The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-09-09


 Connecting French Somaiiland, the source of Ethiopia's strength and development, with Adds Ababa, c a p 1 ta l and Military stronghold, hte railway ranks as one of the greatest achievements in the history of engineering, be- ing superseded only by such fa- nous communications ways as the Panama canal, the Suez canal and the trans-Andean railway.
 Line Opened in 1917
 First conceived in 1894 when the Negus, Menelik II, granted a concession for construction Of the line from Djibouti to Harrar and thence to Entotto. then the capi- tai of Ethiopia, the present line was not completed and officially inaugurated until June 2, 1917. It measures exactly 7S4 kilometers (4se miies) from Djibouti to Ad- dis Ababa.
 According to the last report is- sued by the Paris headquarters Of the Chemin de Fer Franco-Ethio- plan de Djibouti Adds Ababa, as the line is called in French. the company had capital of slight.y more than $1,000,000 and Is constantly increasing the speed and comfort of the trains.
 Today, the line possesses 46 pas senger coaches, including eight de luxe sleeper, 10 carriages contain ing a mixture of first and second class compartments and 26 third class coaches and two service cars. The total number of D ] a 5 amounts to 2,700. All the de luxe CTS are electrically lighted and air-cooled.
 445 Freight Cars
 The freight yard counts 445 cars, including 19 tankers. The majority of these units have a capacity of 20 tons each.
 The locomotives number 54, in cludjng 46 which are equipped with unusually large tenders be- cause of the scarcity of fueling and watering stations along the line. There are eight smaller ones which are used primarily for maneuvering trains in the yards.
 The line passes over three long metal bridges. located at Chebele, Holl-Holl and Aouache. The Aou- ache structure is a masterpiece Of engineering, stretching 151 meters long ocross the river, whose name i4 bears, and rising 60 meters above normal water-level. A long tunnel pierces the mountains of the liar. The stone station at Addis Ababa. inaugurated Dec. 8, 1929, is of unusual design. com bining both French and Ethiopian styles of architecture.
 Line Feeds Caravans
 It is along this steel ribbon that Ethiopian commerce courses. At Addis Ababa. Dire Daoua, Aou- ache, Mehessor, Moullou and other stations, primitive caravans carry on this flow so that trade reaches to the farthermost corners of the country. Last year the imports carried by the railway amounted to S2,316 tons while exports total- ed 27,477 tons.
 Black panther skins, highly priz- ed by the fashionable women of Europe and America, are among the chief items on the export list which also includes sheep and goat skins, OK hides, coffee and cereals.
 Building Material Sent in . The imports comprise all kinds of European manufactured. prod ucts in small quantities. Cotton goods and fabrics, hardware and building material, however, con- stitute the main bulk of the in- coming trade, according to the railway report issued in Paris.
 The most important progress made in the past few years is hte development of night travelling which had been delayed for many years due to the hazards of the rugged country. Powerful search lights, attached to the front Of locomotives, no W are used and have reduced the time of travel between the two terminal points. Average trains take B hours to make the trip between Djibouti and Addis Ababa although special trains cover the distance in 25 hours.
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