The Namaqualand Railway was a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

railway operating between

Port Nolloth Port Nolloth is a town and seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, northwest of Springbok. It is the seat of the Richtersveld Local Municipality. The port was previously a transshipment point for copper fro ...

and

O'okiep Okiep is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, and was in the 1870s ranked as having the richest copper mine in the world. The town is on the site of a spring that was known in the Khoekhoe language of the Nama people as ''U- ...

in the

Namaqualand Namaqualand ( Khoikhoi: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoi people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River int ...

region of the former Cape Colony in South Africa. It was originally a mule-drawn railway built to provide an outlet for the copper mines of the region. Constructed between 1869 and 1876, the railway was long, with an additional 8 miles purely associated with the copper mine workings. Although owned by the Cape Copper Company, the railway always operated as a public railway.Durrant, A.E., A.A. Jorgensen, C.P. Lewis. Steam in Africa, London, 1981, Hamlyn. The railway pre-dated the construction of railways in South Africa. Because of the success of the Namaqualand line, gauge was strongly promoted by civil engineer R. Thomas Hall, Superintendent of the narrow gauge Redruth and Chacewater Railway in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

who was involved in the construction of the Namaqualand Railway, as the primary gauge for railway construction in South Africa. The final decision was a compromise between the two recommended gauges and the came into existence in Africa.''The South African Railways - Historical Survey''. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 9, 11-13. After copper mining ceased in 1928 the railway was temporarily closed until 1937 when mining activities resumed.IRSociety - Rails to the well
/ref> The Namaqualand Railway finally closed in 1944. Railway to the Ocean

Locomotives

* Namaqualand 0-4-0WT Condenser * Namaqualand 0-4-2IST Caledonia * Namaqualand 0-4-2ST Pioneer * Namaqualand 0-4-2T Britannia * Namaqualand 0-6-0T 1871 * Namaqualand 0-6-2 Clara Class * Namaqualand 0-6-2 Scotia Class

References

{{reflist 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in South Africa Transport in the Northern Cape