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The train arrived at Cubal in June 1908.
However, the landscape's uneven and arid profile brought into play some hard to solve technical problems. For instance, at the 54th km, there was the need to use a complex rack rail system, because along 2 km the train would rise from level 97 in Lengue to level 236 in São Pedro. In 1948, with the construction of the Lengue by-pass, the rack rails were discarded. Later, in 1972, began the construction of a new route between Lobito and Cubal - the Cubal by-pass, which was finished in October 1974. The route between Lobito and Cubal was reduced from 197 to 153 km. The amount of curves decreased from 415 to 122 and the minimal curve radius broadened from 100 to 350 m. |
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In December 31st, 1974 the CFB owned 103 steam engines. Twelve years later, in June 30th, 1987, only 16 were still operational. The first Diesel engines were acquired in 1974. |
