hey, all. i just wanted to get some second opinions on this idea of mine. in the current specs for one of my TLs, Britain gets Morocco instead of Egypt as a colony but has most of the same colonies from OTL. because of that, TTL's version of the Cape to Cairo Railway is built in mostly the same direction until it gets to about Lake Victoria and then turns northwest to get to Morocco, going across the Sahara.
that last part is what i want to get a plausibility check on. as i currently have it written, the railway is completed but turns out to be a wasted effort because the Sahara's weather patterns compromise the rails themselves, but also have it written that in the modern period there are proposals to rebuild it using artificial above-ground tunnels to protect the rails from the Sahara's sands.
what does everyone think about the plausibility of the rail being completed? would the conditions of the Sahara mean that "tunnels" are built earlier than i've suggested here? or d'y'all think they just wouldn't both trying to cross the Sahara?