Benguela Railway
Railway line across Angola (Portuguese West Africa) from the port of Benguela.
1903 Construction work was started at Benguela by George Pauling and Co.
A brief account of the construction of the line was presented in 1928 by J. B. G. Taylor[1]. This merely hinted at the problems encountered, but the subsequent discussion teased out a little more information. The author credited Sir Robert Williams: 'The Benguela Railway not only owes its conception to Sir Robert, but its completion also is due to his indomitable will and dogged determination which enabled him to overcome the almost insurmountable difficulties with which the construction of this railway was faced - difficulties political, international, financial and engineering.' He also stated that a large measure of the success was due to the help and friendly co-operation of the Portuguese.
The Benguela Railway had a total length of 850 miles, providing a western outlet for the Katanga copper fields of the Congo, as well as to Northern Rhodesia.
1928 The railway reached the Congo frontier at Luao.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ 'The Benguela Railway' by J. B. G. Taylor, Transactions of the Liverpool Engineering Society, 55th session, Vol 1, 1929