An article on The Heritage Portal about disused rail lines in South Africa (click here to view) prompted me to put this article together, taking stock of what is still around and how it used to work. It is about the unused line from the Dover Station through Parys ending in Vredefort.
Map showing the railway line between Dover and Vredefort
Dover is on the mainline between Vereeniging and Bloemfontein. It used to be a station; not anymore, no trains stop here. The rail control that used to be in the roofless building on the right in the photo below is gone, everything is controlled from a central rail control centre.
Dover Station (Horst Müller)
From here was the branch off to Parys and Vredefort. The photograph below was taken standing on the rail that would take the trains to Parys, the signals are still there.
Dover Station Branch Off (Horst Müller)
Just out of the station there are no more rails. After some theft, the...
