Avontuur Railway
Avontuur railway map
Route map Legend 0,0 Port Elizabeth 4 m 1,5 Humewood Road Actual terminal 21 m 4,4 Valley Junction Walmer Branch (1906–1928) 7 Emerald Hill Walmer (14th Avenue) 10 Bog Farm (Walmer Road) 14 Lorraine 150 m 17 Theescombe N2 road crossing over line 22 Chelsea Junction EPPC Branch (1927–2001) 24 Greenbushes 27 Progress 30 St Albans 37 Geduldrivier 40 Witteklip 43 Van Stadens 249 m 44 Van Stadens Railway Bridge 47 Sunnyside 255 m Bridge over N2 53 Thornhill 221 m N2 road crossing over line 59 Summit 228 m 67 Kwaaibrand 72 Loerie Last station on the Apple Express 30 m 76 Melon 80 Gamtoos 7 m Branch line to Patensie 81 Bridge over the Gamtoos River 83 Togo 85 Mondplaas 92 m 85 Bodker N2 road crossing over line Bridge over the Kabeljous River 90 Wagon Drift 92 Duplex 93 Kabeljousrivier 14 m 93 Hankey 22 m 100 Jeffreys Bay 100 m 104 Goonakop 104 The Burns 104 Patensie 55m 108 Drie Werve 113 Humansdorp 153 m 117 Kruisfontein N2 road crossing over line 124 Kerkplaas 247 m 130 Billson 135 Howley 50 m Bridge over the Dieprivier R62 overpass 140 Salielaagte 204 m 146 Two Streams 280 m 153 Essenbos 161 Majoorskraal 189 m 164 Assegaaibos End of Regular operation 204 m 170 Melkhoutkraal 177 Jagersbos 183 Kammiebos 191 Kompanjiesdrif 201 Heights 533 m 209 Tweeriviere 214 Joubertina 544 m 215 Bridge over the Wabooms River 225 Krakeelrivier 232 Louterwater Last station during Citrus Season 659 m 235 238 Bruinklip 243 Nuweplaas 251 Misgund 256 Gaviota 261 Ongelegen 269 Haarlem 273 Siesta 285 Avontuur 871 m

The Avontuur Railway is a closed railway line between Port Elizabeth and the town of Avontuur in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. It is the longest 610 mm (2 ft) narrow gauge route in the world at a length of 285 kilometres (177 mi).^[1] "Avontuur" is the Afrikaans and Dutch word for "adventure".

History

The railway was built by the government of the Cape Colony between 1890 and 1906, to connect the Langkloof fruit growing industry with the new port at Port Elizabeth.^[2] The section of line between Humewood Road and Humansdorp was opened for public traffic on 1 November 1905.^[3]

In 1903 a request was laid before the then government in order to add a branch line to Patensie. This branch was commissioned on 3 April 1914.^[4]

In 1906 a branch line was opened to the Port Elizabeth's suburb Walmer and in 1928 a twelve mile long private branch was constructed to the Eastern Province Cement Company (EPCC).^[5]

Passenger traffic

Scheduled trains

Scheduled passenger trains were discontinued in the 1940s, although limited space was available on scheduled freight trains until the mid-1970s.^[6]

Walmer Branch

From 1906 to 1928 a passenger only branch line, from Valley junction near Port Elizabeth, to the suburb of Walmer, serviced up to 22 trains a day between Port Elizabeth and the terminus at 14th Avenue in Walmer.^[7] It was closed as a result from competition from a bus service.

Apple Express

The line was best known for its tourist train, the Apple Express, which commenced operations in 1965 to Loerie, later to Thornhill or Van Stadens River, the highest two-foot narrow-gauge railway bridge in the world. The motive power for the Apple Express was retained as steam, normally a SAR NGG16 Class Garratt. The Apple Express ceased operations in 2011.

Today, there is a new effort to restore a partial, limited, service in 2016 / 2017 from Port Elizabeth to Van Stadens Station – if not Thornhill - with two NG/G15 and one NG/G16 Garratt along with a fleet of passenger cars under restoration inside the former Humewood Road narrow Gauge diesel depot in Port Elizabeth.

From 2011 onward a volunteer team undertook the restoration of the NG15 NG119 steam locomotive, returning the locomotive to running order during 2017.^[8] Restoration of the NG15 NG124 steam locomotive was started in 2016.

After running a test Apple Express train on 24 December 2017, using the restored NG15 NG119 locomotive, the Apple Express started running a summer holiday special service between King's Beach halt and a point near the Airport.^[9]

Freight traffic

Fruit and agriculture

The presence of the railway contributed significantly to the development of agriculture in the Lankloof and Gamtoos Valley, enabling farmers to transport their produce conveniently to the warehouses and harbour at Port Elizabeth.^[10] Unfortunately, agricultural transport was lost due to competition from road haulage.^[11]

Limestone

In the 1920s a limestone quarry was opened near Loerie to serve the Eastern Province Cement Company (EPCC) in New Brighton near Port Elizabeth via the EPCC owned private line branching off at Chelsea. The limestone traffic ceased in 2001 when the quarries were closed.^[11]

Operations

The railway was operated by the South African national railway company Spoornet.

As the South African Government has deregulated the road transport industry, a large amount of traffic has moved from the railway to the roads. Spoornet has hence designated the line as "low density," and always had the threat of closure hanging over it.

After all major freight traffic ceased, only the Apple Express continued operations but finally ceased in 2010.

In 2014 a team of volunteers started working to recommence the running of the Apple Express.

After running a test Apple Express train on 24 December 2017, with locomotive NG15 NG119, the Apple Express began running a summer holiday special service between King's Beach halt and Valley Junction near the Port Elizabeth Airport

Since then, negotiations have been on going to recommence the Apple Express in the near future, but until such a time the Apple Express remains closed.

Motive power

Tender locomotives

The first locomotives entering service on the Langkloof line were the NG8 class from 1903 to 1931.

From 1915 to 1935 the NG6, from 1915 to 1939 the NG9 and from 1916 to 1948 the NG10.

The final and largest class to be employed on the Avontuur Railway were 21 NG15's from 1960 to the mid-1980s.

Tank locomotive

Class NG3 performed yard duties around Humewood Road Station in Port Elizabeth from 1939 to 1946

Garratt locomotives

The first Garratt locomotive to be introduced was the NGG11 class, soon to be followed with the NGG13 class in 1927, the latter setting the standard for motive power on the Avontuur railway for the next decades, to be followed with the NGG16 class, very similar to the NGG13.

The smaller Garratt classes NGG12 and NGG14 performed yard duties at Humewood Road railway station in Port Elizabeth until the 1950s.

Diesel locomotives

From 1973 the South African Class 91-000 General Electric diesels were introduced, the most powerful 2 foot gauge diesel in the world.