 |
Mount Alida Branch LineThis 45 km branch line runs from a junction at Chailey, 5
km
west of Greytown from where it is operated. The branch was
opened in 1931 and was constructed mainly to serve the
forestry industry. In those days a significant portion of
traffic consisted of mine props and wattle bark for the
tannery at Dalton.
The branch has a 1 in 50 gradient on the climb to Mount
Alida, and the curvature is not as severe as on the
Kranskop line. Train loads for these reasons are 790 tons
for a single Class 35 diesel, and most trains are run with
two or four such locos operated from Greytown. In general
practice, a train from Pietermaritzburg will arrive at
Greytown and the locos will detach. Then, depending on
traffic requirements, they will run in combinations of
two or four units to Kranskop and return, and then onto
Mount Alida before returning to home base.
Traffic has been growing on this line, and in 2002/2003
about 53,000 tons of forestry traffic came from seven
loading points. During the 2005/2006 year traffic
had
grown to over 66,000 tons. If rail can increase its
share of the total available traffic, this will continue
to grow.
Mt Alida branch line
|
For Details of
Volumes and Commodities Received
and Forwarded [Table 6]CLICK HERE
|
|
