Class 36 await CTC Clearance Montegue Gardens

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

With very gray skies 36 003 and 36 017 wait for home signal WNM 4054 (Windermere) to give back on to CTC for Cape Town. Does anyone know what GVB stands for in the last photo.

[Luca Lategan]

GVB: Gesentraliseerde Verkeersbeheer
CTC: Centralised Traffic Control

[Steve Appleton]

Correct, Luca. Indicates the entry point into a CTC area. Before that, the train would have been controlled by some other system. In the opposite direction there would most likely be a sign reading (in English) "End CTC" or similar. A section requiring the possesion of a token, such as the branch to Cullinan, has the sign "Token - Teken" in English and Afrikaans as you leave the CTC-controlled main line.

[Luca Lategan]

At Muldersvlei (Start of Stellenbosch loop) there is a very rusted sign reading, "BEGIN VAN TEKEN TRAJEK - BEGINNING OF TOKEN SECTION", there's also a sign indicating the end in the opposite direction, but that's even more rusted so can't remember the exact wording.

The region where Stefan took that picture is all CTC, maybe it's just the start of one CTC section and the end of another or maybe this photo was taken with the train coming from the Milnerton sidings or the harbour that uses other means of train control. Stefan?

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

No Luca . This was taken on the Montegue Gardens line to Atlantis. This is the first signal before this line joins the Main Lin at Winderemere. SO I take it that this is the start of CTC. There are no more signals down the line towards MG.

[Luca Lategan]

I see, is the Caltex refinery on this line? What train control is used here, radio? Is there even any crossing place between junction and Atlantis?

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

That is the Montegue Gardens , Refinery line that goes through to Atlantis. I always see one train waiting at the double line at the end of the CTC for the other train to come out. It seems that only one train is allowed on that sector. I don't know how often they run down to Atlantis. The line is mainly used for PPC , Containers and the refinery. From what I see they run about 7 trains a day. The first goes through at 7am. The next at 8.30am. If the wind is a slight SW I can hear the 36's beating away 2am. The above photos were taken at 13h30. The next train runs in there at 15h00 and leaves at 16h00 or just after. That 16h00 sometimes has to wait a while as the Main Line at Winderemere is busy that time of the day.

[Gabor Kovacs]

No Luca . This was taken on the Montegue Gardens line to Atlantis. This is the first signal before this line joins the Main Lin at Winderemere. SO I take it that this is the start of CTC. There are no more signals down the line towards MG.

Stephan, when I did some firing duties for the then "Spier Train" , out of CT station (courtesy of Ian Pretorius) with the Friday late afternoon trips up the goods-line to Milnerton beach front, where the train would then be stopped to view the sunset. The steam trip would then depart Milnerton and head to Champet. via Winderemere Junction.

I seem to remember that the Winderemere - Atlantis section is controlled with radio telegraph orders from either Saldanha or Atlantis. After running round the PAX load at Champet, which by the way, is just and interloop with a siding branching off to the industrial area adjacent to Montegue Gardens, the steam train would return to Cape Town (Monument) Station, again via Winderemere Junction and the mainline to CT.

[Luca Lategan]

Joh Stefan, looks like the Atlantis line sees more traffic than Germiston goods!

Very interesting, Thanks for the info :)

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

Gabor I could not tell you where its controlled from, but I do know that CTC ends where the line goes single. The signal in that photo is the last on that line. That loop is to get the 36's to the front and the caboose (yes they use one on that line) to the back. I don't know if there are any more loops from there to Atlantis. I don't know why that Spier train did not go all the way to Atlantis. It would have been a great run.By the way there was an article in our local "Table Talk" newspaper about the squatters stealing railway sleepers on that line near Dunoon. The buggers are getting R350.00 per sleeper. They have had to replace 12. I hope they put concrete down.
Luca that cement factory keeps them busy. They link up with the PPC near Piketberg. They bring down the ash or something for the cement. Process it and then send it out again.

[Luca Lategan]

There's been a Metro service to Atlantis for ages on the cards now, but still, nothing... I see the Rapid Bus system has a route to Atlantis, maybe that's going to be a cheaper option

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

In 2004 they promised us by 2008 there would be a passenger service to Atlantis. They were going to Electrify the line and add stations along the way. If you look at the road map of Cape Town they have Century City and Chempet marked as stations already. When I inquired about it at Metro I was told that there was not enough rolling stock and that line from the CTC to Cape Town was running to capacity at peak hour already. One train every 15 minutes plus the odd freight train and light engine does not seem like capacity to me. When I stayed in the Southern Suburbs in the 80's and trained into town each morning, the trains ran at two minute intervals from 7 to 8 am. Those signal hardy saw green. It was red and orange mostly, but we still got to town timeously. They had just introduced CTC then.

[Luca Lategan]

Perhaps now that Century City is getting a station at Windmere the chances of or pressure on the Prasation of the Atlantis line is even less. Metro in 2004 is very different from Metro today, maybe after Cape Town station's upgrading is complete and Platform limitations are out of the way this will receive some attention. Nothing is mentioned about the Atlantis line in the 2007/2008 annual report although only five out of 10 perway projects was attended to.