This collection comprises two main series of photographs which depict some of the key projects and infrastructure overseen by Macfarlane in the course of his career. These include Kilindini Harbour with numerous shots of ocean liners and dockside installations and various bridges, railway tracks and viaducts in the Mombasa area. Photographs such as those showing a Manchester-made locomotive being unloaded from a cargo ship in Mombasa provide fascinating detail to themes of engineering and infrastructure development in the Empire. There are also glimpses into the home life and leisure time of a Railways Engineer with photographs of golf matches and the family home.
Parlane Macfarlane's career summary was included with the photographs, which provides valuable context to the projects and places depicted in the photographs.
This catalogue was produced with support from the National Cataloguing Grants Programme for Archives
Parlane Macfarlane was educated at Allan Glens School and the Royal Technical College, Glasgow. He joined the Caledonian Railway as a civil engineer in 1915, but shortly afterwards joined the Royal Engineers with whom he served in Egypt, Palestine and France during WW1. In 1921 he joined the then Uganda Railway as an Assistant Engineer, being promoted to Acting District Engineer, District Engineer, Senior District Engineer and Assistant Chief Engineer over the coming 20 years of service with the Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours. In these roles he was responsible for overseeing numerous high profile projects, including parts of the new Kilindini Harbour (deep water berths), the Railway Brickworks and Concrete Factory, reconditioning of the Voi Kahe branch railway, and construction of a pier on Lake Victoria, as well as dozens of bridges, numerous large buildings and hundreds of miles of railway track. Macfarlane lived in Mombasa and later Nairobi and was a keen golfer, instrumental in setting up the Railways Golf Club. He returned to the UK towards the end of WW2 after carrying out a number of wartime projects for the military. Macfarlane was married to Georgie and had 2 children, Ian and Margaret.
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