Back through a tunnel of time.
Railway journeys lend themselves to monochrome images.
I did not realize just how many tunnels there were on the line
through KZN..
Movement 1
Only the final part of the journey (7 minutes) uses steam.
This is because water and coal are not available along the main rail routes anymore.
A misty Midlands morning.
Lots of seemingly abandoned buildings alongside the tracks.
Signal time…
Early morning heading away from Ladysmith, KZN
These water tanks now stand abandoned and empty.
A quiet salute to a past era…
From the inside looking out.
Inside the passage of one of the carriages on the Rovos Rail
“The Pride of Africa”.
Surely one of the most luxurious trains in the world.
No sharing of shower facilities.
Each suite has its own…and some even have a bath!
Dining in luxury…
Proper cutlery and crockery and old school service.
A great place to meet before or after meals.
Or to just sit and enjoy the passing scenery.
The Ladysmith Station ticket office.
I have to admit that I have “doctored” this image.
The stained glass insert is from the front door of the guest house that we stayed at while in Durban.
I doubt that it would have lasted for 100 years if it was actually here.
Not quite straight.
And old fashioned platform lamp-pole,
with one working modern globe.
Does baggage still get weighed>
Mops drying in the cool morning air.
Standing forlorn and discarded?
I hope not.
The tunnel that lead from our platform to the main street in front of the station building.
There was a locked gate that denied me access to the main platform.
Just one of many dilapidated building begging for renovation.
A guest house in the making perhaps?
An observation balcony where passengers can relax and watch South Africa
as it passes by.
The Pretoria/Durban/Pretoria journeys have now closed for the year.
However Rovos offers several other options for both local and international visitors.
Use their official website to check for journeys, times and prices.
All images on this Blog posting were shot with
the Pentax K1
supplied by
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