History
Originally the Beira railroad already established a connection to Salisbury, now Harare, in 1899 and had been a link in the rail system of southern Africa.
Building of The Beira railway started in 1892, during the Portuguese rule of the territory of Mozambique. First, a two foot gauge narrow gauge railway was constructed from Beira to the border city Mutare (Umtali) in Zimbabwe, in total 222 miles long and opened on 4 Februari 1898.
In 1893 work started in Vryburg, Cape Province, South Africa, to construct a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) railway to the north, later to be connected to the Beira Railway. In 1898 a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) line from Salisbury to Mutare was opened, with subsequent conversion of the connecting two foot stretch to Beira in 1900.
In 1905 the railway was completed after opening of the Victoria Falls Bridge at the border of Zambia.
The two foot gauge locomotives were later acquired by the South African Railways to be designated to SAR Class NG6
Read more about this topic: Beira Railroad Corporation
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