Contact Artefacts
please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.

NZASM Eastern Line Bridge over the Apies River
Tshwane (Pretoria), Gauteng

NZASM: Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij: Architect
Johannes Marte MANTE: Contractor
Date:1894
Client:NZASM
Type:Railway Bridge
Style:Industrial Archaeology
Status:Ruin

Given out on tender to the contractor JM MANTE as part of the section of line from Pretoria Station to the east bank of the Apies River (DJ &H, 1987: 116). Its remains are of the most publicly visible of the old Oosterlijn infrastructure. The bridge comprised to sandstone abutments carrying a single plate girder span of 15m. A unique aspect was that the line it carried had a curvature of 200m to guide the trains from the valley into the station. It was shelled by the British on 4 June 1900 - without success - when Pretoria was taken. In 1914 the girders were replaced with heavier steel. In 1960 it was replaced by a three-span concrete bridge. With the traffic-improvement scheme for Fountains Valley in 1984 the eastern abutment and girders were finally removed. The western abutment remains as reminder of a once proud heritage.


Books that reference NZASM Eastern Line Bridge over the Apies River

De Jong, RC, Van der Waal, GM & Heydenrych, DH. 1988. NZASM 100 : 1887-1899, the buildings, steam engines and structures of the Netherlands South African Railway Company. Pretoria: C. Van Rensburg Publications on behalf of the Human Sciences Research Council. pg 116, 151