Inchanga Choo Choo is still running
JUNE 26, 1860 was the day dignitaries, Durban’s jet set and other locals gathered in the city’s centre to watch history in motion.
Onlookers marvelled at the sight of a steam train running on tracks, a first for South Africa.
The groundbreaking 3km trip from the Point to Market Square (near the Workshop Mall) sparked a new dawn.
It spelt the end of primitive ways of moving goods and people.
However, as modernisation gained momentum over the last two centuries, the use of steam locomotives and the whole toot was gradually sidetracked in favour of electric trains.
But a group of volunteers, some well advanced in age, are always stoked and willing to go the extra mile to keep Kwazulu-natal’s only steam heritage railway operation well oiled and running.
They belong to the Umgeni Steam Railway (USR), a Non-profit Organisation, formed in 1982 with the intention of preserving heritage railways.
USR has amassed a wide range and historic collection of locomotives, coaches and other treasured railway items over the years to restore and maintain.
Their pride and joy is the Inchanga Choo Choo.
The 19D locomotive named “Wesley”, which was built in 1938, pulled four coaches of varying lifespans, with the oldest being manufactured in 1908, during the Choo Choo’s most recent trip, on June 27, the day before the latest Covid-19 lockdown protocols took effect.
It’s the third time since March last year that the brakes were put on the Choo Choo’s rides because of the pandemic.
Passengers usually get to ride this steamer on the last weekend of the month.
Those journeys are possible only through the collective effort of USR’S 25 volunteers and others.
Rides on the Choo Choo are more frequent during holidays and school breaks, with the “Carols by Candlelight” run in December, under starlit skies and Santa dropping in, a big attraction.
A 50km round trip between the Kloof and Inchanga Stations, a run done on one of the country’s oldest operational tracks that were laid by pick and shovel-wielding indentured labourers in the 1870s, is what fare affords passengers.
But the experience sets this joyride apart.
Once the train chugs away from in front of the Stokers Arms Pub and Restaurant at the Kloof Station, stunning views are in abundance throughout the route.
The castle on the grounds of the Camelot Golf Estate is one of the first eye-catching landmarks as the train winds its way past Hillcrest.
Next up is the Botha’s Hill area with its colonial-styled station, which was often ranked number one in the country in years gone by.
Travelling through the Valley of a Thousand Hills is a ride on the edge, as the Choo Choo negotiates tight bends and the undulating terrain, but the scenery is spectacular.
Even a fleeting glimpse of the Inanda Dam is possible.
Passengers usually let out screams of excitement when the coaches are covered in darkness, only for a few seconds, as it drives through the more than 50-metre long, stone-lined tunnel in Drummond.
Plumes of steam and smoke pouring from the smokestack in the engine compartment occur frequently, depending on the track’s gradient, and the Choo Choo’s distinct whistle is never let out without reason.
The turnaround at Inchanga comes after an hour of travel. There, the train makes its customary stop.
A craft market operates only on days when the Choo Choo comes around and affords passengers the opportunity to consider crafted goods on sale. Food stalls and a picnic site are available.
The railway museum in the station master’s house containing various artefacts and other material detailing railway history is another attraction.
Bruce Bennett, who handles bookings and manages the museum and station, said the USR was “keen about steam” and preserving the history of railways.
Bennett said their mission began in 1982 at the Umgeni power station in New Germany and they have since worked closely with heritage and engineering bodies to keep their operations on the right track.
“Eskom donated its locomotives to us, that’s why Umgeni has been included in our name.”
The present line to Inchanga is Transnet-owned and fell into disuse in the 1990s. Ever since the USR moved there in 2006, it has been their responsibility to ensure the track is in running order and safe.
“(Mahatma) Gandhi travelled on this line when he was eventually thrown off the train in Pietermaritzburg (1893) because he sat in a carriage designated ‘for whites only’.
“He would have had lunch at this station (Inchanga). So too would have British statesman, Winston Churchill.
“Churchill was a journalist with the London Times and was travelling through during the Boer War. I read in his autobiography that he was eventually captured in Colenso after the Boers bombed a bridge on the route.
“Churchill’s coach overturned but as he tried to flee, Louis Botha captured him and had him placed in a concentration camp,” Bennett said.
Bennett said previously they ran rail tours around the country, but Transnet no longer allows steam engines on their tracks.
“We have very dedicated volunteers, including youngsters, and we hope to keep this alive for as long as we can,” he said.
Gary Griffith, who turns 80 this month, is one such volunteer. He has been with the USR for 15 years.
“This route has a wow factor with its mixture of city and rural views,” he said.
Griffith, who checks on the well-being of passengers on the coaches he looks after, and encourages them to scream through the Drummond tunnel, has been in love with steam trains from his schoolboy days.
“My passengers and steam engines get my blood pumping,” he said.