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Martin Luther

Swakopmund, Namibia

Martin Luther

Martin Luther is an 8 NHP Compound J & H McLaren steam-driven traction engine Works No 527 built in November 1895 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK and abandoned in the desert of Skeleton Coast outside of the town of Swakopmund in Namibia, ca. 4 km from the town centre. The "Road Locomotive" was brought

to German South-West Africa by First Lieutenant Edmund Troost of the Schutztruppe for use for freight service between Swakopmund and the interior of the country, for which ox wagons had been used. The route had insufficient grazing for the oxen because of droughts and seasonal conditions, and a great many oxen died along the way. To remedy this situation, Troost purchased the traction engine through the J & H McLaren Engineers (Leeds) agents in Germany, Fr. Dehne in Halberstadt, and had it shipped from Hamburg to Swakopmund. However, at its destination it was found that the offloading facilities could not cope with the locomotive's weight of 280 cwt (ca. 14 tonnes), and the ship continued to Walvis Bay, where the locomotive could be offloaded. The locomotive then remained in Walvis Bay for the next four months, as Troost had other obligations in Cape Town. When Troost was able to attend to...

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