The Bauchi Light Railway was a
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
railway built in 1914 to carry tin from
Jos in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
to the main line railway at
Zaria
Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna State, Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau, Zazzau Emirate ...
.
History
The railway opened in sections 1912–1914, Jos-Bukuru () was
widened to narrow gauge in 1927, while the remainder closed 30 Sep 1957.
[Durrant, A.E., A.A. Jorgensen, C.P. Lewis. Steam in Africa, London, 1981, Hamlyn.] The track, locomotives and rolling stock from the
Wushishi Tramway were used to build and operate the line.
[Moore, G. S. (1964) Narrow Gauge in Nigeria, ''The Railway Magazine'', July pp. 578 – 581.] Zaria
Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna State, Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau, Zazzau Emirate ...
is located to the north of
Jos and the light railway was later rebuilt with a shorter connection to the main gauge railway to the south. It also connected
Bukuru
Bukuru is a city located on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria. It was previously considered a separate city from the city of Jos close by, but like every other form of urbanization, the city of Jos has merged with the town of Bukuru to form the Jos-Buk ...
. The line was long.
Details
Rolling stock was equipped wit
ABC couplers
Two of the locomotives are preserved under cover with some carriages.
See also
*
Railway stations in Nigeria
Railway stations in Nigeria include:
Maps
UN MapUNHCR Atlas Map Cities served by rail
The East (E) and West (W) lines are connected by the Link Line.
West Line
* Apapa (W) - Lagos. Port ; flour mill ; oil terminals
* Lagos (W) (0 ...
*
Rail transport in Nigeria
Railways in Nigeria consist of a 3,505 km Cape gauge national railway network and 669 km of standard gauge. The Cape gauge network is in poor condition due to lack of maintenance. In 2019, the single operational standard gauge line fr ...
References
External links
BLR Locomotives 4 and 58 - scroll downPartial closure
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauchi Light Railway
2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Nigeria
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Nigeria
Light rail in Nigeria
Railway lines opened in 1912
Railway lines closed in 1957