In order to remedy this grave disability, which was hindering the expansion of the country to an acute degree, the British Central Africa Company decided to provide a main line of railway between Blantyre and Port Herald. The opportunities were unique, as transport was difficult and costly, while it was pointed out, also, that by means of the iron road the slave-trade around Lake Nyasa could be broken up effectively. Sir Bradford Leslie, K.C.I.E., M.INST.C.E., the eminent engineer whose bridge-building and other works are scattered throughout the Indian Empire, was approached to extend his valuable assistance and skill in the prosecution of the undertaking. The scheme was not ambitious so far as railways are concerned, but there were many peculiar difficulties which had to be overcome. The line promoted was only 114 miles in length, but in that distance a difference of 3,700 feet in levels had to be overcome. The broken character of the country proved that some heavy work would be necessary, for the deep, wide rifts in the mountain sides, though dry in summer, are raging torrents when the wet season breaks. [Illustration: RAILWAY BUILDING IN NYASALAND, CENTRAL AFRICA Natives erecting an embankment. The natives, both men and women, transported the material in baskets carried on their heads.] Sir Bradford Leslie, being interested in the extinction of the slave-trade, gladly co-operated in the scheme, and although he did not visit the country to inspect the outlook on the spot, he prepared estimates from data of the physical conditions extended, upon the basis of his Indian work. [Illustration: A TYPICAL BRIDGE ON THE NYASALAND RAILWAY Everything for construction had to be exported from England.] [Illustration: THE NOVEL LIFT BRIDGE OVER THE SHIRÉ RIVER AT CHIROMO The span is lifted by winches worked by natives. THE RAILWAY INVASION OF CENTRAL AFRICA] It was intended, in the first instance, that Chiromo should be the base for constructional operations, the primary idea being to connect Blantyre with the river at this point. This represented the building of about 84 miles of line, and promised to remove the isolation and inaccessibility of the capital. At this time a cart road was the sole means of communication, and when this could not be used everything had to be carried on the heads of native porters, while passengers had to travel to and fro by “machilla,” a kind of hammock slung from a pole.