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The
"APPLE EXPRESS"
as we know it today - a Historical Tourist Attraction - can be
traced back to its revival on the 31st May 1965, when the Port
Elizabeth Historical Society planned a trip for prospective new
Members and, due to the demand, had to repeat this trip the
following weekend. The South African Railways & Harbours (S A R
& H ) then recognised the potential of this wonderful Narrow
Gauge train and started to run trips to Loerie.
However in later years the
railway ( now Spoornet) accountants, looked at this operation,
only organising one train out to Loerie per month, and decided
that it was not a paying concern. In March of 1993 it was
decided that the train be stopped and the operation be handed
over to a private operator. Various discussions took place with
no finality reached. In the end Spoornet announced that "Alfred
County Railway", from Natal South Coast, could run the Apple
Express, but with a team of volunteers. Meetings were held in
Port Elizabeth, volunteers enrolled and the first new "Apple
Express" was organised and trains started running during the
December 1993 / January 1994 holiday period. In all 14 trains
were run to Loerie in that period, where Spoornet had only run 1
train per month.
Later in 1995 Alfred
County Railways could not manage this operation further and
withdrew. This was when the Apple
Express Society was formed in
August 1995.
At present the newly
formed Section 21 Company is running the
PORT ELIZABETH APPLE EXPRESS
and is looking at reformation of the whole process now that
agreements are being put into place with Spoornet.
THE ASSETS:
The Company has a set of
20 Narrow Gauge passenger coaches, together with a number of
Historical Goods wagons necessary for the running of the train,
as set out by Transnet Heritage Foundation ( Museum Section of
Transnet), not all the coaches are at present stationed in Port
Elizabeth.
The oldest of these
coaches being brought into operation in 1902, these were
followed by 2 Guards/3-compartment passenger coaches NG
73 &
78 (1903 vintage) and the three `Victorian' Coaches
No's NG 57,
58 & 59, (1904 vintage) with beautiful
wooden interiors and small 5 seat compartments, with a coach
toilet etc. A number of the coaches were manufactured by
'Bristol Carriage & Wagon' in the U.K., (No's 94 & 99 in
1905) which ceased operations in 1924.
The youngest of the
coaches was built in South Africa, at the Salt River works in
Cape Town in 1931.
NG
V-2813 was recently converted into a coach for the disabled
with an exit and entry ramp, has space for 5 wheelchairs and has
disabled person toilet facilities.
A breakdown of the coaches is as follows:-
|
NG No |
Class |
Manufacturer |
Year |
Status |
Notes |
|
50 |
S-2 |
S.A.R. - Salt River |
1912 |
For Restoration |
Ex NG 90, |
|
52 |
L-4 |
Brown Marshalls & Co. UK |
1902 |
|
Ex CGR 2 |
|
57 |
L-5 |
Bristol Carriage and Wagon, UK |
1904 |
In Use |
Ex CGR 17, L-4 |
|
58 |
L-5 |
Bristol Carriage and Wagon, UK |
1904 |
Restoration in progress |
Ex CGR 18, L-4 |
|
59 |
L-5 |
Bristol Carriage and Wagon, UK |
1904 |
For Restoration |
Ex CGR 19, L-4 |
|
65 |
L-4 |
Hungarian Coach & Wagon |
1907 |
|
Ex CGR 37 |
|
73 |
N-3 |
Boume & Marpet |
1903 |
In Use |
Ex CGR 6 |
|
78 |
N-3 |
Metropolitan Amalgamated |
1903 |
In Use |
Ex CGR 11 |
|
82 |
S-5 |
Metropolitan Amalgamated |
1907 |
For Restoration |
Ex CGR 13 |
|
83 |
S-5 |
Bristol Carriage and Wagon, UK |
1907 |
For Restoration |
Ex CGR 23 |
|
85 |
LS-7 |
Metropolitan Amalgamated |
1907 |
In Use |
Ex CGR 32 S-5 |
|
94 |
K-2 |
Bristol Carriage and Wagon, UK |
1905 |
In Use |
Ex CGR 26 T-2 |
|
97 |
T-1 |
Bristol Carriage and Wagon, UK |
1904 |
For Restoration |
Ex CGR 29 |
|
98 |
T-1 |
Bristol Carriage and Wagon, UK |
1904 |
For Restoration |
Ex CGR 30 |
|
99 |
L-15 |
Bristol Carriage and Wagon, UK |
1905 |
In Use |
Ex CGR 31 T-1>K-2 |
|
100 |
N-5 |
S.A.R. - Salt River |
1916 |
In Use |
Ex Usakos |
|
105 |
L-13 |
Sachsische Waggon |
1927 |
In Use |
|
|
113 |
O-2C |
Sachsische Waggon |
1927 |
In Use |
Converted L-13 |
|
143 |
L-16 |
S.A.R. - Salt River |
1931 |
In Use |
S-6> S-9> L-16(1985) |
|
1050 |
V-2 |
|
|
In Use |
"Half Loaf" |
|
2813 |
V-15 |
|
1969 |
In Use |
See info on Pictures |
Originally Transnet
Heritage Foundation ( T.H.F.) allocated the following
Locomotives to The Apple Express Society, in 1995;
|
1. |
NG Class 10 No: 61 Manufactured
by Baldwin U.S.A. 1916. |
| |
(At present taken over by
Sandstone Railway - Free State for restoration.) |
| |
|
|
2. |
NG Garratt Class 11: No 54
Manufactured by Beyer Peacock U.K_ 1925 |
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(At present the oldest N.G.
Garratt in the world, in original condition.) |
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Needing certain small
attention to return to running order. |
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[Here funding assistance would
be appreciated]. |
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|
|
3. |
There are then 4 NG Class 15's
allocated to the Company, namely; |
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NG 15 No. 117, in need of
restoration. (1938 vintage) manufactured by Hanomag,
Germany. |
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|
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NG 15 No. 119, had been one of
the operating team, reported to be in the best
condition for restoration. |
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Also manufactured by Hanomag,
Germany in 1938. At present being restored. |
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|
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NG 15 No. 124, one of the
operating locomotives, but now needing a major
overhaul. (1949 vintage). |
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Manufactured by Anglo France
Beige, Belgium. [To possibly be restored with
the necessary funding]. |
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|
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NG 15 No. 145, earlier one of
the operating locomotives on long trips into the
Langkloof, now in need of |
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major restoration,
manufactured by Henschel & Sohn, Germany ( 1957
vintage). |
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|
|
4. |
Then the other Garratt types; |
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NGG 13. No 79. This was
allocated to the earlier Society, but has never been
used, needing a major |
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overhaul. Manufactured
by Hanomag, Germany ( vintage 1928) |
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At present there is only one
Class 13 running in South Africa. |
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|
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NGG 16 No. 131. This is the
present operating locomotive, having been restored
by the Apple Express |
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Society
in 1999, and responsible for all the steam trips -
daily runs to Thornhill, the Great Train
|
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Race each year and numerous
multi day trips into the Langkloof and Gamtoos
Valleys. |
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Manufactured by Beyer Peacock,
UK (vintage 1950). |
THE PORT ELIZABETH TO AVONTUUR LINE:
The Port Elizabeth - Avontuur
railway line was requested by the Langkloof community to get
their produce
delivered to Port Elizabeth and further afield. It was first
proposed that this line be the conventional 3' 6" South
African "Cape Gauge", but later reduced to the present 2'
Gauge due to financial restraints with construction starting
in 1903 and proceeding at a fast pace, in that `Tourist
Trains' were run for the Port Elizabeth public as far as
Gedult Rivier in December 1903.
The next major hurdle was the crossing of the
van Stadens
River Gorge, where the highest Narrow Gauge bridge in the
world was constructed in 1904, at a height of 254 ft.( 78m.)
above the river. This bridge is a major stopping point for
tourists to view as the train slowly crosses over.
All in all the track to the top end of the Langkloof is
177 miles in length ( 283km.) making this line, now, the
longest
working Narrow Gauge line certainly in Africa, possibly in
the world.
In 1913 there was a request from the farming
community for the construction of the Patensie branch line,
leaving
Gamtoos Station for a distance of 19 miles (30km.)
Recorded in the Herald of 25th Jan 2003
- "News from week ending January 24"'. 1903".
|
A Public
Meeting was held at Hankey last Friday morning_
It was unanimously decided to approach the
Government with a view to obtaining a branch of
the Port Elizabeth - Avontuur railway line to
Hankey, thus opening up the productive Gamtoos
valley and assisting farmers to get their
produce to the market The scarcity of obtaining
means of transport is becoming more and more
serious. |
On request there have been a
number of multi day tourist trains run for Tourist
Groups, over the years, either to the
far end of the Langkloof, at Avontuur, (283km.) or to
Patensie, (111 km.) from Port Elizabeth.
Along this historical line there remain
a number of the original corrugated iron station
buildings, of that period;
Beginning at Port Elizabeth, where there
is the small substantially built station building at
Humewood Road Station (changed in appearance in the
early years of the running of the "Apple Express") the
original building still remains, together with the Steam
Workshops across the sidings, (date unknown), now
heavily vandalised and not used. All the
restoration work and daily maintenance is now undertaken
within the Diesel Depot, with the co-operation of Narrow
Gauge, for security purposes. Then follows the
original station building at
Thornhill, (53km).
Further down the track is Loerie,
Jeffrey's Bay Station
and into the Langkloof,
Assegaaibos Station and
Joubertina Station (also a substantially built
building). Other stations and buildings along the
line have, over time, been modernised.
PE to Avontuur Map
During the past years 1996 - 2001 the
Apple Express has carried the following passengers:
| |
1996 - 1997 |
1997 - 1998 |
1998 - 1999 |
1999 - 2000 |
2000 - 2001 |
|
Trains Run |
67 |
62 |
45 |
48 |
38 |
|
Pass. Carried |
10 518 |
7 999 |
7 539 |
7 237 |
5 462 |
|
Average per trip |
157 |
129 |
168 |
151 |
144 |
Compiled by Peter Burton - July 2004
Revised July 2006
Additions D Coombe
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