In 1989 the Sun City Express was introduced by hotel group Sun International in conjunction with SATS (South African Transport Services), to provide a rail service between Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Sun City resort and casino. The service commenced on 11th March that year, running on Saturdays from Johannesburg until March 1992, when it was eventually withdrawn due to declining patronage. The route was Johannesburg - Pretoria - Rustenburg - Heystekrand. A halt with a single platform, named "Sun City", was built alongside the single track Rustenburg - Thabazimbi line where it passes under the R556 road to Sun City. Passengers were bussed from there to the resort, about 10 km away. The platform still exists and is occasionally used by the Blue Train and Rovos Rail. On 16th April 1989 I photographed the train between Irene and Verwoerdburg (now Centurion) on its outward journey to Sun City, worked by class 37 no. 37-044, which was re-geared for higher speed specifically for this service. The locomotive was also painted in a special livery to match the train.
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
