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1835
First meeting of the Preliminary Committee of the "Cape of Good Hope Western Railway" with Harrison Watson, prominent Cape banker as chairman.
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1850
Milne's wooden track oxen-powered railway between the Bluff and the Harbour, Port Natal, the forerunner of the railway in Africa.
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1851
Estimates for the construction of the Cape Town-Wellington railway submitted by the Cape Government, with a cost of 500 000 pounds and a guarantee of six percent interest per annum. The estimate was prepared by Sir Charles Fox, the eminent railway engineer.
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1853 August 21
Cape Town Railway and Dock company formed.
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1859 January
Natal Railway Company formed.
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1859 March 31
Turning of first sod Cape Town – Wellington railway.
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1860 June 26
Opening of the first railway line in South Africa - Point to Durban.
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1862 February 13
Opening of railway from Cape Town to Eerste River.
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1862 May 1
Opening of railway from Eerste River to Stellenbosch
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1863 November 4
Opening of railway from Stellenbosch to Wellington (Cape Town to Wellington)
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1864 December 19
Opening of railway from Salt River to Wynberg.
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1867 April 4
Opening of railway from Durban to Umgeni.
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1873 January 1
Transfer of the Cape Town – Wellington Railway to Government and leasing of Salt River - Wynberg Railway to Government.
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1876 January 1
First sod of Durban – Pietermaritzburg railway line turned.
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1876 June 16
Cape main-line extension to Worcester opened.
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1877 May 1
Line opened from East London to King William’s Town.
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1879 August 26
Port Elizabeth railway reached Graaff-Reinet.
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1880 February 5
Line from Worcester to Beaufort West opened.
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1880 May 5
East London railway reached Queenstown (Old Cape Eastern main-line).
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1880 December 1
Natal railway reached Pietermartizburg.
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1881 June 1
Line from Port Elizabeth to Cradock opened.
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1882 April
Electric lighting introduced on African Continent by Cape Government Railways at Table Bay Harbour.
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1884 March 31
Cape Town and Port Elizabeth Railway linked up at De Aar.
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1884 November 3
Cape railway reached Orange river from De Aar.
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1885 September 2
East London railway reached Aliwal North.
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1885 November
De Aar – Kimberley railway line opened.
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1886 June 21
Line from Pietermaritzburg to Ladysmith, Natal opened.
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1887 June 21
Establishment of the Netherlands South African Railway Company (Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij (NZASM)).
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1888
Electric lighting of trains introduced by Cape Government Railways.
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1890
Johannesburg Station laid out by Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij, then known as ‘Park Halt’.
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1890 March 17
First railway in Transvaal between Johannesburg and Boksburg, known as ‘Rand Tram’, subsequently extended to Springs and Krugersdorp.
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1891 April 7
Natal main-line opened as far as Charlestown.
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1891 July 1
Line between Portuguese Border and Komatipoort opened.
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1892 September 15
Arrival of the first train at Johannesburg from Cape Town, via Bloemfontein.
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1894 October 20
Railway from Delagoa Bay (Maputo) reached Pretoria.
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1896 January 2
Opening of complete service between Johannesburg and Durban.
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1896 February 19
Braamfontein Station Dynamite explosion.
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1897 November 4
Formal opening of the railway to Bulawayo from Cape Town .
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1897 November 4
Formal opening of the railway to Bulawayo from Cape Town .