RailPictures.Net Photo: 18 505, 18 002, 18 674, 18 678 Transnet Freight Rail Class 18E at district of Newcastle, kwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa by Eugene Armer
The double track Durban - Johannesburg main line crosses the Drakensberg mountains from kwaZulu-Natal into Mpumalanga province by way of the Majuba pass, over a distance of 37 km (23 miles). The ruling gradient is 1 in 66 (1.5%) with 800 meter (875 yard) minimum radius curves, three twin-bore tunnels and six bridges. At the bottom of the climb up the pass, four 18E's are crossing an unnamed tributary of the Harte River with their train of type CAR empties, most likely from Cato Ridge, returning to the manganese mines in the Northern Cape. The blue loco is 18 002, the second of the first series of 18E rebuilds.
