STEAM LOCOMOTIVE WINTERTHUR SLM 130 - THE FRANCO ETHIOPIAN RAILWAY FROM 1900 TO 1980.
Gallery N°23 : SLM 130 (C.F.E. period)
At the beginning, the Imperial Ethiopian Company "CIE", which later became the Franco Ethiopian Railway Company "C.F.E.", was equipped with steam engines. These were made in Switzerland in Winterthur, by the "Société des constructions de Locomotives et de Machines", the S.L.M. and in France by the "Société Alsacienne de Construction Mécanique", the S.A.C.M., in Belfort and later in Graffenstaden.
The models SLM 1.3.0 and 1.4.0 bore names written in Ethiopian and in French on bronze plaques placed on either side of the boiler. Some of these have been found.
- Series of Locomotives SLM Winterthur 1.3.0 :
No 1 Lion, No 2 Leopard, No 3 Panther, No 4 Buffalo, No 5 Rhinoceros, No 6 Antelope, No 7 Elephant, No 8 Hippopotamus, No 9 Wildcat (Fauve).
- Series of locomotives SLM Winterthur 1.4.0 :
No 21 Rapid, No 22 Powerful, No 23 Proud, No 24 Generous.
- Series of locomotives SLM Winterthur 1.4.0 built by SACM/Belfort :
No 25 Brave, No 26 Invincible
- Series of locomotives SACM/Belfort 1.4.0 :
No 131 Gore, No 132 Gondar, No 133 Jijiga, No 134 Ankober, No 135 Dire Dawa, No 136 Addis Ababa
- Series of locomotives SACM/Graffenstaden 1.4.0 :
No 401 Choa, No 402 Gojam , No 403 Aroussis , No 404 Wello , No 405 Jimma, No 406 Tchercher , No 407 Tigray , No 408 Kaffa , No 409 Sidamo , No 410 Harari
Coal, destined for locomotives, was unloaded and stored at the port of Djibouti. Loaded on to gondola, it was then delivered to stations all along the line.
No station had a crane to transfer coal into the tenders. The Company used "coolies". These filled wicker baskets or hessian bags with coal, each weighing 30 kilos, and emptied the contents into the tenders. It is possible to see on some pictures the bascule (scales) and the scaffolding built for the loading of the tenders.