Tag Archives: Bububu

The Tramways of Zanzibar

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The featured image shows a horse-drawn/mule-drawn tram in Zanzibar before the turn of the 20th century. [1]

My thanks to Chriss333 on the Rail wire.net forum who assisted with the collation and correction of some of the information in this article. [14]

Zanzibar hosted two early rail systems, with a mule-drawn tramway operating from 1879 to 1888 between Stone Town and Chukwani, which later used a steam locomotive. A second, more notable 7-mile line known as the Bububu Railway ran from 1905 to 1930, connecting Stone Town to Bububu, featuring passenger service and, briefly, electric street lighting. [4]

The First Line (1879–1888): Built by Sultan Barghash bin Said, this, one of the first, tracks in sub-Saharan Africa. The 2ft-gauge line ran from the Sultan’s palace at Stone Town [2] to Chukwani. Initially the two coaches were hauled by mules but in 1881 the Sultan ordered an 0-4-0T locomotive from the English locomotive builders Bagnall (Works No. 334), this was named ‘Sultanee’. The railway saw service until the Sultan died in 1888 when the track and locomotive were scrapped. [4][11]

Car No. 18, The Street Railway Journal (1905), © Public Domain. [4]
Another postcard view of the mule-powered tramway, © Public Domain. [7]

The Bububu Railway – also known as the Zanzibar Railroad Co. (1905–1930) –  In 1905, the American company Arnold Cheyney built a seven-mile, 3ft-gauge line from Zanzibar Town to the village of Bububu. It originated near the Arab Fort in Zanzibar Town, ran along the seafront, passed through the city’s narrow streets, and traveled north along the coast to Bububu. It was notorious for its ability to set fire to property and the surrounding countryside, but it ran for 25 years until it closed in 1930. Within the town, the railway operated on some of the narrowest streets. [4][5]

Running along the coast between Bububu and Stone Town/Zanzibar Town, © Public Domain. [6]
One of the bridges along the line, © Public Domain. [4]
Zanzibar village, creek and railway bridge, ca. 1905, © Public Domain. [4]
The Citizen in Tanzania suggests that this image shows steam on the first of the two tramways. It is not possible to make out the name on the side of the locomotive but it does not seem to be ‘Sultanee’. The coaches also appear to be those used on the later line. [7]

In the early 1920s, the trains ran 6 or 7 times daily. The train was popular among the locals, but a special first class coach was available for the benefit of sightseeing tourists. [4]

Three views of the Bububu Tramway. All three were shared on the Discover Africa Facebook Group by Andrew Zefania on 9th June 2021. The third of these images appears to show the first class tourist coach in front of the engine, © Public Domain. [8]
Another view of the Bububu Railway, © Public Domain. [9]

A number of different locomotives were employed on the line as can be seen in the images below. …

This locomotive is a Porter 0-4-4T which prominently displays its engine number in a roundel on the cab side – No. 1, © Public Domain. [14]
A Porter 0-4-4T in charge of what might be a three-coach train, © Public Domain. [14]

A Porter 0-4-4T in charge of a three-coach train, © Public Domain. [14]
A Porter locomotive running tender first adjacent to the sea. The building prominent at the centre of the postcard image is the Polo Club, © Public Domain. [14]
This photograph is another view of one of the Porter 0-4-4T locomotives at the head of a passenger train in the early years of the 20th century. [13]

It appears that five locomotives were used on the line over the course of its life. Four were Porter locomotives. [16] The first of these was Works No. 3167 which was built in 1905 and owned by Arnold Cheyney & Co. of New York, the company that built the line. The second was Works No. 4092, built in 1907. I am not clear what line numbers these locomotives carried. [14][15] It is possible that they were numbered Nos. 1 & 2.

The Bagnall Locomotive (Works No. 2137) illustrated below. [14][15]

Two further Porter locomotives appear to have been bought early in 1921 and predominantly were is used for freight movements up until 1929/1930. These were Works Nos. 6654 and 6655 and were purchased by Childs & Joseph of Zanzibar. [14][15]

During the railway construction the Americans undertook the task of installing electrical power lines along the track. Wherever the rails were placed, metal poles were installed and power lines strung overhead. By 1906, Stone Town had electric street lights. In 1911, the railway was sold to the government, and by 1922 the passenger service ceased. As roads improved and motor vehicles on the island increased, its popularity diminished. [4]

A single 0-4-2T locomotive, supplied by W.G. Bagnall of Stafford (Works No. 2137) in 1920 provided motive power for passenger services towards the end of th line’s use as a passenger railway. [11][14][15]
Another postcard view showing the Bububu Tramway/Railway. This is the station at Bububu, © Public Domain. [10]

With the improvement works to the port, the railway was used for the haulage of stone which was used to build the port and reclaim the seafront. Today much of the old track bed has been built on however some of the railway’s bridges and embankments remain close to the main road to Bububu. [4]

I have struggled to identify the route of the old railway despite a number of websites/blogs suggesting that remnants of the railway can be seen from the main road to Bububu. The most significant structures may perhaps now be in use by the road or replaced by newer structures carrying the road. I have been unable to locate the structure below, which appears to be seen from the highway:

PastRailwayEmpires identifies this structure as one constructed for the Bububu Railway. The photograph was taken in 2013. Perhaps someone else will be able to identify its location. [12]

References

  1. https://www.instagram.com/p/DU0B_7zE6cb, accessed on 22nd February 2026.
  2. Stone Town (also known as Mji Mkongwe (Swahili for ‘old town’), is the old part of Zanzibar City. The newer portion of the city is known as Ng’ambo, Swahili for ‘the other side’. Stone Town is located on the western coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago. Former capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate, and flourishing centre of the spice trade as well as the Indian Ocean slave trade in the 19th century, it retained its importance as the main city of Zanzibar during the period of the British protectorate. When Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined each other to form the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar kept a semi-autonomous status, with Stone Town as its local government seat. [3]
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stone_Town&wprov=rarw1, accessed on 22nd February 2026.
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_Zanzibar, accessed on 22nd February 2026.
  5. http://www.zanzibar-travel-guide.com/bradt_guide.asp?bradt=1912, accessed on 22nd February 2026.
  6. https://zanzibarutalii.blogspot.com/2015_06_18_archive.html, accessed on 22nd February 2026.
  7. https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/zanzibar/zanzibar-s-forgotten-railway-east-africa-s-first-steam-line-that-vanished-too-soon-5209080, accessed on 23rd February 2026.
  8. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17vj5JHtuL, accessed on 23rd February 2026.
  9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/124446949@N06/18311347309, accessed on 23rd February 2026.
  10. https://omanzanzibar.blogspot.com/2017/03/zanzibar-railway-in-1879.html?m=1, accessed on 23rd February 2026.
  11. https://www.flickr.com/photos/124446949@N06/32763584738?fbclid=IwY2xjawQJO5NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR7Aj-9Aimm9cDPSYK0Fi00tSxkV2RmHVyjURtd5hwvDsFt8Zao-wFb69l-KkQ_aem_NmwnCIcYLO5fHZCd629ACA, accessed on 23rd February 2026.
  12. https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/3498612, accessed on 23rd February 2026.
  13. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18GBKn6gjc, accessed on 23rd February 2026.
  14. These images were kindly shared with me by Chris333 on the online forum Railwire.net. Discussion with him online resulted in the correction of some errors in the original article, https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=60965.0, March & April 2026.
  15. Kevin Patience; Zanzibar and the Bububu Railway; 1998.
  16. H.K. Porter, Inc. (Porter) manufactured light-duty railroad locomotives in the United States, starting in 1866. The company became the largest producer of industrial locomotives, and built almost eight thousand of them. The last locomotive was built in 1950. The company continues to produce industrial equipment in the 21st century. Porter was known for building locomotives for industrial railways, which were often small enough that they could be operated by one person. Porter built mostly steam locomotives, but also some gas- and diesel- engined locomotives, and some that ran on compressed air. [17]
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.K._Porter,_Inc., accessed on 18th April 2026.