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Umzinto–Donnybrook Narrow-gauge Railway
The Umzinto–Donnybrook narrow-gauge railway is a closed narrow-gauge railway line in South Africa. It runs from Umzinto to Donnybrook, passing through Highflats and Ixopo, with a branch from Ixopo to Madonela (Union Bridge). The line was built in 1908 and was in length. Construction The mainline was constructed using second-hand rails becoming available from track upgrades on Cape gauge railways. The total line was laid for £3,200 a mile. The construction and equipment of this railway barely exceeded £300,000. The rails were , in lengths. The ruling gradient was 1 in 33 (3.33%) uncompensated for curvature. The Madonela Branch was built for a maximum axle load of and a speed of at a cost of about £50 000 and the first trains ran on 2 February 1914. Operations In the 1970s a typical crew operation roster consisted of three daily trains: The first train ran from Ixopo to Donnybrook, and return to Ixopo, a full day's shift. The second train also departed from Ixopo but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narrow-gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structure gauges, and lighter rails, they can be less costly to build, equip, and operate than standard- or broad-gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain). Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often used in mountainous terrain, where engineering savings can be substantial. Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often built to serve industries as well as sparsely populated communities where the traffic potential would not justify the cost of a standard- or broad-gauge line. Narrow-gauge railways have specialised use in mines and other environments where a small structure gauge necessitates a small loading gauge. In some countries, narrow gauge is the standard; Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Austr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Gauge
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. They have had periodic returns to fashion - for example, in nineteenth-century Europe. Roman Catholic clergy wear a type of cape known as a ferraiolo, which is worn for formal events outside a ritualistic context. The cope is a liturgical vestment in the form of a cape. Capes are often highly decorated with elaborate embroidery. Capes remain in regular use as rainwear in various military units and police forces, in France for example. A gas cape was a voluminous military garment designed to give rain protection to someone wearing the bulky gas masks used in twentieth-century wars. Rich noblemen and elite warriors of the Aztec Empire would wear a tilmàtli; a Mesoamerican cloak/cape used as a symbol of their upper status. Cloth and clothing w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Abandoned Railway Lines In South Africa
This is a list of disused, abandoned, closed or dismantled railway lines in South Africa since 1910. The list is primarily intended to document South African Railways (Government) or private lines of historical significance. (e.g.: Okiep railway) Closed Lines {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Route (From/To) ! Closure Date ! Notes , - , Bridgend - Cape Collieries , 1912 , , - , Bamboo Junction - Bridgend , 1917 , , - , Lyttelton Junction - Roberts Heights , 1913 , , - , Sheba Halt - Sheba Mine , 1926 , - , Valley Junction - Walmer , 1928 , Narrow Gauge. Walmer town branch of the Avontuur line. Replaced by bus service. , - , Monument - Sea Point , 1929 , This line ran from Cape Town City to Sea Point. Uplifted after closure. , - , Colesberg Junction - Colesberg , 1931 , Originally a terminus, this later became a spur off the Noupoort - Bloemfontein line. , - , Elandshoek – Mount Carmel , 1931 , Narrow Gauge. , - , Hamilton - Tempe , 1932 , , - , P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of South African Locomotive Classes
This list shows past and current rail transport locomotive classes used in South Africa. It includes locomotives from all original operators: *Cape Government Railways (CGR) *Cape Town Railway and Dock (CTR&D) *Central South African Railways (CSAR) * Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika (DSWA) *Imperial Military Railways (IMR) *Kowie Railway *Metropolitan & Suburban Railway (M&S) *Namaqualand Railway (CCC & NCC) *Natal Government Railways (NGR) *Natal Railway Company (NRC) * Nederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NZASM) *New Cape Central Railway (NCCR) *Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen (OVGS) *Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) *Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR) *South African Railways (SAR) *Spoornet *Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) *Zululand Railway Company Steam locomotives Electric locomotives Gas-electric, Diesel-electric, Diesel-hydraulic & Electro-diesel locomotives See also ;Rail transport and locomotives in South Africa * South African locomotive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Transport In South Africa
Rail transport in South Africa is an important element of the country's transport infrastructure. All major cities are connected by rail, and South Africa's railway system is the most highly developed in Africa. The South African rail industry is publicly owned. History The first railway was from Cape Town to Wellington and was worked by a small locomotive in 1859. The first passenger carrying service was a small line of about built by the Natal Railway Company, linking the town of Durban with Harbour Point, opened on 26 June 1860. Cape Town had already started building a line, track gauge , linking Cape Town to Wellington in 1859 but was hampered by delays and could only begin passenger service to the first section of the line to the Eerste River on 13 February 1862. However Cape railway construction began a massive expansion, after the formation in 1872 of the Cape Government Railways. In the north, in the independent South African Republic, railway construction was done ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandstone Estates
Sandstone Estates (Pty) Ltd is a large commercial agricultural enterprise covering over , located on the border with Lesotho in South Africa's Eastern Free State province, close to the Maluti Mountains. The nearest town is Ficksburg, away on the R26. It is a hub of transport preservation. History The farm was built up by the Wille family from the 1830s, who were originally German missionaries. Today it is part of an international agri-business that produces wheat, soya beans, maize and sunflowers. It has been 100% organic since 2005. As steam enthusiasts, in the mid-1990s, the Sandstone owners were approached by Alan Clarke of Transnet Heritage Foundation, who realised the foundation did not have the resources to rescue the collapsing Midmar Museum in KwaZulu-Natal. The collection formed the basis of what became the Sandstone Heritage collection. Today, the main collection is still based around the railway transport of Southern Africa, but also covers an extensive global r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cry, The Beloved Country
''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Bennett Cerf remarked at that year's meeting of the American Booksellers Association that there had been "only three novels published since the first of the year that were worth reading… ''Cry, The Beloved Country'', ''The Ides of March'', and ''The Naked and the Dead''.""Reader's Digest: Gossip, news: J. F. Albright reports on A.B.A. meeting," ''The Dallas Morning News'', 30 May 1948, p. 6. It remains one of the best-known works of South African literature. Two cinema adaptations of the book have been made, the first in 1951 and the second in 1995. The novel was also adapted as a musical called ''Lost in the Stars'' (1949), with a book by the American writer Maxwell Anderson and music composed by the German emigre Kurt Weill. Plot The story ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh Highland Railway
The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway and to the short Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. In Porthmadog it uses the United Kingdom's only mixed gauge flat rail crossing. The restoration, which had the civil engineering mainly built by contractors and the track mainly built by volunteers, received a number of awards. Originally running from , near Caernarfon, to ,Boyd (1972), pages=283 the current line includes an additional section from Dinas to Caernarfon. The original line also had a branch to and the slate quarries around Moel Tryfan, which has not been restored. (This branch forms a footpath "rail trail", the lower section of which has been resurfaced and supplied with heri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washout (erosion)
A washout is the sudden erosion of soft soil or other support surfaces by a gush of water, usually occurring during a heavy downpour of rain (a flash flood) or other stream flooding. These downpours may occur locally in a thunderstorm or over a large area, such as following the landfall of a tropical cyclone. If a washout occurs in a crater-like formation, it is called a sinkhole, and it usually involves a leaking or broken water main or sewerage pipes. Other types of sinkholes, such as collapsed caves, are not washouts. Widespread washouts can occur in mountainous areas after heavy rains, even in normally dry ravines. A severe washout can become a landslide, or cause a dam break in an earthen dam. Like other forms of erosion, most washouts can be prevented by vegetation whose roots hold the soil and/or slow the flow of surface and underground water. Deforestation increases the risk of washouts. Retaining walls and culverts may be used to try to prevent washouts, although partic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transshipment
Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g., from ship transport to road transport), known as transloading. Another reason is to combine small shipments into a large shipment (consolidation), or the opposite: dividing a large shipment into smaller shipments (deconsolidation). Transshipment usually takes place in transport hubs. Much international transshipment also takes place in designated customs areas, thus avoiding the need for customs checks or duties, otherwise a major hindrance for efficient transport. An item handled (from the shipper's point of view) as a single movement is not generally considered transshipped, even if it changes from one mode of transport to another at several points. Previously, it was often not distinguished from transloading, since each leg of such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axle Load
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type axle is referred to as a ''spindle''. Terminology On cars and trucks, several senses of the word ''axle'' occur in casual usage, referring to the shaft itself, its housing, or simply any transverse pair of wheels. Strictly speaking, a shaft which rotates with the wheel, being either bolted or splined in fixed relation to it, is called an ''axle'' or ''axle shaft''. However, in looser usage, an entire assembly including the surrounding axle housing (typically a casting) is als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruling Gradient
The term ruling grade is usually used as a synonym for "steepest climb" between two points on a railroad. More simply, the steepest grade to be climbed dictates how powerful the motive power (or how light the train) must be in order for the run to be made without assistance. Even if 99% of the line could be run with a low-powered (and inexpensive) locomotive, if at some point on the line there is a steeper gradient than such train would be able to climb, this gradient "rules" that a more powerful locomotive must be used, in spite of it being far too powerful for the rest of the line. This is why special "helper engines" (also dubbed "Bankers") are often stationed near steep grades on otherwise mild tracks. It is cheaper than running a too-powerful locomotive over the entire track mileage just in order to make the grade, especially when multiple trains run over the line each day (to help justify the fixed daily cost of the helper operation). In the 1953 edition of ''Railway Engineer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_SAR_Class_NG6_a.JPG "Click for more on -> Sandstone Estates")
