| Description
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Opened in 2005, this exciting project in Freetown, Sierra Leone, is now accessible to the public.
We have one of the finest collections of African railway locomotives, coaches, wagons and historic railway artefacts on the continent.
The museum has a collection of 2’6” gauge railway equipment from the former Sierra Leone Railway that once connected Freetown to to Pendembu via the second principal city of Bo, and to the major town of Makeni.
All exhibits are under restoration by local skilled employees, with guidance and support by the UK National Railway Museum and its Director, Commander Steve Davies MBE. Our collection includes:
* Beyer-Garratt steam locomotive No73 of 1955.
* Hunslet steam Tank Locomotive No81 of 1947.
* Manning Wardle steam locomotive 'Nellie' of 1915.
* Diesel locomotives from 1958 and 1959.
* HM The Queen's Royal Coach from 1961.
* Various passenger carriages.
* Plus hundreds of photographs and artefacts related to the Sierra Leone Railway.
en.wikipedia.org (2012):
In Sierra Leone a collection of rolling stock was retained at the former railway workshops to form a museum. Locos included one of the 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts, a Hunslet tank, and a couple of the diesel locos. Several coaches were also kept, including the Governor's coach, and a coach specially prepared for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1961. Through the years of civil strife and war this collection disappeared from sight and it was feared it had been destroyed. However the collection survived despite the workshops being used as a centre for displaced persons. Following the initiative of a British army officer, Colonel Steve Davies, restoration of the equipment has commenced in 2004. The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, has visited the workshops site and indicated his support for restoring the museum and preserving the railway heritage of Sierra Leone. [edit] |
