MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Several Mossel Bay locals and visitors to the area spent their Day of Reconciliation this week aboard a steam train, travelling from Hartenbos to Great Brak River.
On Tuesday 16 December, several excited passengers boarded the train known as Jenny at the Hartenbos Train Station.
The first trip of the day began at 09:00, followed by two more scheduled for 12:00 and 15:00.
Sisters Marina Selvy and Petra Swart were incredibly excited for their first trip aboard Jenny.
They told Mossel Bay Advertiser that Swart's husband had worked on a steam train several years ago when it was first operational at the station. "He had the best memories," she said.
The Van Rensburg family decided to visit the Hartenbos Train Station ahead of their trip scheduled for Saturday 20 December.
"It'll be the experience of a lifetime for my children," said dad Johan.
Firemen Ettienne Wolmerans and Richard Faithfull are responsible for feeding coal into the train's steam boiler before it departs.
The Southern Cape Railway and the Jenny steam train was revived by Mossel Bay brothers Sean, Kevin and Graeme Ekström in 2023 following several years of negotiations with Transnet and other stakeholders.
Their late father, Errol, had operated a steam-hauled tourist train in the Mossel Bay region in 1989, but due to a decline in rail traffic and infrastructure in South Africa, the business slowed down significantly.
Sean previously told the Advertiser their passion for trains, which they shared with their father, was what led to their decision to restore this steam train and offer trips from Hartenbos to Great Brak River along the Southern Cape Railway.
Jenny's next operating day will be on Saturday 20 December for three trips at 09:00, 12:00 and 15:00.
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