STEAM LOCOMOTIVE "HAINE SAINT PIERRE" HSP 231 - THE FRANCO ETHIOPIAN RAILWAY FROM 1900 TO 1980.



Gallery N°26 : HSP 231 (C.F.E. period)

In 1899 the Imperial Ethiopian Company purchased 2 locomotives of type 020 from "Société Forges, Usines et Fonderies". The "F.U.F" was based in Haine Saint Pierre in Belgium. These locomotives weighed 12 tons and were intended for work on building sites and for shunting duties. They were designated 5 and 6.

The Madrid Aragon Railways had ordered Type Pacific 231 locomotives from the "F.U.F" factory of Haine Saint Pierre. But because of the outbreak of hostilities, the order had been cancelled. One of these locomotives was then sold on to the C.F.E. Happy with its performance the C.F.E. ordered a further three, which were delivered in 1938. These were designated 231 to 234. They were commonly known as HSP.

The four tenders of these locomotives were retained by the C.F.E. They were used for the supply of water to the emergency and wreck teams or to the work sites along the line. They were re-designated RR 9151 to RR 9154. Only RR 9153 still remains in working order. It was based at Addis Ababa station in 2010.