Namaqualand Railway

Last updated April 26, 2019

The Namaqualand Railway was a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway operating between Port Nolloth and O'okiep in the Namaqualand region of the former Cape Colony in South Africa. It was originally a mule-drawn railway built to provide an outlet for the copper mines of the region. Constructed between 1869 and 1876, the railway was 93 ¹⁄₂ miles (150 kilometres) long, with an additional 8 miles purely associated with the copper mine workings. Although owned by the Cape Copper Company, the railway always operated as a public railway.^[1]^[2]

2 ft 6 in gauge railways are narrow gauge railways with track gauge of 2 ft 6 in. This type of rail was promoted especially in the colonies of the British Empire during the second half of the nineteenth century by Thomas Hall and Everard Calthrop.

Port Nolloth is a town and small domestic seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, 144 kilometres (89 mi) northwest of Springbok. It is the seat of the Richtersveld Local Municipality.

Namaqualand is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) and covering a total area of 440,000 square kilometres (170,000 sq mi). It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into two portions – Little Namaqualand to the south and Great Namaqualand to the north.

The railway pre-dated the construction of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) railways in South Africa. Because of the success of the Namaqualand line, 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge was strongly promoted by civil engineer R. Thomas Hall, Superintendent of the narrow gauge Redruth and Chacewater Railway in Cornwall who was involved in the construction of the Namaqualand Railway, as the primary gauge for railway construction in South Africa. The final decision was a compromise between the two recommended gauges and the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) came into existence in Africa.^[1]^[3]

Richard Thomas Hall, born 31 May 1823, was a British railway engineer. Died 1889.

The Redruth and Chasewater Railway,, was an early mineral railway line in Cornwall, England, UK. It opened in 1825 and was built to convey the output from copper mines in the Gwennap area to wharves on Restronguet Creek around Devoran, and to bring in coal to fuel mine engines; later it carried timber for pit props and also house coal.

Cornwall is a county in South West England in the United Kingdom. The county is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar which forms most of the border between them. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The furthest southwestern point of Great Britain is Land's End; the southernmost point is Lizard Point. Cornwall has a population of 563,600 and covers an area of 3,563 km² (1,376 sq mi). The county has been administered since 2009 by the unitary authority, Cornwall Council. The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall, and its only city, is Truro.

After copper mining ceased in 1928 the railway was temporarily closed until 1937 when mining activities resumed.^[4]

The Namaqualand Railway finally closed in 1944.^[2]

Locomotives

The Cape Copper Mining Company 0-4-0WT Condenser of 1886 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Cape Copper Company 0-4-2IST Caledonia of 1904 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Namaqua Copper Company 0-4-2STPioneer of 1901 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Related Research Articles

A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard 1,435 mm. Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm.

The following lists events that happened during 1886 in South Africa.

The following lists events that happened during 1871 in South Africa.

The following lists events that happened during 1890 in South Africa.

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotives of this wheel arrangement were tender engines, the configuration was later often used for tank engines, which is noted by adding letter suffixes to the configuration, such as 0-4-2T for a conventional side-tank locomotive, 0-4-2ST for a saddle-tank locomotive, 0-4-2WT for a well-tank locomotive and 0-4-2RT for a rack-equipped tank locomotive. The arrangement is sometimes known as Olomana after a Hawaiian 0-4-2 locomotive of 1883.

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The type is sometimes known as a Webb or a Branchliner.

Railways with a track gauge of 3 ft 6 in / 1,067 mm were first constructed as horse-drawn wagonways. From the mid-nineteenth century, the 3 ft 6 in gauge became widespread in the British Empire, and was adopted as a standard in Japan and Taiwan.

Although most railways of central and eastern Canada were initially built to a 5 ft 6 in broad gauge, there were several, especially in The Maritimes and Ontario, which were built as individual narrow-gauge lines. These were generally less expensive to build, but were more vulnerable to frost heaving because vertical displacement of one rail caused greater angular deflection of the narrower two-rail running surface. Most of the longer examples were regauged starting in the 1880s as the railway network began to be bought up by larger companies.

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 2-6-2+2-6-2 is an articulated locomotive using a pair of 2-6-2 power units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 2-6-2 wheel arrangement has a single pair of leading wheels in a leading truck, followed by three coupled pairs of driving wheels and a pair of trailing wheels in a trailing truck. Since the 2-6-2 type was often called the Prairie type, the corresponding Garratt and Modified Fairlie types were usually known as a Double Prairie.

The Otavi Mining and Railway Company was a railway and mining company in German South West Africa. It was founded on 6 April 1900 in Berlin with the Disconto-Gesellschaft and the South West Africa Company as major shareholders.

The Senmō Main Line is a Japanese railway line in Hokkaido, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company, between Higashi-Kushiro Station in Kushiro and Abashiri Station in Abashiri. The name comes from Kushiro (釧路) and Abashiri (網走). In 2008, a dual-mode transit vehicle was tested on parts of the line.

The South African Railways Class NG1 0-4-0T of 1900 was a narrow-gauge steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.

The South African Railways Class NG7 2-6-0 of 1902 was a narrow gauge steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

At the beginning of the 20th century, 2 ft narrow-gauge railway lines started playing a significant role in South Africa. They facilitated the transport of various agricultural and mineral produce from locations hardly accessible by road. They therefore enabled many communities to become prosperous.

The Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST of 1873 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Namaqualand 0-6-0T of 1871 were two South African steam locomotives from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Namaqualand 0-6-2 Clara Class of 1890 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

References

1 2 Bagshawe, Peter (2012). Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and Copper Mines (1st ed.). Stenvalls. pp. 8–11. ISBN 978-91-7266-179-0.
1 2 Durrant, A.E., A.A. Jorgensen, C.P. Lewis. Steam in Africa, London, 1981, Hamlyn.
↑ The South African Railways - Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 9, 11-13.
↑ IRSociety - Rails to the well

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[Bagshawe-1] 1 2 Bagshawe, Peter (2012). Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and Copper Mines (1st ed.). Stenvalls. pp. 8–11. ISBN 978-91-7266-179-0.

[Durrant-2] 1 2 Durrant, A.E., A.A. Jorgensen, C.P. Lewis. Steam in Africa, London, 1981, Hamlyn.

[SAR_History-3] The South African Railways - Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 9, 11-13.

[4] IRSociety - Rails to the well