A view over the city of Johannesburg (also known as Jo'burg, Jozi or Egoli) on a springtime afternoon, with the sky darkened by an approaching thunderstorm. In the foreground is the Braamfontein North Passenger Yard, where PRASA (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa) long distance passenger trains are made up and serviced. These days it looks more like a storage yard, with curtailed train services the order of the day, largely due to a fleet of equipment that has hardly seen any new additions in many years. The majority of the passenger coaches are in the "Shosholoza Meyl" livery, but some of the purple Premier Classe equipment can also be seen. The brick building in the foreground is for train crews, with roster offices and restrooms. A class 36 GE type SG10B diesel shunter in orange Spoornet livery is visible just to the left of this building.
The railway tracks are spanned by the Nelson Mandela Bridge, a relatively new addition to the Johannesburg skyline opened in 2003, but which has already gained iconic status, with a 248m span that is lit up at night. Some other landmarks are 1) the PRASA catering department depot on the left (with the "No Condom. No Sex" advertising banner), which services dining cars for long-distance trains; 2) the Johannesburg Park station just visible behind the green Castle Lite beer advertising board; 3) the 50-floor Carlton Centre, headquarters of Transnet and tallest building in the city; 4) the eTV building on the extreme right, eTV being a free-to-air commercial TV station. The building was formerly the headquarters of the Standard Bank of South Africa.
Rare South African photographs (older and newer) on RailPictures.Net, where the potential to recreate them either no longer exists for any number of reasons, or the chances of another opportunity are very slim or non existent!
