West Coast railway service road riding

[lechatnoir]

Title says it all really. I'm going to be up there from December and wondering about riding that road along the railway.

 

anyone have any ideas? permission, access etc. I literally have no idea

[JohanDiv]

Title says it all really. I'm going to be up there from December and wondering about riding that road along the railway.

 

anyone have any ideas? permission, access etc. I literally have no idea

 

Not sure about on a bicycle, but they stopped me in my bakkie the other day from using the section between Lamberts and Elands..

[Duane_Bosch]

Short story you need a permit to be on those roads. They are on private property. I've been going up to Elands and Lamberts and as far up as Doringbaai to surf since 1988 and you've always needed to have a permit. Sometimes you get lucky but sometimes you don't

 

There's 3 sections of railway road between dwarskersbos and Elands. They are all gated. Most of the time the gates are open.

 

Sometimes the railway okes are working on the lines. They have stopped me before and asked me for my permit which I did not have. I was apologetic and they told me to get off the road at the next intersection. I got the feeling they were more annoyed at the amount of dust my bakkie was making rather than me illegally being on the road.

 

The section between Elands and Lamberts is a bit of a grey area. Civilians do use the road but there's a "tollgate" on the road.

 

Having said all of that I've never heard of anyone being arrested or anything like that. Just be friendly and apologetic if stopped.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Duane_Bosch

[Duane_Bosch]

duplicate 

Edited October 12, 2020 by Duane_Bosch

[Shebeen]

Title says it all really. I'm going to be up there from December and wondering about riding that road along the railway.

 

anyone have any ideas? permission, access etc. I literally have no idea

you mean the transnet freight railroad that ends in bitterfontein

https://sites.google.com/site/soulorailway/home/system-1/cape-town-kraaifontein-malmesbury-bitterfontein

 

or the Sishen-saldanha iron ore line that can be virtually explored by visiting this legendary page?

 

http://johannrissik.blogspot.com/2008/10/sishen-saldanha-ride-i-am-sharing-this.html

[FirstV8]

What a great read and what an adventure that was .The second link http://johannrissik.blogspot.com/2008/10/sishen-saldanha-ride-i-am-sharing-this.html.. Reminded me of my travels  by train in the late 60s.( as a teenager ) to many cycling events . My dad would book the ticket return and i would either leave from Germistn  or Park Station . I would have my bike with wheels  and pedals off wrapped in a hand made bag covered on the inside with  grey horse blanket . My single back pack was for clothing and my meal pack .( Too expensive to eat dinner and breakfast ) and i also didn't want to leave my bike out of my sight .The compartments were a six bed unit so my bike was always on the top bunk . . On arrival   i would assemble my bike and ride to the peoples home i was invited to stay with . The bike bag rolled up small enough enough to not  hinder me on the short ride .I have wanted to do a  trip like that since young but life , four sons and business got in the way . Im recovering from a hip replacement i had 4 weeks ago and when i mentioned this story and my wish to do it  i was told in no uncertain terms ( i cant repeat her words ) its out of the question at my age now . . So ill just dream on . 

 

 

 

 

[Breezer]

From Doornbaai going North you wont need a permit. We ride that road regularly. I know that they can be difficult between elandsbaai and Lambertsbaai. During December the part between Doornbaai and Lambertsbaai is also guarded. That part they do not worry to much about cyclist, but we did once get a over eager guard that did not want us to pass. We cycled the part between Vredendal and the bridge over the N 7 the past weekend, but recent rain caused flooding and the road is in a real bad condition.

[Breezer]

Title says it all really. I'm going to be up there from December and wondering about riding that road along the railway.

 

anyone have any ideas? permission, access etc. I literally have no idea

Were will you be exactly, if you are in Stranfontein, Vredendal area contact me, I can show you some more routes. Edited October 12, 2020 by Breezer

[tubed]

A few weeks ago I did the stretch from Upington/ Kenhardt to Saldahna.

 

Bicycles are welcomed the entire route.

 

Enjoy it.

 

* edit: sounded like a grumpy sergeant, just do it and enjoy it. 

Edited October 13, 2020 by tubed

[tubed]

Were will you be exactly, if you are in Stranfontein, Vredendal area contact me, I can show you some more routes.

 

that's a lekker part of the world Breezer

[Shebeen]

What a great read and what an adventure that was .The second link http://johannrissik.blogspot.com/2008/10/sishen-saldanha-ride-i-am-sharing-this.html.. Reminded me of my travels  by train in the late 60s.( as a teenager ) to many cycling events . My dad would book the ticket return and i would either leave from Germistn  or Park Station . I would have my bike with wheels  and pedals off wrapped in a hand made bag covered on the inside with  grey horse blanket . My single back pack was for clothing and my meal pack .( Too expensive to eat dinner and breakfast ) and i also didn't want to leave my bike out of my sight .The compartments were a six bed unit so my bike was always on the top bunk . . On arrival   i would assemble my bike and ride to the peoples home i was invited to stay with . The bike bag rolled up small enough enough to not  hinder me on the short ride .I have wanted to do a  trip like that since young but life , four sons and business got in the way . Im recovering from a hip replacement i had 4 weeks ago and when i mentioned this story and my wish to do it  i was told in no uncertain terms ( i cant repeat her words ) its out of the question at my age now . . So ill just dream on .

 

You can do it for sure.bike touring options are growing

[PygaSchmyga]

Short story you need a permit to be on those roads. They are on private property. I've been going up to Elands and Lamberts and as far up as Doringbaai to surf since 1988 and you've always needed to have a permit. Sometimes you get lucky but sometimes you don't

 

There's 3 sections of railway road between dwarskersbos and Elands. They are all gated. Most of the time the gates are open.

 

Sometimes the railway okes are working on the lines. They have stopped me before and asked me for my permit which I did not have. I was apologetic and they told me to get off the road at the next intersection. I got the feeling they were more annoyed at the amount of dust my bakkie was making rather than me illegally being on the road.

 

The section between Elands and Lamberts is a bit of a grey area. Civilians do use the road but there's a "tollgate" on the road.

 

Having said all of that I've never heard of anyone being arrested or anything like that. Just be friendly and apologetic if stopped.

where do you get the permits from?

[Duane_Bosch]

where do you get the permits from?

As far as I know you have to be a land owner with property along the railway line to get a permit. I'm talking specifically about the road between Dwarskersbos and Elands. I know nothing about the rest of the line.

 

There was always a dirt road but it's been tarred and is perfectly good these days so there's no need to use the railway road anyway. Back in the day we'd use the railway road because it was a more direct route to elands and was typically in better condition than the public road. The last time we went up there they were busy resurfacing the tar road. That was July iirc.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Duane_Bosch

[Breezer]

I just drove from Lambertsbaai to Elandsbaai with the bakkie and all the toll booths are gone. Went straight through with no stops.