Littorina
Photo courtesy of Rick Baxter.
Here stands Littorina No. 7 at what seems like Ghinda. The picture
was taken early 2000. The original
numbering scheme was A60 through A70. This would have been A66,
which is a 025A model. These will be used for tourist excursions
only. More modern railcars will be purchased for everyday use.
The railcar I rode from Asmara to
Massawa in 1962 was No. 6 and also a 025A model. Currently, the
railway is using rebuild Class III coaches and goods wagons. Also,
at least one flat car has been converted for passenger use.
Photo courtesy of Francesco Quaglio
Francesco Quaglio sent me the above picture. It is of a Littorina
in Asmara in 1939. A close attention to detail shows the fasce
is on the front and the Ferrovie Eritree logo on the side with opposing
fasce on the side. It also shows an example of the giant Mother-in-Law's
tongue in front of it that I have mentioned elsewhere. It shows life.
Here the roof is clear of the wires shown on Okie's picture (below).
This does not have any center windows. Therefore, it is a model 025D.
The front of Littorina Nr 6 is shown above. I took this picture
at Ghinda in 1961. The Nr looks almost like a K:
This posed a question for a long time because Italian normally only
uses K on foreign words such as killer and karate.
An Eritrean expatriate told me that nothing in Tigranya that would have
anything to do with number or Littorina started with a K.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Horton
Finally, upon looking at Patrick Horton's picture of the Littorina
(or some other shot from this angle), it dawned on me it was Nr...the Italian
abreviation for numero. The mystery was completely solved
with Rick Baxter's picture of No 7.
Here it is clearly N° 7. In my era, the signage in Eritrea
still reflected the Italian Colonialism and may have had the Nr abbreviation.
The Littorina name was
given during the Fascist era.
Photograph courtesy of Charles Moulton
Shown here on a causeway between the islands of Massawa and Taulou, this
little railcar provided trips between all points on the Eritrean Railway
and Ropeway. The picture links to the Chuck's full picture. 
