Cape Government Railways (fl. 1873-1910)
Dates
- Existence: fl. 1873 - 1910
Biography
Cape Government Railways was established by the Cape Government around 1873 to operate lines previously administered by the Cape Town Dock and Railway Company, with the commissioners of crown lands and public works in charge. The first general manager, Charles Bletterman Elliott, was appointed in 1880 and he was responsible for a significant improvement in the efficiency of the administration. He remained in the post for nearly 25 years.
Between 1875 and 1880 the total distance of lines in the Colony rose from 154 to 913 miles. By 1899 this had reached 2001 miles. From 1889 to 1895 Cape Government Railways also operated the Orange Free State Railways. With the establishment of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910, the railway companies of the four separate territories (Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State) merged to form South African Railways and Harbours with Cape Government Railways contributing almost a half of the total mileage of 7577 miles (Lingen 1960, pp.1-27).
Sources:
Lingen, A. van (1960), 'A century of transport', Johannesburg: Da Gama Publications Limited.
Found in 51 Collections and/or Records:
A.C.G.R. Dining express train leaving Cape Town Station for the north, 1900 - 1910
115 x 94 mm. Showing a Cape Government Railways steam locomotive pulling out of Cape Town station.
Adderley Street, Cape Town, 1900 - 1910
111 x 85 mm. A view looking south east along Adderley Street with tramlines and horse carts on the roadway.
Adderley Street, Cape Town, 1900 - 1910
115 x 91 mm. A view looking south east along Adderley Street and showing the Standard Bank (opened in 1883) and the Mansion House Buildings (1898) at the junction with Darling Street. With horse carts and cabs parked in the foreground.
Aliwal North, corner of the Market Place, 1900 - 1910
190 x 144 mm. Showing the market square at Aliwal North with a bullock team and wagon in the foregrond. Founded in 1849, the town is situated on the Orange River and takes its name from the Battle of Aliwal, fought in India in January 1846 during the First Anglo-Sikh War.
At Mochudi Station, Rhodesia [Botswana], 1900 - 1910
111 x 87 mm. Showing an ostrich, watched by a passenger, on the platform at Mochudi (Bechuanaland).
Beaufort West, general view, 1900 - 1910
200 x 142 mm. A view from a neighbouring hill looking over Beaufort West to the Karoo beyond. The town lies 260 miles east north east of Cape Town and became, in 1839, the first municipality in South Africa.
Buffalo River and Harbour, East London, 1900 - 1910
287 x 172 mm. A view looking down on the Buffalo River and wharves at East London, with two steamers moored in the foreground and the sea in the distance.
Bulawayo, Rhodes Statue, 1900 - 1910
90 x 115 mm. Showing the Cecil Rhodes statue in Main Street, Bulawayo, with the Grand Hotel in the background.
Bulawayo, the Grand Hotel, 1900 - 1910
197 x 139 mm. A view from Main Street looking towards the three storeyed verandahed building of the Grand Hotel.
Burghersdorp, general view, 1900 - 1910
20 x 136 mm. A view looking over small homesteads and gardens with the Stormberg Mountains in the background. Founded in 1844, the town was originally called Kupdrift.
Cape Govt. [i.e. Government] Railways Dining saloon train. Interior of the dining saloon, 1900 - 1910
195 x 148 mm. A view looking along the wood panelled saloon car interior with tables laid for a meal.
Cape Town and Table Mountain, 1900 - 1910
194 x 138 mm. A view looking south across Cape Town towards Table Mountain with the old Malay cemetery in the foreground.
Cape Town (Camp's Bay), The Twelve Apostles from the Victoria Road, 1900 - 1910
196 x 136 mm. A view looing down on to the Victoria Road which follows the rocky coastline from Cape Town to Camp's Bay, with the pinnacles of the Twelve Apostles on the skyline.
Cape Town Docks, arrival of a mail steamer, 1900 - 1910
191 x 136 mm. A view looking along the docks with a steamer moored on either side of the wharf and carts, hansoms and a railway locomotive in the foregound.
Cape Town, Government Avenue (winter), 1900 - 1910
199 x138 mm. A view looking along the treelined avenue which runs south east from the Parliament Buildings.
Cape Town Houses of Parliament, 1900 - 1910
199 x 200 mm. A view from Grave Street showing the south and east facades of the Parliament buildings, opened by Sir Hercules Robinson in 1885. These buildings, planned by H.S. Greaves, supplanted an earlier design by Charles Freeman. The foundation stone for this original building was laid in 1875 but shortly after construction began major problems with the foundations arose and the design was cancelled.
Ceres, the Stream, 1900 - 1910
141 x 192 mm. Showing the tree-lined stream leading to a farmhouse and hills. This is presumably the Dwars River on which the town of Ceres, in the Western Cape lies.
Cradock, street in, 1900 - 1910
196 x 121 mm. Showing the main street in Cradock (on the Great Fish River 120 miles north of Port Elizabeth) with the Masonic Hotel in the foreground and the church beyond.
East London, the Town Hall, 1900 - 1910
191 x 143 mm. Showing the East London Town (now City) Hall, a verandahed stone building with a clocktower set at one corner. Designed by Edwin Page in 1893 and completed in 1899, it is situated between Argyle and Buxton Streets.
Graaf Reinet, view in the Botanical Gardens, 1900 - 1910
195 x 146 mm. A view looking along a path in the garden, with neatly laid out trees and shrubs along its borders. The gardens, founded in 1872, were taken up in the early years of the twentieth century to be replaced by the Urquhart Park Rugby and Cricket Ground.
Grahamstown, general view, 1900 - 1910
281 x 186 mm. A view from a field beside the road which leads into the High Street. A prominent landmark is Church Square with the Tower of St. George's Cathedral on the left and that of the Town Hall on the right. On the High Street at the nearer end of Church Square is the Railway Hotel.
Groot Drakenstein. Boiling fruits at the factory for jams and preserves, 1900 - 1910
283 x 205 mm. Showing African and European cooks and packers at work in a canning plant on a Cecil Rhodes model farm.
Groot Drakenstein, packing fruit for export (London and Continental Markets), 1900 - 1910
285 x 205 mm. Showing African workers packing fruit into boxes in a warehouse on one of the model farms set up by Cecil Rhodes in the Drakenstein Valley.
Groot Schuur (Rondebosch), 1900 - 1910
290 x 201 mm. A view from the garden looking down the hillside to Groot Schuur the residence of the South African Prime Minister. The old Dutch colonial building (originally a granary) was gutted by fire in 1896 shortly after Cecil Rhodes had purchased it. The buildings as seen here embody the alterations designed by Sir Hebert Baker.
Hex River Valley. Loading up railway trucks with boxes of fruit for export, 1900 - 1910
197 x 142 mm. Showing workers carrying boxes of fruit to the door of a freight truck in south-west Cape Province.
Additional filters:
- Subject
- South Africa (nation) 41
- Western Cape, Province of the (province) 23
- Eastern Cape, Province of (province) 15
- Cape Town (inhabited place) 9
- Victoria Falls (waterfall) 5
- Hex Rivierberge (mountains) 3
- Zimbabwe (nation) 3
- Botswana (nation) 2
- Bulawayo (inhabited place) 2
- Bulawayo (province) 2
- East London (inhabited place) 2
- Kimberley (inhabited place) 2
- Molteno (inhabited place) 2
- Northern Cape, Province of (province) 2
- Port Elizabeth (inhabited place) 2
- Wellington (inhabited place) 2
- Zambezi (river) 2
- Alicedale (inhabited place) 1
- Aliwal North (inhabited place) 1
- Beaufort West (inhabited place) 1
- Buffalo (river) 1
- Burgersdorp (inhabited place) 1
- Ceres (inhabited place) 1
- Cradock (inhabited place) 1
- Graaff-Reinet (inhabited place) 1
- Grahamstown (inhabited place) 1
- Kgatleng (district (national)) 1
- King William's Town (inhabited place) 1
- Lobatsi (inhabited place) 1
- Mahikeng (inhabited place) 1
- Mochudi (inhabited place) 1
- North West (province) 1
- Paarl (inhabited place) 1
- South-East (district (national)) 1
- Stellenbosch (inhabited place) 1
- Stormberg (mountain) 1
- Table Mountain (mountain) 1
- Uitenhage (inhabited place) 1
- Worcester (inhabited place) 1 + ∧ less