STEAM AT WAR 4




In the second half of 1941 the Western Desert railway was extended westwards by a further 155 kilometres in order to deliver supplies and armoury nearer to the action zones. Mersa Matruh was located at the foot of an escarpment that presented a climb from the port too steep for the railway; therefore a branch off point 13 Km back at a place called Similla was selected. From there the track took a more easily graded circuitous route of 28Km to the top of the plateau to arrive at Mohalfa. The grade was 1 in 117 with an easement half way at Siquifa to accommodate a passing loop. Mohalfa was the intersecting point with the north-south road from Mersa Matruh to Siwa Oasis 240Km south into the Egyptian desert and the guardian point that prevented enemy forces from advancing via a route around the southern extremity of the Quatara Depression, itself a natural barrier against an invading army. Enemy scouting patrols attempting forays via carefully selected tracks through the swamplands were countered by the famous allied desert patrols.

I was a member of a small detachment comprising engine drivers, firemen, guards and camp maintenance staff based at Similla to work the train loads of railway building materials and equipment to the 10th and 13th railway construction units on the extension. Their work included the setting out of the marshalling yards, locomotive servicing and turning facilities at Similla and Mohalfa. Similla also became a water supply centre with an underground reservoir kept topped up from tank wagon trains brought from Alexandria. Two British army engineers billeted with our detachment tended this point. They issued the water to small tank lorries that served the multitude of field units throughout the war zone. Their equipment consisted of a small petrol engine driven water pump as well as an emergency hand pump to transfer the water to the unit tankers.

As soon as Mohalfa was functioning as a rail head squadrons of 28 to 32 armoured tanks were brought up by rail and off-loaded for the road journey to Siwa Oasis. We ran several of these trains over a two months period always during the early parts of the nights. The tank motors were started while approaching Mohalfa and on arrival the trains were quickly divided in half and pushed into twin parallel tracks with loading banks across the ends. The tanks drove over the lengths of the wagons to the ramps and away to the Siwa road. Meanwhile we turned our locomotives, reformed the trains and hastened out of there on the return to Similla. As though on cue enemy bombers would fly in and plaster the marshalling yard. Enemy agents supplying the information on these operations seemed to slightly miscalculate the timings for there were no incidents of trains or tanks being caught in the target area. There were occasions when departing trains had only just cleared the railhead when the bombers homed in and the tail end brake van could be seen in silhouette against the light of bomb flashes. Even the outline of the vulnerable and lonely brakeman was visible through the end doorways of his cabin. Following one trip when the action was too close for his comfort he joined us on the engine for the next night return but inadvertently stepped out of the frying pan into the fire. On the downhill run the engine brakes failed leaving us with only the tender hand brake and the engine-reversing lever to arrest a total runaway. Our passenger did not enjoy the ride at all as he endured the hazardous journey out on the cab steps clinging to the handrails prepared to bail out at our slightest show of doubt. With the now unloaded train we did have a reasonable measure of control. The practice is very destructive to the engine cylinders and valves because large volumes of ash and grit laden air are drawn down the exhaust blast pipe and pumped through the steam system into the boiler. This air overcomes the normal boiler pressure and is released via the boiler safety valves that roar horrendously throughout the event. American railroaders with their penchant for descriptive language call it “chewing cinders”.