| Natal Railway Company | |
|---|---|
The Natal arriving at Point Station, 26 June 1860 |
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| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
| Old gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Natal Railway Company was formed in January 1859[1] for the construction of a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) railway in Durban.
Unlike later railways in South Africa, the Natal Railway Company made use of Standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) rather than Cape gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in).[2]
The railway's first steam locomotive, the 0-4-0WT Natal started operations on 26 June 1860. Up until that time the railway had been operated using ox-drawn wagons. The inaugural run was across a 2 mi (3.2 km) stretch from Market Square in Durban to the newly built Point station at Durban harbour.[3]
Alexander McArthur, the mayor of Durban described the new line in a letter to Sir George Grey.
| “ | We have some satisfaction in pointing also to the line of railway connecting the town and port, the first that has been brought into actual operation in South Africa. Its importance must not be measured by its length; for, short as it is, it has already, during its existence of a few weeks, been of essential service in expediting the traffic between the only port of our Colony and the interior. It is, besides, only the beginning of other lines which we hope soon to see inaugurated, and which will tend to carry ideas of English power and civilisation into the very strongholds of native ignorance and barbarism. | ” |
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—Alexander McArthur, Mayor of Durban, [4] |
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The Natal Railway’s initial rolling stock consisted of six wagons, two travelling cranes and one passenger coach. By 25 January 1867 the line had been extended a further 3.5 mi (5.6 km) to Umgeni, from where stone, quarried from the Umgeni River, was transported to the harbour.[5]
The Natal remained in service for fifteen years, until the Natal Government decided in 1875 to convert the railways to 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge in conformance with the railways in the Cape Province.[3] The Natal Railway Company was bought by the Natal Government Railways in 1877 for the price of 40 000 pounds.[2][6][7]