Coach design of 19th Century
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The period after the discovery of gold was characterised by bitter conflict between British imperialism and nationalist resistance, supported by Portuguese interest in a competing railway between Transvaal and Delgoa Bay (now known as Maputo). This culminated in a war that broke out in 1899 which ended three years later with the defeat of the two republics. The four colonies were gathered into a loose union under British control. Disputes and other problems relating to agriculture, labour, racial conflicts, etc. led politicians to acknowledge that South Africa was an inseparable economic entity. Union was achieved in 1910. Railways and harbours were used to unify and develop the country for the benefit of its people. Rail developed rapidly resulting in more than 11,000 km track for both commuter and freight use nationally by 1910.
Coach design of the 19th century was simple. The complete wooden Durban coach had six windows with stagecoach like seats. The seats at either end of the coach were regarded as "second class" because it only allowed a single-direction view, while the seats in the middle were regarded as "first class" due to its superior bi-directional view. The outer design of the carriage was "boxy" and not streamlined. During most of the 20th century the "boxy" design for the commuter rail coaches was common.
Development and enhancement of passenger commuter trains focused mainly on the engineering and types of traction power. The first method of traction was mainly steam-driven engines that later changed to diesel and later to electrical traction. Rail services were provided by "fast" engines pulling coaches in a similar fashion to horse carts. This paradigm changed during the late 40's.
While passenger commuter rail design engineers focused on the traction power and associated technology, a new entity called "the rail car" was designed for exclusive use on "branch lines". This "rail car" was the official forerunner to the motor coach. The "rail car" also served as the core design theme for tram services that augmented public transport in Johannesburg until the late 60's.
Electrical traction was introduced into the rail environment during 1928 in the Cape suburban area. In 1937 electrical traction was introduced on the Rand (currently the greater Gauteng area including Pretoria and Johannesburg WITS regions).
The term "motorised train" was introduced in the early 30's when the "engine" became an integral part of the train. The term "M" was later adopted to describe these motorised trains. One of the advantages of the "electrical integration" within the entire train was to provide electrical lighting in all the coaches.
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Formation of SARCC
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Prior to April 1990, commuter rail services were provided by the South African Railways and Harbours, then South African Transport Services (SATS) and its predecessor, the South African Railways and Harbours, (SAR & H), both of them fully State-owned and State controlled entities (see illustration below). On 1 April 1990, SATS transferred its functions to a newly formed public company called as Transnet, with various main business undertakings such as Spoornet, Portnet and the South African Airways (SAA). Read More...
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