Page 91 - Bulletin 17

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In his final report of June 1913 Mr Peter laid out a comparison between a rack-railway from

Kloof Nek via Fountain Ravine to the Central Table and a funicular railway from Rocklands
(Vredehoek) up Platteklip Gorge to the Central Table. Each would require cuttings and

tunnels and result in a certain amount of scarring of the slopes and buttresses. The chief
advantage of the rack alternative was the spectacular views offered by the route, whereas

from the funicular running up the Gorge the views, while pretty, were restricted. On the other
hand, the funicular would be easier to construct and could be relatively easily connected to

the city tramway network via Mill Street or Oranjezicht. The costs and energy consumption

of the schemes differed markedly: £110,000 vs. £75,000 and 130,000 kWh vs. 44,000 kWh,
respectively. Both would take about 2.5 years to construct and each would be able to carry

the 45,000 passengers expected to use them annually.

Mr Peter recommended the funicular option and the Council Joint Committee endorsed this

the following month, regarding its implementation as a matter of great urgency as it had been
before the public for many years and its benefits to Cape Town would be substantial. (Figs.

2.9 & 2.10.) Approval was sought from enrolled voters for the borrowing of £100,000
deemed necessary for the project. They endorsed the scheme at a meeting at the City Hall on

5 August 1913, but a poll was also demanded. Voting took place on 18 August and resulted

in 2,939 for the proposal and 1,214 against. During early 1914 all the legal preconditions for
the scheme were put in place and opened the way to construction.

In June 1914 Council decided to appoint an experienced Resident Engineer to supervise the

laying out of the sub-structure and permanent way. Mr Peter recommended both Mr Robert
Piercy (then resident in St. James), who had been in charge of the Adderley Street Pier

scheme, and his assistant Mr Zschokke who was thoroughly familiar with the route and the

data on which the Peter Report had been based. Peter thought Piercy would be especially
good for carrying out the superstructure work if the Council decided to do it departmentally.

Zschokke’s experience, on the other hand, had been specifically in the construction of

suspension railways. Piercy had the added advantages of being locally based, could start
immediately, and was English-speaking. Nevertheless, Council appointed Zschokke and he

accepted the post. He was about to depart for the Cape when Switzerland mobilized at the
onset of the Great War and, as he was an army officer, he was unable to leave. Because of

this, and the duration of the war, the funicular scheme died. The money that had been
allocated to it was devoted to more essential projects during the post-war depression.