Page 77 - Bulletin 17 2013

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North Peninsula

th
19 Century Tourist Railways and Aerial Ropeways

Ideas for ways of ascending the mountain, other than by foot, had been around for a long

time. In August 1872 The Cape Argus published a letter from “W. V.” proposing that a
balloon, tethered to a cable running up Platteklip Gorge, might take four people at a time to

the top of Table Mountain to spend a day enjoying the scenery and healthy air. For the

descent, instead of releasing gas, the craft would be winched down using a second cable and
the process could then be repeated over and over. Meteorological observations en route

would add a scientific justification while a hotel on top would augment attractions there.

Reference was made to other innovations for ascending mountains as practised in
Switzerland. In 1882 the same correspondent returned to the subject and described the zig-

zag rack-railway ascending Mt. Rigi in Switzerland, and the funiculars ascending Vesuvius
and the Niagara escarpment. He recommended consideration of a funicular for Table

Mountain.

Some years later, in October 1889, The Cape Argus provided further technical details on the

Rigi rack-railway. This was the first rack-railway in Europe, built in 1871, and ascended to
the top of Mt. Rigi at 1,798 m. The next month a group of influential Capetonians (among

them Messrs. Col. Schermbrucker, John Garlick, A. C. Fuller, Wiener, Myburgh, Wilman, J.
B. Ross, E. Powell and Mair) formed a preliminary syndicate for the purpose of investigating

various systems, and ultimately founding a public Company. Capt. Van de Ven, one of the
leading members, advocated a funicular system and estimated it would cost less than £20,000

to construct. Almost immediately, early in 1890, the Sea Point Debating Society (at a meeting

attended by nine members) debated a motion that the railway was undesirable. Risks to
passengers, destruction of mountain beauty, short-term novelty, and probable financial non-

viability were argued to count against it. The motion was carried by three votes.

Nevertheless, in December 1891 the Table Mountain Railway Syndicate was formally

established and engineer, Mr R. Mitchell, was appointed at a fee of 300 Guineas to survey the
Platteklip Gorge route, and report. This he did in January 1892, emphasising that “ …. there

are no more than ordinary engineering difficulties in the way of making the railway ….” He
proposed that the railway should start from the end of the existing tram system along Mill