Such was the level of derision that greeted proponents of the new railway that was meant to open up what was then British East Africa. Like today's SGR, the cost of the lunatic express particularly raised political temperatures among UK lawmakers. But the British government trudged on with the plans, dispatching Sir George Whitehouse to build the railway. After the hot and humid Mombasa climate, the lunatic express ran into more severe headwinds; from lack of water at Tatu to two lions that threatened to halt construction at Tsavo. The lunatic express had such a profound impact on the country's history that a curator at the railway museum says: "It is only in Kenya where a railway line built a country and not vice versa."

Source: Standard Digital May 30, 2017 19:51 UTC