The Estcourt to Weenen railway line opened in 1906 and closed in 1983. The line runs out of Escourt along the old main road and then swings north along the ridge running through several farms like Slievyre. The old line then enters the Weenen Nature Reserve, followed by a steep descent into Weenen. This line was an important means of transporting the agricultural produce from the 3000 acres of irrigated farmland to markets. The introduction of road transport was the death knell for this line which despite attempts to save it for tourism closed in 1983. This album has images of what remains of the start and end points and of the remains of the line and structures along the way. Little evidence remains but one can still walk along the old track (devoid of rails and ballast) and access many of the old structures all of which remain in the reserve. The most striking features are the Tierkloof sandstone arch bridge, and two substantial metal bridges over which the game drives traverse. Many different locomotives operated on this line , like Class NG/G11 loco No:55 which is now at the Ixopo Paton County Railway, and NG/G13 no: 77 "Liliputian", much of them driven by Billy Bester, who spent 21 years as a driver on this line. The toatal distance of this line which became to be called the Cabbage Express is 46km starting at 1167m in Estcourt, rising to 1213 at at Haviland, a watering point and then descending through the reserve to Weenen at 866m.(Bruno Martin : Remembering The Estcourt - Weenen Line ")
