Nairobi Railway Museum
Encyclopedia
The Nairobi Railway Museum is a railway museum in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, adjacent to Nairobi railway station
Nairobi railway station
Nairobi railway station is a railway station located in Nairobi, Kenya. The station is on the Uganda Railway, and runs services to Mombasa three times per week...

. Containing exhibits constituting the defunct East African Railways, it was opened in 1971 by East African Railways and Harbours Corporation
East African Railways and Harbours Corporation
The East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was formed in 1948 for the new East African High Commission by merging the Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours with the Tanganyika Railway of the Tanganyika Territory...

. It is today operated by Kenya Railways.

Coordinates: 1°17'35.86"S 36°49'21.08"O

The museum has maintained its rail connection. This allows for the efficient movement of museum exhibits for maintenance etc. It also allows additions to the collection to be easily placed on site.

The three operational* steam locomotives are stored securely under cover within the main railway works. Inquire at the museum to see if it is possible to make an appointment to view them. These three steam locomotives are used occasionally on tourist excursions within the metro Nairobi area and to Naivasha and Konza.

The museum's collection of locomotives is increasing with the addition of some early diesel locomotives and, examples of passenger coaches. Recently (January 2011) a working miniature railway has also been installed.

Exhibited locomotives

The museum exhibits a number of engines, including:
Railway Number Name Manufacturer Class Wheel arrangement
Wheel arrangement
In rail transport, a wheel arrangement is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed beneath a locomotive.. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and connections, with the adopted notations varying by country...

EAR&H number Status
Kenya-Uganda Railway 327 Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...

ED1 2-6-2T EAR 1127 Display
87 Karamoja Beyer-Peacock
Beyer-Peacock
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...

EC3 4-8-4+4-8-4
4-8-4+4-8-4
A 4-8-4+4-8-4, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is a Garratt articulated locomotive. The wheel arrangement is effectively two 4-8-4 locomotives operating back to back....

EAR 5711 Display
2401 Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...

EB3 4-8-0
4-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. The type was nicknamed the Mastodon or Twelve-wheeler in North America....

Display
2409 Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...

EB3 4-8-0
4-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. The type was nicknamed the Mastodon or Twelve-wheeler in North America....

Operational*
5505 Beyer-Peacock
Beyer-Peacock
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...

GB 4-8-2+2-8-4
4-8-2+2-8-4
A 4-8-2+2-8-4, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is an articulated type used on Garratt locomotives....

Display
393 Nasmyth Wilson EE 2-6-4T EAR 1003 Display
Tanganyika Railway 301 Beyer Peacock DL 4-8-0
4-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. The type was nicknamed the Mastodon or Twelve-wheeler in North America....

EAR 2301 Display
East African Railways 2921 Masai of Kenya North British
North British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...

Tribal 2-8-2
2-8-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...

Display
3020 Nyaturu North British
North British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...

Tribal 2-8-4
2-8-4
In the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a railroad steam locomotive that has one unpowered leading axle followed by four powered driving axles and two unpowered trailing axles. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, though the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway used the name Kanawha for...

Operational*
3123 Bavuma Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry
Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...

Tribal 2-8-4
2-8-4
In the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a railroad steam locomotive that has one unpowered leading axle followed by four powered driving axles and two unpowered trailing axles. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, though the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway used the name Kanawha for...

Display
5918 Mount Gelai Beyer-Peacock
Beyer-Peacock
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...

Mountain
EAR 59 class
The East African Railways 59 Class Garratt was the largest, heaviest and most powerful steam locomotive to operate on any metre gauge railway in the world ....

4-8-2+2-8-4
4-8-2+2-8-4
A 4-8-2+2-8-4, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is an articulated type used on Garratt locomotives....

Operational*
5930 Mount Shengena Beyer-Peacock
Beyer-Peacock
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...

Mountain
EAR 59 class
The East African Railways 59 Class Garratt was the largest, heaviest and most powerful steam locomotive to operate on any metre gauge railway in the world ....

4-8-2+2-8-4
4-8-2+2-8-4
A 4-8-2+2-8-4, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is an articulated type used on Garratt locomotives....

Display
6006 Sir Harold MacMichael Société Franco-Belge Governor 4-8-2+2-8-4
4-8-2+2-8-4
A 4-8-2+2-8-4, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is an articulated type used on Garratt locomotives....

Display
Magadi Soda Company
Magadi Soda Company
The Madagi Soda Company manufactures soda ash at the Kenyan town of Magadi, which is in southwestern Kenya. It is the largest manufacturer of soda ash in Africa. The company was founded in 1911 and mines trona from Lake Magadi, in the Rift Valley. Lake Magadi has one of the purest surface deposits...

Hugh F Marriott W.G. Bagnall
W.G. Bagnall
W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England. It was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall and ceased trading in 1962 when it was taken over by English Electric Co Ltd. The company was located at the Castle Engine Works, in Castle Town, Stafford...

0-4-0ST Display


The museum's W.G. Bagnall
W.G. Bagnall
W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England. It was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall and ceased trading in 1962 when it was taken over by English Electric Co Ltd. The company was located at the Castle Engine Works, in Castle Town, Stafford...

 engine, Hugh F Marriott, was built in Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, in 1951. It operated as a switcher
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...

 at the Magadi Soda Company
Magadi Soda Company
The Madagi Soda Company manufactures soda ash at the Kenyan town of Magadi, which is in southwestern Kenya. It is the largest manufacturer of soda ash in Africa. The company was founded in 1911 and mines trona from Lake Magadi, in the Rift Valley. Lake Magadi has one of the purest surface deposits...

until 1970.
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