published by Tafelberg

Author David Williams grew up in sight of a railway line, at a time when train travel was still considered romantic. From an early age, he became an avid train-spotter, making himself familiar with the complicated business of timetables, locomotive types, gauges and lines. He developed a particular love for steam engines – in his words, “great creatures that seemed to breathe”- and all the lore and mythology that went with them. It helped, of course, that members of his family, including his father, were employed on the railways, as were many of the colourful characters he met through them. The pride they took in their work rubbed off on the young Williams. Wanting to experience their lifestyle for himself, he eventually found work as a steward in the catering division.

As well as describing his own experiences as a rail enthusiast, Williams, without burdening the reader with too much data, provides a lively, tactile history of the railways in South Africa.

One of the driving forces behind its establishment was Cecil John Rhodes. As an enthusiastic supporter of the Empire, he viewed it as a means of bringing the entire continent under British domination. If his motives were, by current wisdom, questionable, Rhodes was right about the economic benefits that flowed from this form of transport.

More than any other factor, the railway system provided the key to expansion, opening up South Africa to rapid development. In a matter of years, it helped pave the way for the country’s transformation from a primarily rural society to an industrial one. Later on, the need for electrification provided the spur for the establishment of the Electricity Supply Commission and, in turn, ISCOR. The railways also became an important source of employment. For thousands of young men, it was the only job available to them,

Its achievements were impressive. At its peak in the 1970s, it was the tenth-largest railway in terms of route mileage, surpassing the combined mileage of all other African railways. There was, of course, a less edifying side to all of this, and the author does not shirk from describing it. Racial discrimination had existed in South Africa long before the arrival of the railways, but when the National Party came to power in 1948, it was translated into rigid and detailed laws. The ugly reality of this legislation became only too visible when one arrived at a train station and was confronted with its hurtful and demeaning white and non-white signs, separate carriages and platforms. Apartheid also meant that black workers were denied work opportunities on the railways that were specifically reserved for whites.

Sadly, over the last several decades, the South African railway system has fallen into a state of chronic and possibly fatal decay. In part, this has been due to a marked decline in demand for its services, as well as competition from road transport, but poor management and unprecedented levels of vandalism and theft have also contributed to the gloomy overall picture.

The allure of South African train travel, which the author beautifully conveys in this book, is now fast slipping into the pages of history.

An engaging writer and experienced journalist, Williams has an eye for illuminating details, and his enthusiasm for his subject is infectious..Overflowing with vivid, highly pictorial phrases, his prose captures the heyday of train travel, as well as conjuring up the sound and movement of the old trains as they rumbled across the landscape. Fusing history and memoir, his book provides a fascinating look back at another era.