Grootvlei Station and Yard
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Kevin Wilson-Smith
Grootvlei Station and Yard
Grootvlei in all its glory!
- Attachments
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- Grootvlei Station - K Wilson-Smith
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- The yard - K Wilson-Smith
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Dylan Knott
- Posts: 872
- Joined: 17 Aug 2007, 19:44
- Location: Cape Town
Re: Grootvlei Station and Yard
Anything left inside signal cabin?
How many other stations in the vicinity look like this?
How many other stations in the vicinity look like this?
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John Ashworth
- Site Admin
- Posts: 23606
- Joined: 24 Jan 2007, 14:38
- Location: Nairobi, Kenya
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Re: Grootvlei Station and Yard
When I get home next week I'll post a couple of sad photos of De Aar Station I took a few days ago whilst travelling on Premier Classe.
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Kevin Wilson-Smith
Re: Grootvlei Station and Yard
Dylan - did not look in the cabin - will do when I am next in the area! Most of the other stations are not good. There is quite an interesting story re the area and the rail - will post on this next week when i am back (currently traveling and need to find a couple more photos).
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Kevin Wilson-Smith
Re: Grootvlei Station and Yard
Dylan, in relation to the Grootvlei Station.
I know the area fairly well and have been going there for a years. In relation the station, I was told the following by locals.
A few years back, Grootvlei Power station was closed down. This meant (obviously) that rail traffic dropped as the power station was a major customer. Farms in the area were however still served, and the local granary emptied as required.
Alas, apparently the next step was the theft of part of the infrastructure - rails disappeared the one night and subsequently were not replaced. Over the next month the points also started to disappear as well - basically all the track near road access.
The next part of the saga developed when the farmers protested re the now none service of the grain elevator - to no avail. The latter (see photo below) is located a few hundreds meters from the station and was then shut down, although it is still maintained in a somewhat hopeful fashion, though no longer used. The reason for the non use is simple - there is little point trucking grain in, only to truck it out again!
Grootvlei town itself is tiny and rather quaint. There is a small clinic, one store and Topsey (AIDS Foundation) as well as some rather nice Cape Dutch houses formerly used by Management. The latter had a great view of the dam, and were available for around 300k until not so long ago, when one of the big estate agents moved in and in typical fashion put the houses on the market for over 1 million. The BMW 4 X 4 brigade moved in.
In the meantime, with the power shortages, the decision to bring Grootvlei Power Station out of month balls was taken. Ago, approaches were apparently made re the rail link, and again apparently, despite a positive reaction this time from the authorities nothing was done. As a result of this, a network of new roads has been built to facilitate the trucking in of coal to the power station.
And the status quo remains.
Except for the now over-priced houses. The opening of the power station has lead to the creation of a squatter camp - across the road in font of the acclaimed view of the dam! Somewhere here is a moral to the story!
I know the area fairly well and have been going there for a years. In relation the station, I was told the following by locals.
A few years back, Grootvlei Power station was closed down. This meant (obviously) that rail traffic dropped as the power station was a major customer. Farms in the area were however still served, and the local granary emptied as required.
Alas, apparently the next step was the theft of part of the infrastructure - rails disappeared the one night and subsequently were not replaced. Over the next month the points also started to disappear as well - basically all the track near road access.
The next part of the saga developed when the farmers protested re the now none service of the grain elevator - to no avail. The latter (see photo below) is located a few hundreds meters from the station and was then shut down, although it is still maintained in a somewhat hopeful fashion, though no longer used. The reason for the non use is simple - there is little point trucking grain in, only to truck it out again!
Grootvlei town itself is tiny and rather quaint. There is a small clinic, one store and Topsey (AIDS Foundation) as well as some rather nice Cape Dutch houses formerly used by Management. The latter had a great view of the dam, and were available for around 300k until not so long ago, when one of the big estate agents moved in and in typical fashion put the houses on the market for over 1 million. The BMW 4 X 4 brigade moved in.
In the meantime, with the power shortages, the decision to bring Grootvlei Power Station out of month balls was taken. Ago, approaches were apparently made re the rail link, and again apparently, despite a positive reaction this time from the authorities nothing was done. As a result of this, a network of new roads has been built to facilitate the trucking in of coal to the power station.
And the status quo remains.
Except for the now over-priced houses. The opening of the power station has lead to the creation of a squatter camp - across the road in font of the acclaimed view of the dam! Somewhere here is a moral to the story!
- Attachments
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- K R Wilson-Smith
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Dylan Knott
- Posts: 872
- Joined: 17 Aug 2007, 19:44
- Location: Cape Town
Re: Grootvlei Station and Yard
Had a 36 lever frame controlling colour lights. Is it now CTC?