Franschhoek Station

[Marius Avenant]

The platform - very low - is as quiet and peaceful as one can hope for. Not to mention neat and tidy.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Like the top pic - a nice record. I assume nothing runs here ever?

[Marius Avenant]

Nothing. Zilch.
As you will see on some of the other pics I've posted, they have built a shopping center just before the station, and a ramp for people with shopping trolleys, or wheel chairs, have been built right over the line - solid. and before that, there is a whole stack of building materials dumped on the line as well. Not to mention the buried line where the goods shed used to be.

The level crossing at the entrance of the town has also been buried under a load of sticky tar - courtesy of the Roads department!!

Further down the valley at the Stellenbosch turn-off, the lines have all but disappeared under the sand and gravel. (Want to take some pics there when I go past there again)

As I said, I heard a whispering that they may want to open it for the 2010 influx of tourists which will be a good move, but looking at the general condition of the line, one can only shudder at the cost of rehabilitating it.

There are still a lot of steel sleepers with wooden ones that I have noticed, but the bed of the line looks to be in a poor condition - what with all the weeds and grass growing, even some small tree-like shrubs I've seen.

From now on, there are so many festivals and happenings planned for the town, and there is only so much parking space available. Having a train service - especially steam from, say Klapmuts station, will make it a lot more attractive.

Well, maybe somebody will come to their senses, and make it happen.

[Dylan Knott]

It has been almost 5 years since the last train, diesel pax train, ran on the line. Up until then the line was only used for specials and saw about 2 or 3 trains a year. A highly scenic branchline with lots of potential, but doubt it will ever see a train again.

I spent the best part of 5 years between 1999 and 2003 trying to negotiate a lease on the line, but to no avail. There is someone who is supposed to have a lease on the line, but to date nothing has materialised.

Perfect for a cl 24 and 4 coaches to potter around.

As for the construction at the station, nothing a bulldozer can't handle!

[Steve Appleton]

This line seems to have suffered from the same disease that has infected the Magaliesburg (Dam Rail) line: In-Trans(net)-igence! Both are lines (read: national assets) that have huge tourism potential with ready and willing operators that have gone to rack and ruin through official indecision (or is that non-decision?).
Arno's report on the recent Tshwane Tourism Fair shows that even the various tourism authorities know (and possibly care) little about tourism (and none about rail tourism) and do not work together. How can we expect other larger organisations or government to know or care.

[Marius Avenant]

What about getting one of those hand "pomp-trollies" which my dad used during the 1950's to travel on new lines they were building in the Freestate?
Then have a "Pomp protest" (or is it a "Protest-pomp"?) to get some attention.

If someone's got a lease on the line, but not using it, it means they have it to choke any possible development. That should be seen as commercial terrorism!!! Or the same as an absent landlord. In some countries absent landlords quickly become previous landlords.

[Dylan Knott]

Seems to be the case here.

Motor rail trolleys could be useful.

[Steve Appleton]

On the Pretoria-Magaliesburg line, many of the farmers have become squatters and fenced right across the railway line, turning the rail reserve into an extension of their property. To rectify this would probably take court orders and eviction notices, etc and cost whoever takes over the legal lease of the line (if ever that can be negotiated) lots of money in lawyers' fees, etc.