Article on destruction of dining car, Protea

[Steve Appleton]

Paul Ash has written a good article on the destruction of the dining car "Protea" at Salt River on his blog, located here:
http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/wanderer/20 ... ining-car/

[Mike Haslam]

Was this one of those we tried to obtain from them for preservation, the one Steve S visited and took photos some years ago. The one where our requests were considered but there was no way to get it from CT to Pta without a lot of expense?

Turtle

[Dylan Knott]

Glad you even received a response! We never received any feedback and the items we wanted are not even worthwhile applying for now.

I know we will receive a response of "but there are a few dining cars on display at George", however these are not as historically significant as Protea!

Another #234 stands at Bellville minus her side panels. Some idiot has even started ripping out the seating. All this within sight of a security guard, but one thats responsible for SASOL and not TFR!

[Steve Appleton]

I think so. Whether the one pictured is the exact same diner I am not sure, but the one Steve photographed was definately one of those stored at Salt River. It had been moved out into the open from the relative safety of the shed and was already being vanadalised, but was still salvagable at that time. If only we could have found a way to get it up to FOTR!

[Steve Appleton]

There was a discussion back in June 2008 on this very same dining car on the Forum here:
http://www.friendsoftherail.com/phpBB2/ ... dining+car

[Dylan Knott]

There are only two Diners there nos. 214 and 219. 219 still has bearings so could be moved.

Nothing can be shunted into the shed as the tracks inside have been tarred over and shed is leased to some packing company. This effectively maroons the other 10 or so coaches!

697, 4337, 214, 796, 797, 214, 276 are on the only siding still connected to the headshunt so could be removed with little effort. Of these all except 4337 are probably restorable.

[Brendon Anderson]

Glad you even received a response! We never received any feedback and the items we wanted are not even worthwhile applying for now.

I know we will receive a response of "but there are a few dining cars on display at George", however these are not as historically significant as Protea!

Another #234 stands at Bellville minus her side panels. Some idiot has even started ripping out the seating. All this within sight of a security guard, but one thats responsible for SASOL and not TFR!

USR has got a sister diner to 234 mentioned above. 233 "Mooi" is at Masons Mill in fairly regular use on the Maritzburg ti Nottingham Road trips. Also 232 "Umvoti" previously at Hilton is now with Rovos Rail. (I think!)

[Brendon Anderson]

Ashley Peter sent out this news regarding the Salt River coaches. What a sad state of affairs, and quite frankly the "officials" from Transnet that allowed this should be charged for negligence and dereliction of duty..

"I wonder how many of you who were appalled at the condition of historical dining car “Protea” at Salt River in Cape Town are aware that also amongst this “wreckage” that is now all that remains of a considerable part of the “museum collection”, is the once-proud pristine dining car “Tugela” and her kitchen car, which were previously lovingly cared for by the Natal Parks Board’s Midmar Historical Village. All the rolling stock from here was removed for “safekeeping” by the Railway Museum, but now lies dumped and abandoned to the elements outside Salt River workshops! Presumably the sleeping coach and guard’s van have met with the same fate…

Regards

Ashley"

[Dylan Knott]

Do you have the numbers of the coaches that were at Midmar?

[Brendon Anderson]

Do you have the numbers of the coaches that were at Midmar?

Tugela is 214 and her kitchen car was 268.