Drivers' Lodgings at Pendembu (2019)Original Source: Helen Ashby OBE, Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Overnight in Pendembu
The train used to arrive in Pendembu late in the afternoon and the return train did not leave until the next day. These drivers lodgings were built in 1914 to enable them to rest overnight before returning to Bo.
Pendembu Engine Shed (2019)Original Source: Helen Ashby OBE, Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
The workshops in Pendembu
Most of the major railway towns have small workshops to enable running repairs to be carried out to keep the railway running. At Pendembu, the workshops have survived because they have been re-used as a motor car repair shop.
Newton Railway Station (2019)Original Source: Abdul Karim Kamara, Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Preserving our railway heritage
Railway relics surive up and down the country. The National Ralway Museum assesses the risk and helps the government to either preserve them in situ or to bring them to the museum for public display.
Sierra Leone National Railway Museum (2019)Original Source: Helen Ashby OBE, Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
Preserving our railway heritage
Relics that are too fragile to preserve in situ are conserved and displayed in the National Railway Museum in Cline Town.
The Sierra Leone National Railway Museum
The museum is open to the public and boasts a wonderful collection of artefacts, documents and images telling the railway story.
Or you can make a virtual visit on Google Arts & Culture!
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