train cab ride through mountains outside cape town south africa onboard rovos class 6e1

this is a clip from a longer video onboard a rovos rails class 6e1 going through the mountainous area outside of cape town, this was recorded in the early 1990's

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

[01lawsda]

the top spped on any south african line is around 90kph although i think it has been reduced recently

[Linda69P]

Keep uploading them! Do you know the speed on the flatland?

[01lawsda]

@Linda69P also i have recently added an entire section of the journey fro dal josefaat to cape town and will be adding more soon

[cagorrie]

Keep uploading, great video thanks for sharing it. What is the grade up there ?

[01lawsda]

@cagorrie

unfortunately i don't know exactly, but it is normal in south africa to have relatively extreme grades around those mountains which is why this train in the video may have needed 4 locos for this section, the grades and mountains are also why south african railways are only 3ft6" or narrow gauge for the entire country (apart from gautrain which is a normal european high speed gauge of 4ft6".

[01lawsda]

if anyone wantss the full video, you can fin instructions on how to get it on my other video of this train going into cape town station.

please comment so i know if i should keep uploading

[TheFrankles]

@01lawsda The standard gauge worldwide is 4' 8½'' - and this is true too for Gautrain.

[kloopieful]

I believe the 90 degree cutout tracks are for the rail inspection cars to mount and dismount the tracks, but I'm not positive.

[kloopieful]

Yes, keep uploading until your fingers get sore!!!! Such an unusual perspective, especially for South African trains. Thanks for your efforts.

[82648947]

And what are the structures at 90 degrees to the track, as seen at 3:12 for example?

[82648947]

It amazes me how the driver stays awake.watching the tracks is hypnotic, not to mention soporific! Plenty of open space there, have fond memories of a few journeys from Rhodesia to/from Cape town and Durban.