railways

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Van Stadens Railway Bridge

The Port Elizabeth to Avontuur narrow gauge railway line was authorised in 1899 and construction commenced in 1902, reaching the town of Avontuur in the Langkloof late in 1906.  The line was built to connect the scenic Langkloof with its fruit growing industry to the port of Port Elizabeth.  The official opening of the line was in 1907, with a main line track length of 284km (177 miles) from Port Elizabeth to Avontuur.  The 30km branch line from Gamtoos Junction to Patensie was…

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10/03/2015
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Narrow gauge sheds

The Transnet Humerail Diesel Depot is situated between Humerail and Humewood in the same valley that the narrow gauge line going west runs.  It is here that a couple of dedicated people are painfully trying to restore the Apple Express with the hope that Transnet will repair the line and allow this iconic train to run again.  The view in picture is just off Driftsands Road after a short walk along a path.  Something I discovered while out looking for,…

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23/12/2014
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Van Stadens railway bridge – the highest narrow gauge bridge in the world

When the Apple Express used to run (and lets hope it will be running again some time) it always stopped at the Van Stadens Railway Bridge to allow passengers to walk across the bridge if they wanted to get photos of the train crossing it.  I decided to drive out to Van Stadens to look for two Geocaches at the bridge and got to visit it for the first time in over ten years.  The Van Stadens Railway Bridge is…

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03/04/2014
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Narrow gauge station remains

On a recent Geocaching outing I got to walk a bit around what is left of the old Humewood narrow gauge station.  Of the actual station and sheds nothing really remains, but there are still a couple of carriages on the line between where the station used to be and Kings Beach.  Makes for interesting photography.  

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28/02/2014
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The Port Elizabeth Railway Station

The Port Elizabeth Railway Station has been around for a while, existing on it's present location since 1875 when the first line was constructed to Uitenhage about 40 kilometres away.  The original building was designed by the town's Resident Engineer for Harbour and Public Works, James Bisset.  In 1893 extensive additions were completed, including the cast-iron supported roof of the main concourse, designed by E.J. Sherwood.  It's a pity that rail travel has declined so much over the last few year…

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18/01/2014
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Bridge series #5 – Railway over Swartkops

This is post #5 in the series about bridges around Port Elizabeth.  There are several bridges across the Swartkops River with the oldest road bridge in use being the Wylde Bridge at Swartkops which was built in 1879.  The road bridge is a one lane bridge that is regulated with a traffic light.  This is the railway bridge right next to the road bridge.  Looks very similar to the Mackay Bridge in Colchester, doesn't it?

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08/11/2013
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Hole in the wall

This is a hole in a wall and not THE Hole in the Wall as in the famous one on the Wild Coast.  But all holes have to start somewhere in some wall before becoming famous.  This one is making its debut in the old railway sheds in Uitenhage.

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19/10/2013
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Old train shed door

Another picture (see Old Railway Shed Roof) from my visit to the old railway sheds next to the Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Centre in Uitenhage.

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06/10/2013
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Old railway shed roof

While visiting the Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Centre in Uitenhage the other day I took a walk through the adjacent old railway sheds.  There are future plans to turn them into a shopping centre but at the moment they're standing empty.  The sheds are a photographer's dream though for both urban photographs as well as to photograph models.

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29/09/2013
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Narrow gauge line

The narrow gauge railway line between Port Elizabeth and the town of Avontuur in the Langkloof  was built by the government of the Cape Colony between 1890 and 1906 and at 285 kilometres it is the longest 610-mm-narrow gauge route in the world.  Along the way the line crosses over the highest two foot narrow-gauge railway bridge in the world.  In 1965 the Apple Express tourist train started operating on part of the line and finally seized operations in 2011 due to…

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09/08/2013