International Railroad Discussion > Zimbabwe: Steam Sheds at Bulawayo

Bulawayo was the heart of Southern Rhodesia's and later Zimbabwe's railroad network, with the main steam sheds for the line being located there.

Today the sheds at Bulawayo are now mostly a graveyard, with cannibalized Garratts everywhere inside and in the fields beyond that were once yards. The weeds have completely covered the tracks on the back side, so it appears that the locomotives are stranded far from the rails they are in fact sitting on.

Participants on our tour who have been visiting since the early 1980s remember this place as a vibrant and busy rail yard with hundreds of locomotives coming and going, as late as the early 2000s just before the farm land seizures took place and started the downward spiral of the economy, which has only recently begun to recover thanks largely to tourism.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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The main shed building itself is a novel design that allows smoke to escape but keeps the sun and rain out.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Some more pictures around the shed complex.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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one interesting feature is Zimbabwe's unique steel water towers. (third picture) They are made with square plates, and you can make a tower of any size by changing the configuration of the plates.

Very little here is made of wood because the termites / white ants that build the giant mounds will just devour the stuff. Ties / sleepers are stamped steel and since the 1960s concrete.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/17 14:20 by Harlock.

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I've seen water towers of the same type of construction in the UK.
There's one about 500 metres North of the Main Gate at RAF Fairford.

PHall Wrote:
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> I've seen water towers of the same type of
> construction in the UK.
> There's one about 500 metres North of the Main
> Gate at RAF Fairford.

I am assuming that a lot of what I am seeing was derived from British practice, of which I am not very familiar. Thank you for the info.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

Is the adjacent museum still in one piece?

Yes. Gordon Murray was recently hospitalized, but he is doing OK now from most recent reports.

We did visit the museum for a few hours one day.

Best,

-Mike

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

Amazing trip - thanks for sharing your journey with us. Here's some background on Zimbabwe Railway...

The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) is the parastatal railway of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). The Zimbabwean railway system was largely constructed during the time of British colonial rule and was called Rhodesia Railways (RR) until 1980. Segments of its systems were intended to be part of the Cape to Cairo Railway. (Info courtesy Wikipedia)

Impressive British operation which now tumbles into disrepair.

A very big THANK YOU for sharing these great shots of the area and equipment.

Stanley Jackowski
Valrico, FL

More great pics, if a little sad. Thanks for sharing. I am of the opinion that if we leave Africa alone for a few more years it will all go back to the 'bush'.