Ceres Rail, Cape Town, South Africa.
‘Come with me Ma’am, the driver would like to speak to you.’
Not something that you ever want to hear on a journey. But the train conductor was smiling as my eyes wandered up nervously to meet his gaze.
I love trains, we all do in my family. We had boarded ‘Jessica’ in Cape Town, where she was parked in all her glory beneath the prominent stature of Table Mountain. Our plan was to ride to Ceres and back, a small town at the foot of the Groot Winderhook Winderness Area. I had spent most of the journey there fixated to the landscape out of the window, spotting elegant giraffe as they strutted in the distance, or chatting away to the sweet conductor, who was now restoring the old steam trains with Ceres Rail Company.
The train had been puffing her way home along the Boontjiesrivier river, which flowed effortlessly on the rocky bed along the base of the rising green hills. That was when the conductor had approached with such formality. Legal papers were thrust under my nose, I read the top. ‘Permission For Access to the Footplate’, it read. My heart raced.
The steam train grinded to a halt at Tulbagh and I was escorted along the empty platform to the front of the train. A soot smeared man in a scruffy polo shirt chuckled cheekily as I tied back my hair and clambered up, my white trousers and green laced top not quite the right ensemble for my next class of travel. The plate was smoky. The air was thick with engine oil and elbow grease and there was barely room to breathe on the tightly packed floor.
With a blast of a whistle from somewhere behind, spades of shadowy black coal were heaved, dials were spun, levers were pulled and with a heavy, grunting puff, the wheels rolled. Slow but steady my weight shifted back as the lethargic beauty shunted forwards.
"...with a heavy, grunting puff, the wheels rolled."
As Jessica chugged tirelessly along the narrow tracks, the scenery shifted and new worlds were slowly uncovered. Opaque cloudy smoke bellowed from the chimney which blurred the evolution from the refined stately vineyards into the vast plains of the green Western Cape. Brightly painted shanti-towns began to fil in the gaps like a patchwork quilt and energetic children played ball games barefoot just beyond the active tracks. The intense heat of the engine burned the tips of my hair on the back of my head while the rush of the passing air cooled my face. It was intense, It was exhilarating.
I felt like a little girl again, chasing a Hornby train around its track, but this time it was through the most spectacular scenery which money you couldn’t buy. That’s when the driver turned to me, a smile grew in the corner of his otherwise intense face and he gestured up at the taught black string dangling above his head. I stretched up and with his nod I pulled it. “TOOOOOOOOT, TOOOOOOOT”. Every child’s dream had just been fulfilled. I only wish a 10 year old me could’ve been there to see it.
How To's
We booked the daytrip to Ceres and back with Ceres Rail Company online at https://www.ceresrail.co.za/. The excursion lasted the whole day, and included an hour for lunch at Ceres Golf Course. The destinations change so keep an eye on the website, but the trips cost roughly R800 (£37) per person. We boarded the train in De Waterkant, where the train parked next to a very quiet road in the industrial area. If you are unhappy about leaving a car unattended on the road here, it may be worth taking a taxi or possibly parking at the Victoria & Albert Waterfront (8-10 hours parking is R70 (£3)- June 2020 ).
We paused for lunch at Ceres golf club (https://ceresgolfclub.com/). It was a pre-set group buffet organised by the train company. Any dietary requirements were made at the time of booking and they catered for all. We ate inside the clubhouse and then were able to go and sit outside for drinks after, before the train departed again.
I met two other visitors who were able to stand on the footplate as it was a special occasion for them. I am not sure how to book this, but I know that similar experiences are available with steam train companies across the UK and abroad. It may be worth letting them know it is a special occasion.
Top Tips
Arrive early and take your camera! The scenery is spectacular, so make sure you have your camera fully charged up. The train won't leave until the allotted time and once everyone has arrived, allowing you to walk alongside and take some great shots of it in front of Tabble Mountain. You also stop at a few stations en-route so that you can get out and take photos of the train itself. Feel free to go and see the driver at these stops too.
Go for an onboard walk. The train is made up of many carriages, so it is worth taking some time to explore each of them and see how different classes of people used to travel on the magnificent machines. There is a fabulous food and drinks carriage where you can buy most drinks (alcoholic, soft and hot) as well as light snacks, so you shouldn’t need much extra food either. The golf course buffet in Ceres is filling and we were back in Cape Town just in time for dinner.
Download an offline map. It is great fun being able to follow your route on a map and it will also help you work out where you actually are. I use CityMaps2Go (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/citymaps2go-offline-map/id408866084) , which is fantastic as it doesn't require any internet so it won't use up your precious data while you search along the route. If you can get one which also moves with your GPS position, that would be even better!
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