Peter Ball

Over the coming months we will be publishing a series of articles, compiled by Peter Ball, on the history of Southern African railways. The first installment looks at some of the earliest railways in the country and the extension of various lines into the interior (driven by the great mineral discoveries of the second half of the nineteenth century).

The Gautrain which now runs between Johannesburg and Pretoria was opened in stages commencing with the spur from Sandton City to O.R. Tambo Airport, which started running at the time of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. It was built as a high speed commuter train service having interchange stations with the existing Metrorail system. As the speed of a train was required to be 162 kph (100 mph), the latest railway technology, as tried and tested in Britain was incorporated into the design brief. Part of that brief was to base the Gautrain carriages on the "ElectroStar" electric multiple units already in use on the London outer suburban services. Britain's mainline railways run on tracks having a gauge of 1435 mm (4'-8 ½") between the rails (known as the Standard Gauge), whereas in Southern Africa the gauge is the Cape Gauge of 1067mm (3'-6"). The "Gautrain Rapid Rail Link: Planning and Implementation Study" evaluated the two gauges and recommended utilising the Standard Gauge on the grounds of safety (at speed) and ease of procurement of rolling stock, thus reverting back to the gauge used by the first railways built in Southern...

The county of Cornwall, in England’s south west, is a well known holiday destination renowned for its scenic beauty and it comes as a surprise to many a visitor that the county has an industrial past. From the mid-18th century Cornwall was as industrialised as the Midlands and North of England and it was one of the most important metalliferous mining areas in the world. In fact the metal Tin had been exploited in Cornwall by the Romans in the 3rd & 4th centuries AD, after their previous source - the Spanish tin mines, were worked out. Tin was an important commodity in the ancient world as when alloyed with copper it produced bronze, which was superior to pure copper, because of its lower melting point, improved flow and increased hardness; items made from bronze were easier to fabricate and weapons and utensils were able to hold a sharp edge for longer.

While Europe (as well as other parts of Britain) specialised in surface and underground coal mining i.e. soft-rock mining, the Cornish mining industry toiled to release metals embedded in hard rock, such as lead, copper, zinc, silver, nickel and tin and thus Cornishmen became world leaders in deep level hard rock mining, at least until the early 20th century.

It so happened that as the mines of Cornwall went into decline, circa 1865, major new ore bodies were being discovered across the globe. As the Cornish mines became spent (worked-out) and jobs were being lost there was a...

Headgears are the ultimate symbol of the mammoth Southern African mining industry. They tower over billions of rands worth of wealth and help to sustain vast underground cities. They are appreciated by millions around the world and we are blessed to have some of the finest examples. The article below provides an overview of the purpose and significance of headgears.

This article aims to give a brief history and the purpose of the Headgears, which tower over the vertical mine shafts which go deep underground.  The text is written in layman’s terms for the reader unfamiliar with the topic.

Introduction

The most striking surface manifestation of the intense mining activity underground are the mine dumps and slimes dams, which can be seen at a distance, however on closer approach to a mine the stark outline of the Headgear asserts itself, pure functionality ruling over beauty.

The term Headgear in its broad sense should embrace all structures and appliances connected with the handling of men, material and mineral into and out of the shaft.

History

The history of deep level mining goes back to the early days of Johannesburg, circa 1887, when the gold mining industry of the Witwatersrand had its beginnings along the outcrops of gold bearing conglomerates to the west of the present city. When the crude surface workings of the prospectors gave way to more systematic mining operations, incline shafts followed the dipping reefs to increasing depths. These early operations were makeshift at best. They lacked solid financial backing and...

Corrugated iron was developed and patented in Britain around 1830 and has travelled the world. Born during the industrial revolution it travelled to the expanding colonies of the Empire, notably to Australia, India & South Africa; it also found popularity on the frontiers of the Americas and wherever it went it transformed the landscape.

The gold rushes of the nineteenth century were a spur to the migration of thousands of people to the far corners of the globe, where there was little infrastructure. Victorian Britain was the workshop of world and saw export opportunities for corrugated iron on the goldfields of California, Australia and South Africa. The nature of corrugated iron, being light, easy to stack, and portable, made it an ideal building material to export to places such as Kalgoorlie or Pilgrim’s Rest, which were at the back of beyond.

What is corrugated iron? Corrugated comes from the Latin word “Ruga” which means to wrinkle or crease, thus to corrugate a thin metal sheet, the sheet has to pass through a set of rolls in order to fashion it into a series of sinusoidal waves which gives it greater strength and stiffness (in direction of span). Originally made from wrought iron, but since the 1890’s made from mild steel, it is often supplied with a hot-dip galvanised finish to prevent rusting. Its merit over traditional building materials, i.e. masonry or timber, is that it is cheap, durable, lightweight, strong, re-usable and easily transported; such versatility is the key to its...

It was forty-five years ago (1970) that the Johannesburg City Council was formulating a policy to tackle the issue of traffic congestion brought about by the increased use of the motor car as a means of commuting to work.  One solution which had great appeal was an underground railway system similar to that of London and Paris.

The progress of development of Johannesburg, from the time of the first discovery of gold in mid 1886, was by the establishment of mining villages both east and west of the initial gold strike, along the “Main Reef”. By 1890 Johannesburg and its environs (the “Rand”) had grown enormously and the pressing need for a railway was satisfied by the building of the “Rand Tram”; the name belied the fact that it was a proper railway laid to the Cape Gauge of 3’-6”, for the transport of passengers and goods. The “Rand Tram” ran initially from Johannesburg to Boksburg but was soon extended eastwards to Springs and westwards to Krugersdorp. For shorter journeys around Johannesburg horse drawn trams were introduced in 1891, which were upgraded to electric trams by 1906. Interestingly the tracks of the latter were laid in the road to the Standard Gauge of 4’-8½“.

Tramline being laid in Johannesburg (Source Unknown)

As Johannesburg grew (with its population) it was to extend over...

On reaching the bottom of Robber’s Pass on a journey towards the village of Pilgrim’s Rest you will notice on your left the Golf Club, but should you glance to the right you will see at intervals elegant cast iron poles each with a curved outrigger. You may well ponder as to what they are and after three guesses will still be none the wiser. To know the answer you will have to know some of the history of Pilgrim’s Rest.

The first gold rush took place in 1873 when gold was found close to a waterfall, on the farm Geelhoutboom, located on the eastern Transvaal escarpment. The President of the South African Republic, President Burgers, visited the site and named the camp “MacMac” on account of the many Scotsmen who had registered their claims. The spot was proclaimed as the New Caledonia Goldfields and soon became overcrowded with diggers.

One of the diggers decided to move on and try his luck elsewhere and by pushing a wheelbarrow, containing his stores and belongings, found a valley with a small creek that ran into the Blyde River.  On panning in the stream he found rich deposits of alluvial gold. His name was Alec “Wheelbarrow” Paterson and he had found a payable gold field. Paterson tried to keep his discovery to himself, but another prospector soon followed him into the valley and struck gold. He was William Stafford and he rushed back to “MacMac” to register his claim at the Gold Commisioner’s...