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Eritrea 2018 - 12: Full Steam from Arbaroba (50 p.)

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Roni

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Vienna, Austria
Hi,



To the previous part of the series:
Eritrea 2018 - 11: Asmara Parade IV (50 p.)
http://www.railroadforums.com/forum...ea-2018-10-religions-of-asmara-iii-50-p.14059



Video for this series:




October 26 2018

We returned by bus to Arbaroba at 6:30 a.m. on Friday morning and encountered both Mallets 442.54 and .55 like we had left them Wednesday evening. 442.55 actually was under steam - the fourth active steam engine on our trip - and the rake had been brought uphill from Nefasit.
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442.54 had pulled our train Tuesday and Wednesday. The lack of engine drivers also was solved: As one of two laid in hospital and the other one needed rest, a third driver who had been fired from railway employment due to some reasons was reactivated.
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Local transport.
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The name of the station Arbaroba constructed at a daring spot refers to tough times. In Tigrinya, "Arbi" means Friday and "Rebu-ah" Wednesday - both fasting days of the Coptic church, together called "Arbaroba".
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On the way to the first photo spot.
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The train steamed out of the station in the first sunrays at 6:52 a.m.
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Panoramic view including mosque turret peeking out from the lower right corner.
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The train rolled back. I climbed the hillside to the left for the second run-past.
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And was greeted by the little ones living here.
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View into the clouded valley on the other side.
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I had to virtually remove an electric pylon for the following panorama.

The panorama in higher resolution:
http://raildata.info/eritrea18/eri1216x.jpg

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View into the house.
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The train was rolling back again.
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I chose the road below the bridge for the third run-past. Stop of city bus line #29 Asmara (Square in front of Orthodox Enda Mariam Cathedral) - Arbaroba.
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The spectators enjoyed the spectacle.
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Replenishing the water tank of 442.55.
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When are we continuing?
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I met little "Pokémon" near the house and little "WhatsApp" at the station.
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We steamed uphill at 7:30 as clouds were gathering in the valley below.
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Next photo stop where the road met the railway. Five minutes train ride - and little "WhatsApp" had followed us with his mum on foot!
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Run-past through a double "S"-curve.
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Panoramic view after which I had to climb down some quite sharp rocks.
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We took our buses to the next viewpoint. The potential suburban train was approaching shortly before eight o'clock while the actual suburban bus #29 drove downhill to Arbaroba.
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Looks good with fog and sun - however, the train stalled at this spot and it would not be the last time that day.
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At the (mini) bus stop.
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Half an hour of boiling steam later, the loco finally managed to move.
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However, if you can take photos in a landscape like this every half an hour, you should not complain.
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The spectators enjoyed the spectacle.
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We already could look towards the monastery above Shegerini and the three levels of the line on the other side of the valley from the following spot.
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The train appeared at 9:13 a.m.
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Wonderful spotlight.
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The terraces visible everywhere were all cultivated during the Italian colonial era, nowadays almost nothing is grown here. You can also spot the remains of once mighty forests - the landscape has changed massively during the past century.
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The loco surprisingly made it to our spot in one go. As we rode the train, we could watch the boiler pressure sinking from 16 bar (indicated on the gauge, if correct) to about 4 bar in just 10 minutes. Afterwards, a break of at least fifteen minutes of steam boiling had to be taken.
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We moved to the side of the bridge featuring lovely specimens of Abyssinian euphorbia in view.
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Next, we got on the train...
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