Cape Midland Branches (4): The Somerset East, Alexandria & Kirkwood branches, by Bruce Brinkman & Charlie Lewis

Please note: All photographs, maps and text in Soul of A Railway are protected by copyright and may not be copied or reproduced in any way for further use without prior permission in writing from the authors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are indebted to the following for crucial input and support by way of photographs, captions, historical information, anecdotes, proof-reading and corrections (alphabetical order):

Eugene Armer, Alan Buttrum, Bill Botkin, Andrew Deacon, Geoff Hall, Allen Jorgensen, Justin Lewis, Dick Manton, Bruno Martin, Yolanda Meyer, Dennis Moore, Les Pivnic, David Rodgers  

INTRODUCTION 

The Cape Midland Region main line from Port Elizabeth to the interior was opened to De Aar and Kimberly in 1884. This line split from the Port Elizabeth-Graaff-Reinet line at Swartkops junction and ran via Barkly Bridge, Addo, Alicedale, Cookhouse, Cradock and Noupoort to De Aar where it joined the line from Cape Town to Kimberly. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries branch lines were constructed off this line to serve communities that had been bypassed as well as to assist in the development of rural areas. However the operation of rail freight branch lines around the world has generally been considered to be fraught with problems of profitability due to high capital costs and low traffic levels.

EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK LIGHT RAILWAYS by J.C. MACKAY - 1895

In South Africa the Author had the honour of addressing a special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce in Port Elizabeth on “Little Railways for the Development of Poor Districts,” on the day before the Light Railway Conference met at the Guildhall, in London in 1894; and, later on, a special meeting of the Cape Town Chamber of Commeree; and although he brought this matter prominently before the Cape Colony, the Orange Free State, and Natal some twelve years ago, it was only last year that people became alive to the advantages of these railways as the only means, under the financial cireumstances of the country, of placing the fertile districts of those Colonies in ready communication with the chief markets. Every district wanted its main line of the standard type to serve its requirements; but it being impossible to construct a railway costing over £8000 per mile for traffic that would only support one costing £2000, the inhabitants had perforce to stick to their slow, cumbrous, but nevertheless useful, bullock-wagons.

The Consulting Engineers in England, the Managers and the Engineers in the Colonies, have generally set their minds against the construction of any branch lines that were not equal to the main lines of the Colony, as if they would sooner cut off a district from any railway communication at all than depart from the standard they had laid down for the main lines. In this there is hardly cause for surprise. Men who have had to deal with large schemes of engineering enterprise; involving the tunnelling of mountains, or the construction of colossal bridges, can hardly be expected to take to the planning of a railway limited to a cost of £2500 per mile, or to organize the details of traffic amounting, perhaps, to no more than fifty tons per day. Again, personal interests and political expediency have in many cases dictated the route and the standard of a railway. abroad, and consequently every country is now saddled with branch lines that are only paying their working expenses, and, in some instances, not even these. The Commissioners of our Colonial railways say that all feeder branch lines must be constructed at as small a capital cost as possible, and yet they will not depart from the main-line standard.

Our Colonists, living in districts not served by railways, cannot compete with fellow-colonists that [already] have that advantage, and consequently they want a railway to serve them; but if every district is to have a railway, the capital cost (as compared with present undertakings) must be considerably reduced and the revenue to be derived from the working of it must be sufficient to pay interest on capital, after paying working expenses, in a reasonable time after construction - say in five years - so that the finances of the country are not unduly taxed.

It is the object of the present work to show that this is by no means such a difficult matter as many people suppose. Were the same degree of common-sense brought to bear upon railway construction and working as is used in ordinary business matters, and were subsidiary railways treated entirely in a commercial spirit, we would have fewer unprofitable railways to-day, and many places which are now devoid of railway communication would be hearing the welcome sound of the railway whistle.

In the Cape Colony the branch lines have entailed such expenditure that they do not pay the full interest on their capital after deducting working expenses and although the whole system yields a return of more than five per cent, all the surplus money is earned by one line, the Midland, running from Port Elizabeth to the Transvaal Gold Fields. A branch line, constructed and worked by a private company, cannot earn more than 2 percent., even after the capital has been reduced to about £4700 per mile, with a gross revenue of £297 per mile. It is therefore necessary for the Colonial Government to take an entirely new approach in the construction and working of future branch lines, and, if they are to be built and worked in such a manner as to pay their way, radical alterations will be necessary in the weight of rail laid down, and in the rolling stock employed. There is no district in this colony that can support a railway costing even £4,000 per mile, and the utmost limit that a railway should cost even in the best districts, must not exceed £3,000 per mile if the revenue derived therefrom is to pay interest on the capital as well as working expenses. There are many fertile districts with plenty of water and good rainfall, and capable of being put under irrigation, which will remain in their present stagnate condition until they can have railway communication to take their produce to the nearest market. Some of these districts are over a hundred miles from that market, and the only means of transport being the bullock-wagon the farmer is very often six weeks away from home - never less than three, in taking a wagon-load of produce there. His capital being limited, his means of transport is on the same scale, and he can, therefore, grow on his farm no greater quantity of produce than he can convey to market, yet the farm he holds could be made to produce ten, twenty, perhaps fifty times the quantity. Under such conditions the country cannot progress agriculturally and it is not to be wondered at that the Cape Colony is in a worse situation today than it was fifteen years ago. Were these districts provided with railway communication, a much larger population could be put upon the land, a larger acreage could be brought under cultivation, and the capital that the farmer has invested in his wagons and bullocks for transport purposes would be released for other uses. Free from transport riding he would be able to devote more time to his farming operations, to say nothing of the moral and social advantages the district would enjoy by the advent of the railway.

In designing a railway for such a district, we would have to face the fact that the traffic likely to come upon it at the commencement is of the smallest, that the population is scarce, and that before the railway—even the smallest possible railway serviceable for steam traction—can have sufficient traffic to pay interest on capital and working expenses, more land will have to be brought into cultivation, the farmer will have to get accustomed to the new condition of things, and the transport rider will have gradually to get rid of his oxen and settle on the land. The question arises: is it worthwhile to give such a district railway communication? Is it possible to provide a railway to serve such circumstances? Without railway communication a district cannot progress and we have only to disabuse our minds of the ingrained prejudice we have against break-of-gauge and “toy” railways, and bring to our aid business principles, when we shall be able, without attempting anything new in railway construction, to build and work such a railway that will have a carrying capacity ample for the district for many years to come.

The problems of profitability due to high capital costs and low traffic levels was first considered by William Hoy, first General Manager of the newly-formed South African Railways as early as 1912 when he expressed the opinion that branch lines were marginalised because too little consideration was given their value as feeders to the mainlines. He also criticised the manner in which the infrastructure was depreciated, which gave unfair advantage to the main lines. Nevertheless, the railway administration continued to promote branch-line development as part of its general development policies, particularly for the agricultural community. 

By the mid-1960s SAR goods traffic had experienced some 30 years of continuous growth. Of its 13283 route miles, only about 260 miles of new goods-carrying lines had been constructed in the previous 20 years but goods traffic had grown from 47 748 203 tons in 1945 to over 99 million tons in 1963/1964.  In addition to 9200 miles of main and secondary main lines, there were some 69 branch and secondary arterial routes, having about 4800 miles of line. Unfortunately, SAR was unable to keep up with the rapidly expanding demand for transport and this led to increasing criticism in the 1960’s. Increased pressure from industry and the growing road transport lobby pushed for transport deregulation during the 1960’s and 1970’s, forcing government to reconsider the position of the Railways.  This resulted in the passing of the Road Transportation Act, Act 14 of 1977.

SA Transport Services (SATS) was established in 1981 and instructed by government to operate as a commercial business, free of former social obligations, and to refuse traffic that it believed to be unprofitable or to increase tariffs to make such business profitable.  Soon SATS was discouraging the use of many branch lines and a programme of closure for so-called uneconomic branch and light traffic density lines was drawn up.  A drastic and disastrous scaling down of long-distance passenger services followed and the unpopular road transport permit system which by the mid eighties existed in name only was officially done away with by the end of the decade.

Branch lines were considered by many in management to be an unprofitable social burden and services over these lines were reduced or curtailed. But the parameters used to prove their unprofitability appeared to be fundamentally flawed.  Most did not generate very large volumes of traffic but what was generally overlooked was their value as feeders to the main lines. The communities, farmers and businesses served by these lines felt that judging them on a stand-alone basis was misleading, yet it was strictly on this basis that they were judged. Not considered at all was the cause and effect impact on the road system, especially in terms of maintenance costs, accidents and loss of lives.

We will look at the efforts to avoid the closure of each of these branches separately, bearing in mind that we have already dealt with the Knysna, Calitzdorp and Port Alfred branches.

This chapter looks at the following branches:

• • Cookhouse-Somerset East

  • Barkly Bridge-Alexandria

  • Addo-Kirkwood

The first Branch to open was to Somerset East in 1902, followed by Alexandria 1909 and finally to Kirkwood in 1927. We will look at them in the order that they opened.

INTRODUCTION

Somerset East which lies in the valley of the Little Fish River, at the foot of the Boschberg Mountains, was founded by Lord Charles Somerset, Governor of the Cape, in 1825.  The first settler in this area was Willem Prinsloo. He settled under the Boschberg, close to where the Museum is today. Prinsloo was the unofficial Field Cornet of the district where at least 20 other families had settled by 1774. They send a petition to Cape Town asking for the establishment of a Drostdy and a church in the area, which led to the establishment of Graaff-Reinet.

At some stage, Prinsloo gave up parts of his farm and a farmer named Jakobus Cornelius Ismael Safanya Otto moved into the corner now known as Bestershoek. He was followed by the Trichardt and Bester families.  Lord Somerset, taking up the ideas proposed by Cradock and Caledon that there should be a settlement on the Eastern Frontier, initiated a plan for an experimental farm in the area. An American botanist, Dr Mackrill, was given orders to find a suitable farm, and was told to look at three places, the Gamtoos Valley, the Swartkops Valley and Boschberg. He chose the latter.

The farm was established in 1815, for the purpose of improving stockbreeding in the Cape Colony and providing produce for the soldiers at the Frontier. It was named "Somerset Farm".

In 1825 the project was cancelled, a new Drostdy was declared, and the town of Somerset was established. The "East" suffix was only added on 30 years later in order to differentiate it from Somerset West.  Somerset East was established as a municipality in 1884.

THE SOMERSET EAST BRANCH & THE GRAND JUNCTION RAILWAY COMPANY 

As noted above a Cape Colony Parliamentary Committee in July 1895 recommended that the Cape Government subsidize private construction companies, under strict conditions, to build a number of railways. It was hoped that this strategy would rapidly extend the railways of the Cape Colony. This was a considerable change in policy as previously all railways in the Cape Colony had been constructed by the Cape Government Railway (CGR). The Cape Colony Government was prepared to subsidize up to 10% of the cost of construction to a maximum of    £4 000 per mile. The Government reserved the right to buy these lines after a period of twelve years from the date of the contract. 

This funding opportunity was taken up by John Walker who had built the Cape Central Railway and the Sea Point Railway. He floated the Grand Junction Railway Co. (GJR) which, through parliamentary legislation, was awarded three railway construction contracts:

a) Mossel Bay via George, Oudtshoorn and Willowmore to a junction with the Port Elizabeth – Graaff-Reinet railway at or near Klipplaat. 

b) Somerset East to Fort Beaufort via Cookhouse and Bedford. 

c) Fort Beaufort to King William’s Town via Alice. 

The company was severely undercapitalised, but Walker planned to raise money by selling shares in the company – particularly to tradesmen and farmers established along the routes.  It was anticipated that as shareowners they would use and promote the railway. In the event, the latter’s buy-in enthusiasm turned out to be considerably below what Walker envisaged.

However, a contract was concluded with the GJR in May 1896. The ambitious completion date was August 1899. 

Simultaneously with the section from Oudtshoorn to Klipplaat, earthworks and culverts on the section from Somerset East to Cookhouse were commenced from Somerset East.   However, it was soon clear that the company would be unable to achieve the completion dates which the contract stipulated. The GJR ordered the required bridges from the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. When the former was unable to pay, the latter company was given the contract by the Cape Parliament (Act No. 40 of 1898). Meanwhile there were ongoing problems due to the precarious financial position of the GJR which led to the workforce downing tools and eventual sequestration of the company.

DESCRIPTION OF THE LINE

2. Translated for our overseas readers, the station nameboard at Cookhouse says: 196km (=122 miles) to Port Elizabeth; altitude 580m (= 1,800ft); junction for Somerset East, main line and Blaney.

The Somerset East branch took off from the Cape Midland mainline here, leaving in a southerly direction before turning west to Somerset East. It was originally intended to be part of the ‘Grand Trunk Railway’ through the Eastern Cape to East London; there were even thoughts of extending it westwards to link up with the line from Klipplaat to Graaff-Reinet.  This never happened and Somerset East remained the terminus.

The line was completed by the Cape Government Railways and was opened on 01 August 1902 being the first Cape Midland branch line to open.  19 miles long with a 1/58 ruling gradient, it was laid with 45lb rail which allowed a 15 ton axle load.  Their were no passing loops and the branch was operated on the 'one engine in steam' principle.

3. Google image of Cookhouse showing the Somerset East Branch connection and the position of the Loco Shed.

4. Google image of Somerset East showing the location of the Station and how the track does a 180° turn to reach the station.

MOTIVE POWER AND OPERATING PATTERN

5. Coaling stage at Cookhouse with a class 24 getting ready to move off.  Note the clusters of local residents ever eager to score the odd lump of coal - especially in winter.

The large structure was a remnant from the time when Cookhouse was a major division point on the Midland Main Line and the terminus for Cape Eastern locomotives that worked the trunk line from East London, Blaney and Kingwilliamstown. 

The locomotives for the Somerset East branch were based at Cookhouse.  In the early years classes 6 & 7 were used which were replaced by class 24’s which arrived ex South West Africa c 1963.  The loads for each class are shown in the table below.  Passenger accommodation was provided on the goods trains.

The service was a mixed train each morning, excepting Sundays, from Cookhouse to Somerset East and return. An additional afternoon mixed train ran on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays as detailed in this extract from the 1971 Working Time Book.  Passenger service on the mixed trains was provided by the attachment of one All Classes van. Trains 581 and 580 also provided a T&P service.

TRAFFIC, INCOME AND COST DETAILS 

The 1924 Branch Line Committee Report provided the following details:

1913 Traffic: 10,932 tons; income £5,880; expenditure £7,068; loss £1,188

1920 Traffic: 13 452 tons; income £8,568; expenditure £7,668; surplus £900

The 1932 report “Branch Line Economies” detailing Somerset East branch traffic for the year 1928 recorded 14 520 tons. The working expenses were £6,396 and the earnings £8,364. Interest charged on capital was £5,148, resulting in a loss of £3,180 for the year.

Main traffic consisted of Maize, Wheat, Lucerne, Wool, Lime, Coal and Perishables.

In 1988 it was reported that 29 266 tons of traffic were hauled at a cost of R794 000, measured against an income of R149 000 at a cost coverage of 18.8%.

6. Picture from the South African Railway Magazine showing a railcar at Somerset East circa 1908. (Thanks to Allen Duff for sending this picture and the information on the Grand Junction Railway Company).

7. Class 24 on train No 3335 approaching Somerset East station c 1986.

8.   Class 24 on arrival in Somerset East with train 3335.

9. Shunting the goods shed.

10. 580-up about to leave for Cookhouse while more business is being loaded in the Goods Shed siding.  Note how spic, span, orderly and tidy everything is.

11. Class 24 with train 3334 awaiting departure from Somerset East in June 1981– the turning triangle was beyond the watertank. Also note the substantial modern station buildings on the right (built in the late 1960s) – hardly justified if the Branch was supposed to be losing money!

12. The unimaginatively named Bosberg (=Bush Mountain) looms impressively over the town of Somerset East and in April 1985 it loomed impressively over the Trans Cape Limited.  This might have been the only occasion a double-header visited the town.

13. Train 3334 crossing the Little Fish River between Somerset East and Clevedon.

14. The same train between Glen Seaman and Nelson.

DECLINE & CLOSURE 

As improvements to the road infrastructure took place after World War 2 and the fact that the line was now paralleled by a tarred road meant that the importance of the branch line diminished. However, until the Road Transportation Act of 1977 (i.e. still in SAR days) the railway enjoyed the protection of the Motor Carrier Transportation Act of 1930.

Following the formation of the South African Transport Services and the change in the Government's rail policy and with social obligations no longer a priority the future of the Branch lines became problematic and the Somerset East branch was no exception. From the early 1980’s SATS tried to close the line and below are extracts from some of the reports and correspondence regarding efforts by interested parties to try and prevent its closure.

EXTRACT FROM MEMORANDUM TO CHIEF CIVIL ENGINEER RE CLOSING OF SOMERSET EAST BRANCH – 13 MARCH 1984

• The Regional Engineer (Mr. Lewis) has requested that urgent representations be made by you for an open debate on the justification or otherwise of closing branch lines, with particular reference to those on the Cape Midland region, with a view to preventing closure of the Somerset East branch. (He has made many appeals for such a debate in the past without success).

• The General Manager has recommended to the Minister that the branch be closed. The Minister’s approval is being delayed only for the reason that the local community has since suggested that the line be extended to Klipplaat to improve pay ability, which is now being investigated.

• I have had profitable discussions with Messrs Geldenhuys and O’Neil of the General Manager’s Commercial Department and have come to the firm conclusion that the closing of the Cookhouse – Somerset East branch cannot be justified at all at this stage, if ever, if the broader interests of SATS are to remain paramount.

• No significant action has taken place, for instance, to reduce the cost of operating this branch to the very lowest levels to date, except in so far as civil work is concerned. Until such action has taken place, and this applies to all branch lines, the General Manager cannot in truth submit legitimate reasons for closing the line. 

• If branch lines are closed then many private sidings should be closed as well. There are many private sidings where the cost to SATS of hauling trucks to and from exchange yards when taken in isolation is far greater that the portion of the revenue which one would allocate to a private siding to defray haulage expenses when applying the same formula as is used for branch lines at present. 

• From the above it is quite apparent that an open debate at a sufficiently high management level is long overdue. Management must not only be seen but also heard to make the right decisions. It is recommended that Mr. Lewis be allowed to take part as he has made a close study of many aspects concerning branch lines which Management is not really in a position to ignore.

• A debate will help Management to forecast the consequences of closing branch lines and in particular the reduction of income more reliably and accurately. 

• A moratorium should be declared on the closing of all branch lines until a realistic policy is devised as a result of the debate. 

The following further recommendations were made:

• To ensure that running costs on branch lines are reduced to the lowest possible levels, a task group consisting of representatives of all disciplines, including civil, mechanical and statistics, be formed on the Cape Midland region. Their first task would be to investigate the Somerset East branch. There is an obvious need for innovation, changing the methods of operation and improving productivity. Success will not be achieved unless integrated action by all disciplines takes place at regional level.

• It may be possible to reduce the already reduced staff of one station master, 2 clerks and 1 checker and 7 labourers to 1 station master and 1 clerk/checker and 4 labourers. It may be possible to dispense with the guard of the only train operating on the branch. Interest and higher replacement charges could be reduced by selling houses and other assets no longer required.

• The task group should also determine what saving would be generated if the branch were to be closed. 

• The revenue allocated to a branch for gauging its performance should be equal to the revenue which an independent railway company running the applicable branch would obtain when charging the same rates as the SATS rates applicable to the short distance of the branch plus a bonus of say 80% of the extra costs to the public to convey goods on the whole SAT network if the branch were to be closed. 

• The Somerset East branch may be typical of other branch lines which are considered to be uneconomic but which are not necessarily so and which in fact serve a good purpose in generating traffic. The generation of business is the first priority of any management which wishes to survive. 

• By improving the running of branch lines lessons may be learnt in what manner the SATS service as a whole could be improved. Branch lines are in many respects a microcosm of the SATS. We certainly should not replace a rail service with a more expensive RTS service. And anyone who has followed the vagaries of the wold supply of heavy commodities such as coal, iron ore, manganese will consider it to be ultra-foolish for SATS to rely overmuch on the transport of these commodities to keep afloat financially if it wishes to serve South Africa best. 

LETTER FROM THE STATION MASTER AT SOMERSET EAST TO THE REGIONAL MANAGER IN PORT ELIZABETH - 09 APRIL 1985: 

"Dr Morrison notified the Municipality and Business Chamber on 15 March 1985 that the railway from Cookhouse to Somerset East would be closed.  On Monday 01 April 1985 the train had to make two trips to transport all the traffic - The first load was 470 tons on 60 axles and the second load was 514 tons on 42 axles. The normal load allowance is 500 tons on 56 axles.

Heavy material such as coal, ash, cement, poles etc. would equate to 22 lorry loads.  I don’t know what is envisaged – there has been some mention that customers will have to collect the loads themselves from Cookhouse.

Mr. Morrison has told people that they will get the same service by road that they have had by rail. I suggest that a proper study should be done to determine how many RMT vehicles would be needed to handle the traffic. Where would the vehicles be based and where would the staff be stationed?  What about the state of the roads with the additional heavy traffic?  What are the staffing implications of changing over to road transport?  What will happen to the present staff still based in Somerset East?  Will the changeover to road transport be more economical in the long term if all the relevant factors are considered?" 

REPORT FROM SOMERSET EAST MUNICIPALITY - RE: S.A.T.S PROPOSAL TO CLOSE THE COOKHOUSE-SOMERSET EAST BRANCH

The report* was prepared by a 'Task Team' comprising:

• Somerset East Municipality, Somerset East 

• Afrikaanse Sakekamer

  • Interested parties 

"On 14 February 1983 the Municipality received a notification from SATS that the mixed train service would be reduced from 6 days a week to 3 days a week (Monday – Wednesday – Friday). This change to come into effect from 01 April. 

• The Municipality has requested a meeting with the Minister of Transport.

• The Municipality has requested the University of Port Elizabeth to investigate the possibility of extending the line from Cookhouse to Somerset East to link up with the Port Elizabeth-Klipplaat line, so as to provide a more direct route from East London to Cape Town. 

• During a meeting with SATS on 15 March 1985, SATS suggested that the train service be replaced with bus service – the Municipality has looked into the implications of this – they were especially concerned about the handling of heavy loads that are presently handled by the train service.

• The task group was obtaining information from all interested parties including the local business community and the agricultural section.

• The farmers were concerned about transhipping of produce / supplies should they have to take the loads to Cookhouse. This meant double handling.

• SATS were wanting to eliminate the passenger service on the branch – this means that persons wanting to travel beyond Cookhouse had to make their on way to Cookhouse. 

• The proposal changes in the timing of the train service meant that it was no longer convenient for people to use the service and connections were not easy to make. 

• Somerset East was not benefitting from decentralization privileges that had been implemented in other areas. 

• Many of the businesses in Somerset East were branch offices and they were not in a position to determine transport policies.

• Reductions in the train service frequency has meant that it is no longer convenient for businesses to send parcels by rail. Concerns raised about the additional traffic on the roads should the rail service be withdrawn.

• Concerns about the effect of SATS reducing local personnel thus contributing to the depopulation of the area. 

  • To cope with the present traffic demand SATS would have to provide additional RMT vehicles should the rail service be withdrawn at least 7 trips per day would be needed."

* Some of these proposals - such as westward extension of the railway - were clearly pie-in-the-sky and unfortunately were latched onto with glee in Head Office

EXTRACT FROM A FURTHER MEMORANDUM TO THE CHIEF CIVIL ENGINEER - 17 APRIL 1986.

"Calculations (by the Regional Statistician) show that costs could be balanced if operating and fixed costs were reduced by measures such as:

• operating trains without guards

• reducing station and train staff

• reducing interest and higher replacement charges by assuming a longer lifespan proportional to the lower traffic on the branch

  • selling off redundant buildings which would reduce maintenance costs." 

He went on to say:

"It is expected that if the branch is closed 60%* of this traffic emanating from and proceeding to the branch will be lost in the medium of long term if the branch is replaced by a local RTS service. The contribution generated by the remaining 40% of the traffic, based on fixed unit costs over the distance carried by rail, must then be a credit to the cost centre of the local RTS service bringing goods to the rail head, by the same token as in the calculation above. If no local RTS service is introduced, which in any case is much more expensive than the present branch line, the probabilities are that a private road transport service will take over the business and that will take away other business from SATS now solely transported on main lines. 

It is completely unjustified to close the Somerset East branch with a cost coverage as calculated. It is obvious that expenditure has not yet been reduced to the hilt and the marketing action can be improved even further. Over the last few months goods loaded at Somerset East have increased by some 50%. Revenue for 1985/1986 is 18% more that in 1984/1985.

It is recommended that the Minister be asked to cancel his authority to close the branch line of 1 October 1986.

The time is certainly not ripe to close this branch line, nor any other branch lines. The time to do so, if justified, is during an expansionary period when staff can be transferred to vacancies where they can be engaged in productive work. During hard times as at present no collection of revenue should be endangered by reducing services unless the number of employees can be reduced by drastic action not possible within the SATS environment. Not only would staff on branch lines have to be transferred but also supernumerary staff forming part of the variable cost structure on main lines.  The General Manager’s method allocates too great a portion of the gross revenue to the main lines which as a result becomes too important and too small a portion to branch lines which then lose any importance they may have otherwise in the generation of revenue. The generation of revenue should be the principle objective of SATS. 

It is recommended that before any branch line is closed, the General Manger personally certifies that every effort has been made to reduce costs and to improve revenue on the line and that it is in the interests of SATS as well as the local region to close the line.  Parliament ought to sanction the closing of any line (it also sanctions the construction of a new line) if there is any suspicion that insufficient effort has been made to optimise a branch line operation prior to closing it. 

The General Manager’s Planning Department should play a more active role before recommendation is made to close a branch. It should coordinate the efforts of the Commercial, Operating and Technical Departments to make the branch more payable. A combined head office task group is suggested."

* in the event, 100% was lost

DEMISE

Like the proverbial, the foregoing fell on stony ground.  The mixed train passenger service ceased on 1 April 1988, but the goods service lingered a while longer and was still steam hauled in May 1988. The last day of train service was 16 June 1988. The line was finally declared closed on 30 June 1993.

15. The abandoned station at Somerset East – 2010.

INTRODUCTION

Alexandria is a small farming town in the Eastern Cape and is situated some 62 miles north-east of Port Elizabeth on the way to the Bushmans River mouth and Port Alfred. The area around Alexandria, known as Olifantshoek, was first settled in the late 18th Century and was boosted by the arrival of the 1820 Settlers from England early in the 19th century.  A church was established on the farm Brakfontein and this was serviced as an outstation of the Dutch Reformed Church in Uitenhage.  The Reverend Alexander Smith was one of the first Scottish ministers to come to South Africa to join the Dutch Reformed Church and he was the minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Uitenhage from 1823 to 1883.  For many years Alexander Smith visited the church at Olifantshoek and in recognition of this they gave the name Alexandria to the new congregation when it was formed in January 1854. In the CAPE OF GOOD HOPE ALMANAC of 1855 the first description of Alexandria appeared: “Alexandria contains some 40 houses with a population of 150 souls and a Dutch Reformed Church visited occasionally by two clergymen. It has two hotels, several stores and a post office.”  In 1856 the area was proclaimed a separate district. In those days transport was on poor roads using ox-wagons or by horseback.

Alexandria is one of the most important chicory producing areas in South Africa and is also known for pineapple production and dairy farming. The Alexandria area also includes the Alexandria State Forest, known as Langebos to the locals, which is a narrow stretch of pristine indigenous forest bordering the Alexandria dune field, said to be one of the largest active dune fields in the world (part of the dunes can be seen in the chapter title photo above).  The Woody Cape Nature Reserve, which stretches from the Sundays River mouth to the Bushmans River mouth and includes the dune field and the indigenous forest, has been incorporated into the Addo Elephant Park.

ALEXANDRIA, THE CHICORY INDUSTRY AND FARMING 

During the early 1890’s Robert Thornton Smith began to plant chicory on his farm “Groote Vlei” (Hollowdene). He realised that the ground in the Kaba Valley was more suitable and he arranged with the Muller’s of Kaba to plant chicory and he purchased the product from them. Soon other farmers in the district also planted chicory and delivered the product to Smith, who imported seed from Holland and erected a small factory to dry and roast the chicory, the roasted chicory was then milled and packed in tins and sold.

With the passing of time the chicory industry began to develop in the Alexandria area and the farmers began to sell the product to agents and travelling salesmen, in the early days the only means of getting the product to the customers was by ox-wagon with the nearest railway stations being Paterson, Grahamstown and Port Alfred.

In 1903 Mr Smith bought back a portion of the farm “Groote Vlei” and planted chicory on both farms, but still on a small scale as the market was unpredictable. The market was in Port Elizabeth where Smith sold the dried chicory roots to W.B. Anderson & Company, confectioners (W.B Anderson was Bruce's wife's Grandfather who later moved to Uitenhage). Later other factories expressed an interest in purchasing chicory but it was only just before the First World War that greater quantities were grown.

In 1916 Smith erected a steam power-operated mill & roaster on his farm “Kaba” as this was in the centre of the chicory producing area – this new factory came into operation in 1917. Between 1917 and 1924, 1 425 444 pounds of roasted chicory were produced. In the early 1920’s it was decided to start a central depot to avoid exploitation by the travelling salesmen and to simplify the marketing process. Johannes Hermanus Potgieter erected a Chicory Factory to roast and mill the chicory. The factory is located on the edge of Alexandria on the road to Salem, adjacent to the railway station.  In 1926 the Chicory Growers Co-op was founded in Alexandria and during the period 1929/30 almost all the growers were members of the Co-op. In 1930 there was a record crop of 3 579 974 pounds compared to 1 138 102 lbs in the previous year. The local production of chicory increased from 2 182 000 lbs in 1925 to a maximum of 4 780 000 lbs in 1936.

The Chicory Control Board was established in 1937 to give a one channel marketing system, the founding parties comprising seven chicory growers, one coffee factory and the Department of Agriculture. The first offices for the board were built in 1941 and the first two driers commissioned in December 1954. Two additional driers were installed in 1958 and 1964 and in 1975 a DB Thermal drier replaced the first two driers. On 30 September 1993 a new company, Chicory SA Ltd, was formed and in 1995 the first roasters were taken into use. The areas served by Chicory SA today stretch from Patensie in the West to Peddie in the East and Cookhouse in the North. The chicory factory at Alexandria is the only one in the Southern Hemisphere.

From the completion of the railway line to Alexandria in 1909 until its closure in 1993 the chicory industry was a major user of the railway, all inbound materials for packaging as well as coal for the factory were received by rail and most of the finished products were dispatched by rail. In the section 'DEMISE' we highlight the problems created by SATS management in their determination to close the line in the 1980’s and the local efforts to try and prevent closure. Today chicory and dairy products remain the main sources of revenue in the Alexandria district but everything, including coal, is transported by road, not because Chicory SA wanted it but because there is no alternative.

2. Google Image of Alexandria showing the location of the Chicory Factory in juxtaposition with the Railway Station.

TRAFFIC, INCOME AND COST DETAILS 

The main traffic was agricultural, more specifically, related to the chicory industry in the Alexandria area.  Fertiliser and general freight was also carried.

During 1988 44114 net tons of traffic was hauled, generating a revenue of R 569 000* at a cost of R 1 292 000, with a cost coverage of 44.0%.  The 1932 report “Branch Line Economies” detailing traffic for the year 1928 recorded 6 780 tons of traffic.  The working expenses were £ 10 224 and the earnings £ 6 552. Interest charged on Capital was £ 5 508, resulting in a loss of £ 9 180 for the year. Main traffic hauled consisted of maize, fertiliser, timber, livestock, poles, coal, cement and perishables. 

*This, of course, was the pro-rata figure allocated to the branch by SATS Head Office accountants.  At the meeting in 1984 to announce the proposed closure of the branch by SATS the General Manager of the Chicory factory expressed his amazement at this figure, pointing out that his company's railage account for the previous year amounted to R2,6 million.

THE RAILWAY

With the expansion of farming activities in the Alexandria district the farming communities between Nanaga and Alexandria petitioned for the provision of a railway line to enable them to send their produce to Port Elizabeth. The first Cape Colony election after the Boer War saw Jamieson as Prime Minister; he worked closely with the Afrikaner Bond whose MPs were mostly rural. Many rural towns wanted to be connected to the railway system - hence the demand for branch lines.  With customs revenue reduced because of the use of the ports at Durban and Lourenço Marques the Cape Colony was forced to borrow money for railway branch lines of which most weren’t economical.

The following comments appeared in the Cape Government’s Railways General Manager’s Report in 1904:

What has been written above as to the unpayability of branch lines will apply even more forcibly to those not yet opened for traffic, but I appreciate the fact that the necessity for the development of the resources of the Colony renders their construction essential.  I would, however, again press the point that a grant be made from general to railway revenue in respect of the loss sustained in working lines which are not recommended by the Railway Department as payable propositions, or that the contention, that the Railways of the Colony are not run on commercial principles, be frankly abandoned.

TS Mc Ewen

General Manager

3. Meanwhile, at Alexandria a number of alternate routes had been looked at, including one from Sandflats (Paterson) as shown in the diagram above

In the end the choice fell on Barkly Bridge as the starting point, probably as it gave a shorter route to Port Elizabeth, as well as serving important farming activities in the Colchester – Kinkelbos area. The line from Barkly Bridge to Alexandria was the last CGR branch line to be opened before Union and was opened to traffic on 18 May 1909 to transport chicory and other agricultural products.

4. As you see, from Bruno's map, the line as built left the Cape Midland mainline at Barkly Bridge and ran south eastwards along the Sundays River to Colchester where it climbed out of the valley and proceeded eastwards to Springmount before turning south-east towards the coast and then running just inland of the dune fields. Between Cornville and De Mond the line turned north and then from Zuney continued in an eastward direction until it reached Alexandria.

5. In the early days there were no intermediate communities between Barkly Bridge and Alexandria – most of the halts/stations were to serve the local farms.

6. A phenomenon that confounded SATOUR in the 1970s was the consistent feedback from their polls that > 15% of visitors to South Africa came to travel behind steam trains and to photograph them. Their contribution to the RSA economy wasn't to be sniffed at, particularly as so many came back for repeated visits. Also, the length of their stays was significantly longer than regular holidaymakers. To make things easier for visitors to find their way around the Cape Midland branches (all still steam worked in 1982) Bruce prepared these handy guides and sketch maps showing the dirt roads that gave access for photographers, reproduced in the PE branch of the RSSA's magazine.

7. The first of two sketches by Bruce showing access to the railway between Barkly Bridge and Congoskraal.

8. And the second half guided you into Alexandria from Congoskraal. If you didn't have enough photos by then you could always come back tomorrow - or next year. 

The pages relating to the train service and notes on access to the Alexandria Branch are from the 1982 Steam Watchers Guide to the Cape Midlands Region published by the Eastern Cape Branch of the Railway Society of Southern Africa. 

MOTIVE POWER AND OPERATING PATTERNS

Operation of the Alexandria Branch was a challenge as there were no water points on the branch (with the exception of Alexandria itself) with the last point at Coega, between Swartkops and Barkly Bridge. All trains ran with an additional water tank attached for locomotive use. Also, the branch was laid with 45lb rails which restricted the motive power that could be used to classes 6, 7, 8 and in later years, 24s. Although a program was underway to install hand-me-down 96lb rail from c 1975 it was only partially completed when the branch-line axe fell.

As there was only one scheduled mixed train each way, Monday to Saturday, the trains crossed at Colchester.  One crew was stationed at Alexandria and a locomotive stabled there – this locomotive worked through P.E every day and the Alexandria crews worked cross trips with Sydenham men, this exchange, together with the locomotives, taking place at Colchester. 

9. SAR Private Working Time Book for 1971 showing the scheduled train service on the Alexandria Branch as well as the permissible Engine loads.

10. Passenger accommodation was provided on the regular mixed trains in each direction. These were invariably well patronised as indicated by the crowd boarding an already crammed train at De Mond in 1986. The Guard is checking to see when it is safe to give the “right of way”.

For a period a rail car operated on the line but did not last long and the passenger service reverted to a mixed train service.  A few years before closure, in 1987/8 class 35 Diesels were tried but were not a success (?) 

11. By the time the train reached Springmount it was standing room only - a regular occurrence at weekends (see also photo 44)

THE PICTURES THAT FOLLOW DEPICT THE JOURNEY FROM PORT ELIZABETH TO ALEXANDRIA AND BACK, STARTING IN THE EARLY SIXTIES AND FINISHING JUST BEFORE CLOSURE

12. A class 24 accelerates away from Port Elizabeth station in February 1964 with train 524 for Alexandria – it must be Thursday as there is an extra water tanker attached for watering the railway cottages at Kinkelbos. Construction of the platform extensions for PE remodelling has already begun.

13. Class 24 with train 524 for Alexandria at speed between Sydenham and New Brighton in January 1969 – extra water tanker again attached.

15. A joyful gallop away from Swartkops; the daily mixed to Alexandria charging towards the three miles at 1/80 away from the river crossing in October 1974. 

16. Now she's wide open and going like a space rocket.......

17. Just north of the Swartkops River bridge, with about three miles of 1/80 ahead.  Note the ballast wagon.  In the seventies SAR still took its branch lines seriously.

18. Class 24 No 3695 with the Alexandria mixed, nearing the top of the climb out of the Swartkops Valley – June 1976.

19. Double-headed 24’s with an extra freight for Alexandria passing some local traffic which has stopped to watch the train pass between Coega and Grassridge.

20. Colchester: crew-change point with the outbound and inbound trains swopping the water tanker.  Potential travellers taking an interest in what is going on.

Please note (with apologies): Bruce's slides depicting these scenes have been mislaid.  As soon as they are found they will be scanned and slotted in here where they belong.

21. Colchester – the swopping of the water tanker completed the inbound locomotive has re-joined its train and the two crews are having a chat before the outbound locomotive reverses to collect its train and pull forward into the station. The procedure for the swop was that the inbound train would hold in the loop whilst the outbound train would stop short of the station and the locomotive and water tanker would be uncoupled and then pull forward allowing the inbound locomotive to move forward and then reverse to couple onto the water tanker. After this the inbound locomotive drew forward again to clear the points and then reverse back into the loop and couple up to its train. Thereafter the outbound locomotive would reverse to collect its train and pull forward into the station.

22. Having completed the changeover at Colchester 3356-up heads east and enters the horseshoe curve between Colchester and Bowens on the climb out of the Sundays River Valley.

23. Class 24 on train 3356 snaking its way up towards the N2 highway underpass between Colchester and Bowens with the Alexandria bound mixed.

24. The same train a little closer to the N2 highway underpass between Colchester and Bowens with the Alexandria bound mixed.

25. A pair of 24s on an extra freight working for Alexandria approaching the N2 highway underpass between Colchester and Bowens.

26. The Alexandria mixed leaving Kinkelbos. (Another of Bruce's mislaid slides goes in here)

27. Traveller rushing to catch the train at Platrug. (Another of Bruce's mislaid slides goes in here)

28. The Alexandria mixed making a smoky departure from Springmount. (Another of Bruce's mislaid slides goes in here)

29. A very pleasant duty for the System Engineer (called a 'Regional Engineer' from 1981 onwards) was the bi-annual inspection of all the lines on the Cape Midland system - main, trunk and branch. On this occasion Alec Crombie, System Engineer at Port Elizabeth was accompanied by Les Pivnic who was doing an inventory of artefacts for the Railway Museum. The trolley driver was the ever-popular Lachie Loggerenberg who had the uncanny knack of arranging the trolley schedule so as to arrive on time at the best lineside braai spots, without fail. Compare the state of Springmount in the previous photo, some dozen or so years after this picture was taken, and check the milk churn waiting to be collected by the farmer.  Judging by the fact that it was standing in the sun it must have been empty.

30. Seen from across a field of blooming Canola a double-headed working for Alexandria approaching Lake Eric with the bush covered dunes and Algoa Bay in the background.

31. The Alexandria mixed between Zuney and Soutkloof with a milk lorry overtaking it on the competing R72 road on the hillside above.

32. The Alexandria bound mixed leaving Ficks, the last stop before Alexandria. Note the R72 road adjacent to the railway.

33. End of the line – the mixed from Port Elizabeth arriving at Alexandria. The turning triange is to the left and the small engine shed is in the background.

34. Until 1953 a daily railcar departed Alexandria at 06:30 am and arrived in Port Elizabeth at 10:12.  It was followed at 07:30 by the mixed, at this time numbered 525-down, which arrived in the Bay at 13:53 pm, i.e. it took 3½ hours longer to do the same thing.  Once the relatively quick railcar was discontinued that left the mixed to perform at will.  The patient passengers patronised it in numbers for the next 40 years, until the line was closed.

35. In May 1983 just west of Ficks, class 24 No 3620 was accelerating with 525 down, by now numbered 33357-down (but still departing Alexandria at 07:30 am).

36. The same train restarting from a passenger stop at De Kol halt.

37. The Alexandria to Port Elizabeth mixed at Zuney.

38. The Alexandria to Port Elizabeth mixed approaching De Mond from Zuney – passenger traffic is good today so it must be a Saturday. 

39. Class 24 No 3625 restarting from De Mond

40. The driver of #3625 has just shut off for Cornville halt. As you see from the Frieslands, this is dairy territory. The next photo in this sequence was used as the introductory photo for the Alexandria branch.

41.  And the next one shows #3625 well under way out of Cornville in a pastoral setting approaching Lake Eric with the dune-field and Algoa Bay in the background.

42. The same train as depicted in picture #38 winding its way along the sand-dunes between Cornville and Lake Eric, the dune-field and beach are on the other side of the ridge.

43. The Alexandria to Port Elizabeth mixed, 33357-down with class 24 No 3625 in charge, winds its way along the sand-dunes between Lake Eric and Springmount.

44. Between Lake Eric and Springmount the railway finally broke free of the coastal dunes and began a surprising climb of 200ft up to the dairy-farming region around Springmount.

45. Class 24 on the Alexandria to Port Elizabeth mixed pausing for passengers at Springmount station, built to serve the Damerin dairy farm “Springmount” – even in the 1980’s there were plenty of passengers making use of the daily mixed train service - see also photo 11 

46. The down mixed between Oakhill and Kinkelbos

47. Double-headed class 24’s approaching the crossing loop at Colchester with a returning goods working from Alexandria – note only one water tank. Note also the arid nature of the Sundays River flood plain. The N2 highway can be seen on the hills in the background.

48. The down mixed approaching Colchester with the Sundays River mouth in the background.

49. A double-headed working from Alexandria to Port Elizabeth, both class 24’s trailing water tankers, on the now electrified main line between Barkly Bridge and Grassridge.

50. Double headed extra freight working returning from delivering coal to the Chicory factory at Alexandria descends the bank from Aloes to Swartkops behind class 24’s Nos. 3695 and 3690. There were not many occasion when trains on the branch were double headed – note the use of two water tanks as the locomotives worked right through to Alexandria.

51. A double-headed working from Alexandria to Port Elizabeth, both class 24’s

52. Journey’s end – a class 24 stands in Port Elizabeth station with the mixed from Alexandria.

ROAD COMPETITION, MODERNISATION AND CLOSURE

In the early 1980’s the South African Transport Services intensified their efforts to rid themselves of the non-core branch lines and the correspondence below, both interdepartmental and between affected parties, gives insight into the battle between SATS Management who wanted the immediate closure of the Barkly Bridge – Alexandria line and those who wanted it kept open.  In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s a start was made to relay the line with heavier rail that was cascaded down from improvements on other lines but his was not completed. 

This jostling continued for over 5 years before the rail service was finally withdrawn in 1988. The last steam operated trains ran on 04 February 1988. Class 35 Diesel locomotives were tried in the winter of 1987 but this was unsuccessful owing to the upgrading of the line with heavier rail not being completed as detailed in the letter above (dated 13 December 1983).

The improvements to the R72 road between Nanaga and Alexandria together with deregulation of the road freight as well as the seasonal nature of the traffic resulted in the line being closed on 31 July 1993 as part of the SA Transport Services rationalisation of services in the Cape Midland Region.  

The following memorandum from the SATS Head Office to Regional Managers has relevance to the issue:

SOUTH AFRICAN TRANSPORT SERVICES

General Manager Office

JOHANNESBURG

23 May 1983

To: Regional Managers

INVESTIGATION INTO UNECONOMIC RAILWAY LINES

As you are aware SATS is currently looking at the uneconomic lines with the view to closing certain lines to traffic to eliminate losses. The following ten lines have been identified as lines that are probably operating uneconomically and it will be appreciated if you could urgently investigate the costs to operate these lines and the costs to change over to a departmental road motor service. Please forward the information to this office before 30 June 1983.

CAPE WESTERN SYSTEM:

Klipdale - Protem

Klipdale – Bredasdorp

Kalbaskraal – Bitterfontein

Sakrivier – Kootjieskolk

CAPE MIDLAND SYSTEM:

Barkly Bridge – Alexandria

CAPE EASTERN SYSTEM:

Imvani – Quamata

ORANGE FREE STATE SYSTEM:

Springfontein - Koffiefontein

Theunissen – Winburg

Modderpoort – Ladybrand

EASTERN TRANVAAL SYSTEM:

Rayton - Cullinan

Dr J.J. van der Voort of the Planning Department of this office will, in due course, inform you regarding the method to be used for the investigation.

Note: The Fort Beaufort – Seymour and the Jamestown – Molteno lines in the Cape Eastern System were previously scheduled for closure but are being reviewed.

1. The morning Port Elizabeth – Kirkwood mixed storms out of Addo towards Hermitage amidst the brightly coloured aloes. Addo station is in the background.

Bruno's map shows the Addo – Kirkwood Branch in relation to the Cape Midland Main line from Port Elizabeth to the North.

INTRODUCTION 

The line from Addo to Kirkwood, which has a length of 20 miles, was opened to traffic on 07 January 1927 to serve the expanding farming community in the Sundays River Valley and to assist in the export of Citrus fruit from the area

2. Kirkwood here we come: the afternoon 'mixed' getting wound up on the four-track raceway between North End and Sydenham.  Actually the two outside tracks were only service lines for the numerous factories along this stretch. Note that when this picture was made SAR still had plenty of business here as you see by the numerous vans parked off on the right.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF KIRKWOOD AND THE SUNDAYS RIVER VALLEY

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Sundays River formed the eastern border of the then Cape Colony and the area around Kirkwood was consequently the scene of many armed conflicts. The Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir John Cradock, gave the first farms in the Sundays River Valley to the leaders of the successful burger Commandos for their role in the victories in the border wars of 1811 and 1812. These farms were awarded to Magistrate Cuyler of Uitenhage, who received Geelhoutboom (later Dunbrody); Commandant Ignatius Muller, who received Klaaskraal (situated just outside what is now Kirkwood) and Field Cornet J.S. van Niekerk, who received Gouwernements Belooning. In 1877, James Somers Kirkwood, an auctioneer from Port Elizabeth, arrived to auction off Gouwernements Belooning. When a flooded Sundays River prevented Kirkwood from reaching this farm he climbed a nearby hill (known today as The Lookout) instead. From there he had a view of the entire valley and had a vision of the valley (which was overgrown by bushes at the time) being transformed into irrigated fields with fruit trees. 

3. View of the Sundays River Valley from the Lookout.

Shortly afterwards, Kirkwood himself purchased "Gouwernements Belooning" as well as some other farms in the valley, including Hillside. In 1883 Kirkwood built the homestead on Hillside and also established Bayville, a small settlement beside the river with a church, shop and post office. He subsequently founded the Sundays River Land and Irrigation Company in 1906. This company

On Hillside, Kirkwood had set up a steam-engine to pump water from the river. Lands were cleared and planted for sale on the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage markets. In order to get them there they had to be taken by ox-wagon to Blue Cliff station on the line form Uitenhage to Klipplaat as there was no railway running along the Sundays River Valley yet.

This, added to the cost of production – the steam-engine was proving to be expensive to run – and the fact that the prices received at the markets were low, meant that despite excellent crops the venture was not really viable. It was decided to move the pump higher up the rived to Muller’s Drift, but too did not prove to be entirely satisfactory. Later, Kirkwood started to prepare the land for irrigation, but despite of a very positive prospectus and very good publicity, nobody was interested in buying stock in his venture. One of the reasons may be that it coincided with the diamond rush to Kimberley. In consequence, his company eventually failed and was declared bankrupt. 

What was needed was a weir across the river to cut out costs of pumping, but Kirkwood had sunk all his available capital into the development and was in financial difficulties. The Guardian Insurance Company of Port Elizabeth took possession of Kirkwood’s properties and soon after, on 11 May 1888, he died. The insurance company later sold the land to the Strathsomers Estate Company which built the weir at Korhaansdrift.  The construction of the diversion weir, Korhaansdrift Weir commenced during 1911 and was completed in 1913. In 1912 the Cleveland Estate was established which was responsible for the construction of the Cleveland Diversion Weir with its associated works.

At this juncture the situation was that three separate Diversion weirs existed on the Sundays River controlled by their respective owners and irrigation was based on the natural flow in the river when it occurred. However, Kirkwood can be considered to have been ahead of his time as his vision became true in the next century when the Sundays River Irrigation Project and eventually the Orange River Water Project were built. Kirkwood’s name also lives on in the town of Kirkwood that was founded in 1912 by the Strathsomers Estate Company on his first farm, Gouwernements Belooning. 

THE WATER SCHEME

In the early twentieth century, Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, who farmed at Amanzi outside Uitenhage acquired farms in the Sundays River Valley set out to irrigate the silt-laden banks of the Sundays River, In spite of the efforts of the Strathsomers Estate Company the weirs across the river did not provide sufficient water for the developing citrus industry, and Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, lobbied the Government to build a dam higher up the river to provide irrigation water to the valley as part of his scheme to settle farmers on the land.

4. Map showing the Darlington Dam and the Sundays River Valley Irrigation area.

The primary objective of building the dam was to provide adequate and perennial supplies of water for large-scale irrigation in the fertile valley, particularly by storing and controlling flood waters. The dam, Darlington Dam was originally known as Lake Mentz, having been named after a former Minister of Lands and Irrigation. Colonel H Mentz. The name, by which it is now known, Darlington Dam, commemorates the village that disappeared under the waters of the dam after its completion.  In June 1917 the decision was taken to build this dam on the Sundays River. The problem then arose as to how to transport building material to the site, which was roughly 25 miles from Wolwefontein, the nearest station. It is was decided that goods would be carried by rail to the station and thence by road to the river, but as yet there was not road. Men with picks and shovels built the 20 miles linking up the Wolwefontein/Jansenville road just north of the Klein Winterhoek Mountains and much of it was through very rugged country. At the same time a telegraph line was set up between the station and the dam site.

Because of the scarcity of any type of pasture other than Noorsveld, suitable only for sheep and goats, donkeys were in spanned to pull the wagons used first in building the road, and later to transport goods from Wolwefontein. Each wagon was pulled by 16 donkeys. The amount carried was limited by the fact the wagons had also to carry sufficient food for the journey there and back. Outspans were set up where the donkeys could be watered and rested. In all some 500 donkeys and 30 wagons were used to transport an estimated 28 000 tons of material from Wolwefontein. During 1917, the Sundays River Irrigation Board was established and took over the project from the government's Irrigation Department in 1918. By the end of March 1918, houses, stores and offices had been built and preliminary work had begun on the dam wall.

The rock at the site of the dam, a Dwyka conglomerate, is apt to weather on exposure and could only be used for the interior of the structure. For the concrete of the outer casing, quartzite was specified and this was obtainable only from a quarry in the Witterug range, about one and a half miles from the site, on the farm Schiet Hoogte.

5. To access the quarry and transport the material, a 2ft gauge railway was built from the quarry to the dam site, its route traced in red as shown above. This aerial view, courtesy of Google Maps, shows the Darlington Dam and the relationship between the dam wall and the Quarry. 

6. For the Lake Mentz construction, Sundays River Irrigation Board ordered a small steam locomotive which was supplied in November 1919 by Kerr Stewart and Company (No 4031).  From then until the dam was completed in 1923, the Wren shuttled backwards and forwards between the dam and the quarry. A rare picture provided by Leith Paxton showing the locomotive at work hauling three cocopans of rock.  Also of interest is the stationery boiler to the left.

7. After construction of the dam was completed Wren No. 4031 was abandoned and stood for more than 50 years undisturbed, other than by scrap-metal hunters, who stripped her of her brass fittings, rods and chimney.

8. Fortunately, members of the Railway Enthusiasts’ Society came to the rescue and in the 1970s the little engine was loaded on a low-bed trailer and taken to the Railway Mechanical Workshops in Uitenhage. In April 1978, restored to her former modest glory, she was exhibited at the Feather Market Hall in Port Elizabeth at a ‘Transport through the Ages' exhibition. Today the locomotive is at Sandstone Estates in working condition.

Construction of the dam suffered many setbacks, including lack of materials and machinery, with shortages caused by the First World War, unsuitable labour (returning soldiers), the 1918 influenza epidemic, bubonic plague, very difficult logistics and drought. The delays in completion caused severe financial difficulties to the irrigation companies and eventually the State had to take over their debts and £2,350,000 had to be written off. 

The original dam was designed to store 142 million cubic metres. Sediment delivery into the reservoir quickly reduced its capacity due to the high sediment content of the Sundays River. The dam wall was raised by 1.5 m in 1935 and again by 5.8 m (total capacity 327,600,000 cubic metres) in 1951/52 to cope with the loss of storage volume.   By 1979 the reservoir had lost 41.5% of its design capacity, with about 136 milion cubic metres of sediment captured behind the wall.

The serious drought of 1966 and 1967 emphasized the necessity of the Skoenmakers Canal to link the Great Fish River to Darlington Dam. Today water from Gariep dam on the Orange River is diverted to the Sundays River via a network of tunnels and canals, the main one being the Orange-Fish tunnel, 51 miles long. Not even James Somers Kirkwood ever dreamed that the valley would look as lush and green and be as productive as it is today.

THE CITRUS INDUSTRY

From modest beginnings the Sundays River Valley Citrus Co-op (founded in 1924) has grown into the largest grower, packer and exporter of South African citrus.  Kirkwood's subtropical climate makes it ideal for the growing of citrus fruits. The climate together with good soil in the Sundays flood plain and plenty of water for irrigation has made it the citrus capital of the Eastern Cape.  In fact Kirkwood is the centre of one of the largest citrus-growing regions in South Africa with approximately 30,000 acres of orchards. About 18 million cartons of oranges, lemons, grapefruit and other citrus products are exported from this region each year. 

Citrus Pack-houses were established at Hermitage, Sommerville and Kirkwood. The Sundays River Citrus Company employs approximately 1500 people on a seasonal basis to pack the export citrus.

THE RAILWAY

With the development and expansion of the citrus industry after the implementation of the Sundays River irrigation scheme a railway was desperately needed to transport the products to Port Elizabeth for the export market.

The Cape Midland line to Cradock has stations at Addo and Coerney in the Sundays River Valley while the line from Port Elizabeth to Graaff-Reinet via Uitenhage runs some miles to the west of Kirkwood with the nearest stations being Kariega and Blue Cliff.

At one stage consideration was given to serve Kirkwood with a line from Kariega but this was not followed through and the line was never built.

As built, the line to Kirkwood left the Midland mainline at Addo and headed west along the Sundays River Valley to Kirkwood. For part of the way the line runs along the north side of the river but between Sunland and Lindores it crosses over to the southern side. The line was opened to traffic on 07 January 1927.

MOTIVE POWER AN OPERATING PATTERNS

In the early years the branch was worked by 6th and 8th class locomotives which were stationed at Addo and worked to Kirkwood and back with loads to P.E being transferred to mainline trains. Later classes 19B, 19D and 24 worked the line with the 19D’s, with torpedo tenders, being the regular performers.

In the 1960’s, following the upgrading of the mainline, the loco facilities at Addo were removed – the operating pattern then settled down for the remainder of the steam era with one class 19D being stationed at Kirkwood which worked the morning mixed to Port Elizabeth and returned in the afternoon with the Kirkwood mixed – the crew being based at Kirkwood. The goods workings were handled by Sydenham-based 19D’s, which worked to Kirkwood and back. The normal Goods service was a morning departure from Port Elizabeth station for Kirkwood with a return in the afternoon. During the citrus season additional goods workings were scheduled as required with some workings terminating at Hermitage – these workings originated and terminated in the New Brighton marshalling yards. There was a turning triangle at Addo and this is still in place today.

9&10. The relevant pages from the Working Time Book for 1971.

11. A typical fruit season train diagram from 1965.

12,13 & 14.  The RSSA trainwatcher's guide by Bruce, c 1980

While the daily mixed terminated at the Port Elizabeth station it did not set down or pick up passengers between Swartkops and Port Elizabeth unless they were travelling to and from stations beyond Swartkops. The daily goods working also provided limited passenger accommodation but only to and from Swartkops as the train originated and terminated in the New Brighton Goods yard. The provision of additional trains to handle citrus traffic put a strain on the resources at Sydenham as the peak traffic on the Kirkwood Branch coincided with the peak on the Narrow Gauge Patensie Branch. During periods of heavy traffic sometimes the returning Kirkwood trains were combined with the train from Alexander at Barkly Bridge and ran either double-headed or combined from Barkly Bridge to New Brighton.

Following the demise of the steam traction, the branch was worked by class 35 diesels but by this time the mixed had been withdrawn and goods workings reduced, eventually only operating in the citrus season, before private road transport took over completely in 2010. 

15. Class 19D 3324 awaiting departure from Port Elizabeth station with the morning mixed for Kirkwood.  This was an RSSA day excursion to Kirkwood on a Saturday morning in 1982 with the train running 2 hours late due to the attachment of the Dining Car off 9-down from Cape Town.

16. The Up Kirkwood charging towards North End on a Saturday morning in 1982. No freight today, only the T&P truck attached.

17. The morning PE – Kirkwood goods leaving North End station on its way to Addo and Kirkwood with 19D 3339.

18. Train 532 the afternoon PE – Kirkwood mixed at speed on the urban raceway between North End and Sydenham.

19. An extra seasonal working for Kirkwood leaving the sea wall on the avoiding (freight) line between Port Elizabeth and New Brighton.

20. Train No. 532 leaving Swartkops and about to take the mainline north on its way to Addo before branching off to Kirkwood – no freight traffic today.

21. The Kirkwood about to cross the Swartkops River on a misty afternoon – the smoke completely obliterating the background again.

22. Like in a latter-day Brueghel, the locals are out in force to tap the resources of the Swartkops River, quite oblivious of the Saturday passenger to Kirkwood with the fireman of its 19D laying on a big fire for the three miles of 1/80 to Aloes siding.  Piers of the original 1875 bridge in the foreground.

23. And this is the formiddable sight for firemen facing the other way.  Across the river you can make out the 1/80 bank stretching all the way to the horizon and Aloes siding on the other side of that huge cutting.

24. Double headed 24 + 19D starting up the bank with the combined Alexandria branch and Kirkwood branch trains.

25. The Kirkwood mixed climbing the bank up to Aloes – the Swartkops Power Station in the background.

26. The afternoon PE – Kirkwood mixed entering the massive cutting halfway up the Aloes bank.

27. Nearly there, 19D 3339 with the afternoon Kirkwood mixed (no freight today) nearing the top of the bank between Swartkops and Aloes.

28. The WTBs describe the afternoon Kirkwood train as a 'mixed', but it frequently ran as a pure passenger train - especially on Saturdays.  On this occasion the Up Kirkwood lived up to its billing as a true mixed with plenty of freight and passengers. At this time 19D 3339, having been released from Klipplaat by the Garden Route dieselisation, was now stationed at Kirkwood.

29. The afternoon Port Elizabeth – Kirkwood mixed leaving Aloes for Coega.

30. The regular crew who kept 19D 3339 in such good condition were driver Koot van Greunen and his fireman Dawid Strydom who is receiving the tablet for the section to Grassridge from the station foreman at Coega in a timeless scene before the introduction of CTC.  On this day engine #2714 was standing in for #3339 which was at Sydenham having a 15M inspection. 

31. Classified as a 'Goods' in the WTB but in reality a mixed, and as seen in several previous photos, frequently a pure passenger, 530-up leaving Coega in the winter of 1982.

32. A Class 19D blasts out of Coega on its way north to Addo with the afternoon mixed.

33. After Coega the countryside gets (or got) increasingly unspoilt. The afternoon mixed, most Saturdays a pure passenger, making haste towards Addo.

34. 530-up, the Kirkwood mixed arriving at Addo in June 1962 – note the use of a short tendered 19D, at this time the long tendered engines were fully occupied in the Little Karoo and elsewhere.  The Addo Foreman has the staff ready for the section to Hermitage on the branch.  Study this photo carefully. It has many of the hallmarks of a well-run railway.

35.  The same 530-up paused for passengers in Addo, June 1962

36. The morning Kirkwood mixed, at that time 530-up, drifting to a halt in Addo with a class 10 on 42-up, the PE-Alicedale T&P, about to drop off some supplies (mainly beer) for this tiny dorp in June 1962. The energetic-looking station staff were clearing away ash from between the running lines.  The installation of ashpits at strategic points was still some years away.

37. A Class 19D storming towards the road crossing at the start of the run up the branch from Addo to Kirkwood. 

38. The up mixed behind 19D 2666 between Addo & Hermitage with Aloe Ferox at their very peak, 5th July 1984.  Domeless Dollies were rare but not attractive.

39. Up Kirkwood with 19D 2666 passing the fruit-packing sheds at Hermitage, April 1987.

40. Awaiting departure from Hermitage with last minute passengers waiting to board.

41. The up mixed with 19D 2666 again leaving Aranmor halt.

42. The morning mixed, by April 1987 it was 944-up, with 19D 3332 departing from Aranmor. 

43. Crossing the Sundays River between Strathsomers and Lindores – a run past was staged on the bridge during the RSSA Dining Car trip to Kirkwood in 1982.

44. 19D 2714 and train catching the last rays of a summer's evening sun between Lindores and Sunnybank on the last leg of this journey to Kirkwood.

45. Arrival in Kirkwood of the Saturday morning train from Port Elizabeth (photo 15 above).  The locomotive being viewed by participants in the RSSA Dining Car day trip to Kirkwood in 1982.  During the 1980’s the Eastern Cape Branch of the Railway Society of Southern Africa arranged a number of day excursions to Kirkwood from PE.  Arrangements were made on a Saturday for the single dining car and staff car off the Cape Town - Port Elizabeth train to be attached to the T&P Goods train from Port Elizabeth to Kirkwood – the train was rescheduled to run 2 hours later and depart from PE instead of New Brighton. Passengers were served breakfast on departure from Port Elizabeth and lunch was served during the stop-over in Kirkwood. In the afternoon the train returned to Port Elizabeth station instead of terminating in the New Brighton yard. These trips were very successful and were repeated a number of times.

46. Kirkwood: smartly turned out 19D 3324 getting a last minute dose of hard grease from her driver.  Looks like the track maintenance gang have downed tools – probably lunch break.

47. System Engineer Alec Crombie, Asst Curator of the SAR Museum, Les Pivnic and trolley driver Lachie Loggerenberg visited the Kirkwood branch in the late seventies.  Lachie kept his trolley spotless, rather like 19D 3324 in several of our photos.

48. Kirkwood: having taken loco, 19D 2666 was getting ready to back onto its train for the return working to Port Elizabeth.

49. 19D 2666 setting off with the afternoon return working to Port Elizabeth.

50. With domeless 19D 2666 in charge, 3341-down eases across the road from Kirkwood to Kariega as it departs from Kirkwood.

51.  Thank you Alan for getting up early (very early) and giving us this misty view of the morning mixed, 33361-down 05:45 off Kirkwood, crossing the Sundays River between Lindores and Strathsomers.

52.  19D 2666 approaching Richardson's private siding No 839 between Lindores and Strathsomers, in April 1987. 

53. 19D 3332 passing Richardson’s Private siding between Lindores and Strathsomers, April 1987

54. 19D 3332 crossing the Sundays River between Summerville and Aranmor with the afternoon goods for Port Elizabeth in April 1987.

55. October is Jacaranda month in the valley and as we know from the multitude of photos of the Cullinan branch, Dollies and Jacarandas go well together.....

56. The afternoon Kirkwood to Port Elizabeth goods with 19D 3324 (again) obliterating the sky as it leaves Hermitage station. 

57. A 19D with the afternoon goods for Port Elizabeth passing the Packhouses at Hermitage.

58. A busy time at Hermitage station with 19D 3339 just pulling out with the morning mixed for Port Elizabeth. The DZ’s on the left are filled with oranges bound for the VALOR juicing plant in Deal Party, Port Elizabeth.  Coming down the road is a farm tractor towing another load of oranges to the Packhouse at Hermitage.

59. The Kirkwood-Port Elizabeth mixed in charge of 19D 3339 departs from Hermitage with several coaches and another load of Sundays River citrus heading for the export pre-cooling sheds in Port Elizabeth Harbour.

60. Busy moment at Addo in July 1983 (high season for the oranges) with 19D 3324 about to depart with the Port Elizabeth mixed while a citrus special goods awaits its turn in loop two.  This was the eve of radical changes to the Midland Main Line in preparation for electrification, with loop-lengthening in progress up and down the line from PE to De Aar. 

61. The 19D of 33361-down making a gentle start out of Addo on a chilly morning in July 1984.

62. As you see, this was a good place to be in the winter months when the 05:45 departure of 33361 off Kirkwood meant it left Addo at sunrise.  The engine was supershine 19D 3339.

63. A year after the previous photos the loop lengthening at Addo was complete but not the signalling.  The concrete foundations for the electrification masts were in place.

64. Getting good winter sunrise photos at Addo was like shooting fish in a barrel..........

65. In the best tradition of Lucius Beebe, Charlie had the lens level with the rails in this three-quarter head-on portrayal of the down afternoon mixed leaving Addo in February 1968.  Only one difference, Beebe would have been using a 4"X5" Speed Graphic and this was taken with a lowly Rolleiflex.

66. The morning 'mixed' from Kirkwood (no freight this day) drawing into Barkly Bridge.

67. Barkly Bridge: ex-Klipplaat 19D 3337 departing with a full load of export fruit from the Sundays River valley in September 1982.

68. At busy times it was the practice to combine trains, in this case 533-down from Kirkwood teaming up with and extra freight from Alexandria in 1976.

69. Leaving Barkly Bridge on a cool winter morning without train heating could be, and was, a trial for long-suffering commuters.  It was SAR policy not to provide train heating on coastal

locals, even though, within a few miles of the sea, frost in winter was a regular occurence.  You can tell there's no heating on this train by the lack of steam bleeding off from the coaches.

70. As the effects of the Road Transportation Act of 1977 began to bite, general traffic drifted away; slowly at first then becoming an avalanche in the mid-eighties.  This meant that the existence of the Kirkwood branch depended increasingly on the seasonal citrus traffic.  When there was no fruit the daily mixed trains became pure passenger workings.

71. This one actually belongs in the previous section because it depicts an incoming doubleheader from Alexandria, but we have put it here because it shows the main line in April 1987 when the main line electrification was complete.  Why the train was double-headed is not known but it can only be because a heavy load had been taken out to Alexandria that morning.

72. Train 33361, the morning mixed from Kirkwood, approaching Tankatara on the Midland Main Line in June 1983.

73. The daily SuX mixed from Kirkwood to Port Elizabeth 33361-down approaching Tankatara behind 19D 3339.

74. The Saturday mixed was almost invariably a pure passenger, even in the fruit season, as with this 19D hauling 33361-down out of Coega in July 1982.

75. Grassridge was the scheduled crossing place for 33361-down and 2540-up so on this day the down train must have been running a little late. Note loop-lengthening in progress in preparation for electrification.

76. Grassridge: 2540-up (left) meeting 33361-down mixed and a down citrus special in June 1983.

78. 19D 3339 sweeping down the multitrack section from New Brighton with train 33361.  Little did we know that the Kirkwood, Somerset East, Alexandria, Calitzdorp, Avontuur, Patensie and Klipplaat-Rosmead lines would all be gone by the time this article appeared, thus rendering almost all of these tracks redundant - fodder for scrap thieves.  It seems incredible but all the trains that run to or from Port Elizabeth nowadays could be accommodated on just one of these tracks.

79. The mixed from Kirkwood was scheduled to stop at Swartkops to allow its passengers to change to a normal suburban train.  The mixed would then carry on to the harbour to dispose of its goods workings, in this case the contents of the fruit wagons.

80. The evening of Dennis's day and near sunset for the Kirkwood branch.  However when they introduced a policy of shutting down supposedly uneconomical branch lines during the eighties we doubt whether a single senior 'manager' responsible for this disastrous 'plan' had any notion about where it would all end.  

MODERNISATION, THREATS AND DEMISE

The principal outbound traffic on the branch was the citrus traffic from the Packhouses, principally Kirkwood and Hermitage.  This traffic is seasonal and peaks in the winter months. Inbound traffic was for the Packhouses and farming communities in the valley. During the late 1970’s and in the early 1980’s the SA Transport services implemented their 'rationalisation' plan which proposed the closure of most branch lines and the reduction in service levels of those branches that remained. The mixed train service was withdrawn on the Kirkwood branch during 1988 and locomotives were no longer based at Kirkwood.  During the peak of the citrus season some of the extra trains were still steam worked in 1988.

A freight service continued for a number of years the regular motive power being class 35 Diesel locomotives operating from Port Elizabeth. By 1993 regular goods service on the branch had dried up and the only trains were the special workings to handle the citrus traffic. At this time there is no clarity as to whether the citrus traffic will return to rail.

The report below was sent to the SATS regional Manager in Port Elizabeth in September 1986 by the Sundays River Citrus Cooperative Company Ltd in response to the SATS notifications that they intend closing the line from Addo to Kirkwood. As a result of this intervention the line was not closed but the service reduced, but the last seasonal citrus traffic handled by rail was in 2009 although the line has seen weed spraying trains in the recent years. Some 59 000 tons of citrus was generated on the branch during 2005 – 2006, all destined to New Brighton and Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth) for export. A small amount of lime and fertiliser was received.

SUNDAYS RIVER CITRUS CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LTD

FUTURE OF ADDO-KIRKWOOD BRANCH LINE

1.           INTRODUCTION

This Co-operative is, in normal circumstances, probably the largest generator of income on the above railway line handling, adding as it does, some 55 – 65 000 tonnes of citrus fruit per season.

The choice of method of despatch does not lie with the Co-operative but with the Citrus Board/South African Co-operative Citrus Exchange Limited (who act as managers to the Citrus Board) in whom control of all citrus sales vests.

2.           TRAFFIC AVAILABLE EX SUNDAYS RIVER CITRUS CO-OPRATIVE

2.1      Outwards

1.1.1         Export Fruit:

Between 30 and 35 000 tonnes of exports are despatched, roughly equally from the Co-op’s packhouses at Hermitage and Kirkwood, each season which lasts from the end of April until about the end of September or early October.

1.1.2         Local Market Fruit:

Approximately 15 000 tonnes of fruit are despatched to fresh fruit markets all over the Republic during the season.  At one stage these we virtually all railed to destinations.  However due to various factors as mentioned under ‘Problems and Difficulties with Rail Transport’ below, most of this fruit is now dispatched by Road Transport.

1.1.3         Processor Fruit:

In excess of 10 000 tonnes of fruit is sent to processing factories each season and the bulk of this railed to Valor Central Co-operative in Deal Party, Port Elizabeth. 

1.2      Inwards traffic

Available inwards traffic consists of Packhouse requirements such as packing materials, chemicals, tissue paper, coal and spares and goods for resale to our members which consist of fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, cement, gum poles, lubricants and other farming requisites.  These are normally transported in the following manner:

1.2.1         Packing Materials:

(a)        Corrugated Cardboard

Just over 3 000 tonnes of cartons for the Packhouses each season.  Where the quantity of any delivery is sufficient and time allows, it these are despatched by suppliers in Port Elizabeth by S.A.T.S.  However on numerous occasions quantities are too small to make up a truck load or, due to changes in packing requirements cartons are required urgently.  In these circumstances delivery is by supplier’s own road vehicle.

(b)        Pockets:

                    These are received from a supplier in the Eastern Transvaal and are usually forwarded to us per rail.  Once again, urgency of requirement occasionally requires road transport.

(a)        Labels:

                     These are usually received by rail 

            1.1.1         Tissue Paper:

3.1      Citrus Traffic:

3.1      Citrus Traffic:

POSTSCRIPT 

As this chapter closed for press we received news that certain lines are to be advertised for private operation, including the Kirkwood branch.  However, given the state of the line today and its supporting infrastructure, we remain skeptical.  Also, our government's record of co-operation between it and the private sector is not conducive to optimism.