Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume VIII, No. 5 [‎46r] (94/154)

RAILWAYS IN AFRICA.
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Nyanza to Dufile, this route would necessitate bulk being broken six times before
the merchandise was under way on the Nile; by the Suakin route, on the other hand,
bulk would only have to be broken twice, provided the sixth cataract were navigable.
Ihus, if this latter difficulty does not exist, or can be overcome, and if the sudd
on the Nile is not found to impede navigation very much, this Nyanza route will
certainly not compete with the Suakin route for any trade on the banks of the
navigable Nile until a railway is made from the coast to Lado, a distance of over
800 miles as the crow flies, and certainly over 1000 miles by rail. It must be re
membered, also, that the Nyanza route passes over mountains 8700 feet above the
sea; that the train will have to mount, in all, nearly 13,000 feet in the course of
its journey from the coast; and that a difficult gorge has to be crossed to the east
ward of the Victoria Nyanza. From these facts we may conclude that it will be a
very long time before the Nyanza route will draw any trade from the Central
Sudan ; so long, that the idea may be neglected for the present.
The line through the British sphere of influence runs to the northern end of
Victoria Nyanza, but from Mr. Vandaleur’s recent expedition into these regions we
learn that a shorter route, striking the eastern shore of the lake, is under considera
tion. To lessen the expense of construction would be a great boon, but if we look
to the more ambitious schemes for the future, something may be said in favour of
the original proposal as being better adapted to form part of a line of railway
reaching the navigable Nile.
With regard to the comparison between the German and British routes to the
Victoria Nyanza, the latest accounts seem to imply that the Germans have prac
tically decided on a line from the coast to Ujiji, with a branch from Tabora to the
Victoria Nyanza. This would be a most valuable line of communication; but it
seems a pity that capital should be expended in competitive routes when there are
so many other directions in which it is desirable to open up the continent. If the
Germans wish to launch out on great railway projects in Africa, let them make a
line from the south end of Lake Tanganyika to the northern end of Lake Nyasa,
and thence on to the coast; they would thus open up a vast extent of territory,
and Baron von Scheie tells us that a particularly easy route can be found from
Kilva to the lake. Such a line of communication, especially if eventually con
nected with the Victoria Nyanza to the north, would be more valuable than any
other line in Africa in putting an end to the slave trade, as it would make it pos
sible to erect a great barrier, as it were, running north and south across the roads
traversed by the slave-traders.
A line through German territory connecting Lake Nyasa with the sea would,
no doubt, come into competition with the route connecting the southern end of
that lake with the Zambesi, and thus with the coast. The mouths of the Zambesi,
though they are passable, will always present some impediment to commerce.
But after entering the river navigation is not obstructed until the Murchison
Rapids on the Shire river are reached. Here there are at present 60 miles of
portage to be traversed, and this transit must be facilitated by the construction
of a railway, if this route is to be properly developed; Mr. Scott Elliot tells us
that 120 miles of railway, from Chiromo to Matope, would be necessary for this
purpose. Beyond this latter point there is a good waterway to Lake Nyasa. Thus
a comparatively short line of railway would open up this lake to European com
merce, and this route is likely to be developed at a much earlier stage of the
commercial evolution of Africa than the one through German territory above
suggested. It will be seen that these routes connect fairly populous districts with
the coast, and it must also be recollected that the high plateau between Lake
Nyasa and the Kafue river is one of the very few regions in tropical Afiica hkely
to attract white men as more or less permanent residents.