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:
Hex River Valley. Picking grapes, 1900 - 1910
197 x 141 mm. Showing labourers at work in a field of vines, with baskets of grapes standing in the foreground.
Hex River Vallley. Drying fruit in the sun (plums), 1900 - 1910
195 x 137 mm. Showing a row of large wooden trays filled with drying plums.
Kimberley, General view of De Beer's workings, 1900 - 1910
199 x 147 mm. A view looking down onto a network of railway lines, factory buildings and plant at Kimberley with part of an excavated pit (?the 'Big Hole') visible at the right of the print. De Beers Consolidated Mines was the company formed by Cecil Rhodes, Alfred Beit and others in 1888 which took over the De Beers, Kimberley, Bultfontein and Dutoitspan mines.
Kimberley. Snapshot inside a compound, 1900 - 1910
200 x 44 mm. Showing African workers in a mining compound at Kimberley.
King William's Town, Market Place, 1900 - 1910
196 x 129 mm. Showing the unsurfaced market square in King William's Town with outspanned ox teams and wagons in the centre.
Molteno. Early morning at the coal mines, 1900 - 1910
193 x 142 mm. Showing African labourers gathered around a cooking pot outside stone huts. Coal mining activity which was started in the area in 1859: the better quality coal from the Transvaal and Natal [KwaZulu-Natal] soon destroyed the foundations of the industry.
Molteno. Entrance to a coal mine, 1900 - 1910
163 x 144 mm. Showing African workers pushing trolleys of excavated material up a railway track leading from the mines.
Paarl, interior of the Old Dutch Church, 1900 - 1910
196 x 144 mm. Showing the pulpit of the Dutch Church in Paarl on the Berg River.
Port Elizabeth, Main Street, 1900 - 1910
112 x 92 mm. A view looking along Main Street, Port Elizabeth, with a tram and a pony trap in the foreground. Electric trams were introduced in Port Elizabeth in 1897. At the far end of Main Street the Town Hall can be seen.
P.[ort] Elizabeth. The Main Street from the Town Hall, 1900 - 1910
116 x 89 mm. A view looking back along Main Street with a tram and pony traps in the foreground.
Stellenbosch, street in, 1900 - 1910
199 x 146 mm. A view looking along a shady tree-lined residential street in Stellenbosch, situated beside the Eerste River, having been founded by Governor Simon van der Stel in 1679.
The old coaching days. The Mafeking-Bulawayo coach at Mafeking [Mahikeng], 1900 - 1910
196 x 134 mm. Showing the unhitched stage-coach standing in front of the P.M. Fincham's store and the Standard Restaurant, with three young Africans posed near the shafts of the vehicle.
Toisi River. Drying wool at the wool washery, 1900 - 1910
201 x 144 mm. Showing African women tending large piles of wool drying on stones.
Train in Lobatsi Gorge, Rhodesia [Botswana], 1900 - 1910
202 x 111 mm. A head on view of a goods train on the line through the Lobatse Gorge (in Bechuanaland rather than Rhodesia).
Typical view showing forest scenery on route to the Victoria Falls, 1900 - 1910
194 x 122mm. Showing lightly wooded bushland.
Uitenhage, Town Hall and Dutch Church, 1900 - 1910
196 x 145 mm. A view looking along a tree-lined avenue in Uitenhage with the towers of the Town Hall and the Dutch Church on the far side of the street.
Victoria Falls, the Boiling Pot, 1900 - 1910
89 x 115 mm. A view looking along the gorge towards the white water of the 'Boiling Pot' with part of the falls beyond.
Victoria Falls, the Cascade, 1900 - 1910
143 x 196 mm. Showing the upper portion of the cascade.
Victoria Falls, the Chasm, 1900 - 1910
118 x 94 mm. A view looking along the gorge and towards the main falls.
Victoria Falls, the Main Falls, 1900 - 1910
146 x 196 mm. A view looking across part of the main falls.
Victoria Falls, the railway bridge over the Zambesi River, 1900 - 1910
112 x 89 mm. A view looking along the bridge, with a train halted midway and passengers looking over the parapet to the river below.
View of train on the narrow gauge (2 feet) railway between P.[ort] Elizabeth and Humansdorp, 1900 - 1910
194 x 124 mm. A view looking along the narrow track towards an oncoming steam locomotive drawing freight trucks. Humansdorp lies about 50 miles west of Port Elizabeth near St. Francis Bay.
View showing the raliway line in Alicedale Poort, 1900 - 1910
208 x 148 mm. A view looking along a steeply sided valley, with the railway following the course of the Bushman's River on the valley floor. Alicedale is situated about 25 miles west of Grahamstown.
Wellington, street view, 1900 - 1910
197 x 145 mm. A view looking along the main street in Wellington (40 miles north east of Cape Town) towards the church, with unhitched pony carts and passers by in the foreground.
Wellington, the Pulpit Rock in Bain's Kloof, 1900 - 1910
205 x 141 mm. A view looking along the mountain road and showing a horse and cart passing beneath the overhanging Pulpit Rock. Bain's Kloof Pass crosses the Slanghoek Mountains to the Breede River Valley.
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