Work has been underway for several years to increase the maximum axle load of the single-track railroad line for ore transport in Mauritania from 26 to 30 tons. This involves the use of heavy conc... (more)

It is easy to imagine that drifting sand plays a major role on a railroad line through the Sahara desert. The track maintenance teams use shovels and manpower or, as here, a bulldozer. They will s... (more)

The evening before at about 6 PM or so, the empty ore train "V5" began its 652-klometer long journey from Nouadhibou on the Atlantic coast to the ore mines around Zouérate. The about 2 ... (more)

Morning meal is served in the saloon car of the “Train du Désert” at 08 AM. The double-decker vehicle was originally a diesel railcar, with the engine compartment located behind the blinds on... (more)

All 44 SNIM locomotives in Mauritania are equipped with special sand plows. These are located behind the permanently mounted plows, are attached to the frame of the bogies and can be lowered hydra... (more)

There is a large underground water reservoir near Boulenouar at kilometer 96 of the 652-kilometer railroad line from Nouadhibou to Zouérate. This is used to supply the villages and towns along th... (more)

Roster shot of the SDL40-2 CC # 114 of the SNIM, pulling an empty ore train near Ben Amira. This locomotive was built in a third batch of 6 locomitives (# 111 to 116) in 1993 by EMD in Ontario/Can... (more)

Roster shot of the SDL40-2 CC # 109 of the SNIM, pulling a loaded ore train near Nouadhibou. This locomotive was built in a second batch of 4 locomotives (# 107 to 110) in 1988 by EMD La Grange. F... (more)

This day, the "Train du Désert" with the swiss group of SERVRAIL made the journey from Ben Amira (PK 393) till Boulenouar (PK 96) and is standing now in the stub track of the small station. GPL-1... (more)

The ore trains in Mauritania also transport other goods, in addition to water, diesel oil, containers in open high-sided wagons, dromedaries on flat wagons, and cars on flat wagons. Here, for exam... (more)

Northeast of Africa's largest monolith Ben Amira, there are several minor mountains in the Mauritania desert, about 9 kilometer north of the railway track. The about 2 kilometer long empty ore tra... (more)

The GPL-15T BB # 204 of the SNIM, built by EMD and Super Steel in Glenville, New York, in 2004, pulls a short ballast train south of Nouadhibou.

In front of Africa's largest monolith, the about 540 meter a.s.l. Ben Amira, which rises about 370 meter above the desert, the empty ore train "V5" (vide train # 5) from Nouadhibou to Zouérate is... (more)

The "Train du Désert" with GPL-15T BB # 207 stands in the stub track of the Boulenouar station on PK 96 of the 650 kilometer long railway line from Nouadhibou to Zouérate. It will depa... (more)

In front of the large SNIM workshop in Nouadhibou are the SDL40-2 CC # 114, # 110 and # 101. # 101 was the first american locomotive in Mauritania in 1981, before there were used locomotives of th... (more)