Cape Town - The Mother City’s Rotary Blue Train Park in Mouille Point – now also home to South Africa’s first outdoor ice rink – is steeped in history.
The park, built more than 55 years ago, is being restored to its former glory at the cost of R2-million.
Treasurer and incoming president of the Sea Point Rotary Club, Carl May, fondly recalled visiting the train park as a boy in 1964.
“My German Jewish refugee oma (gran) waved and smiled to me as the train rattled off. The children started shouting and making Native American war cry sounds as the train entered the darkness of the tunnel.
“The train driver rang the bell and I could smell the smoke from the engine’s stack. It was amazing. As the train emerged from the tunnel into the bright December sunshine a view of Signal Hill, the sea and the skyline of mesmerising apartments came into view.”
The land on which the train park is situated is owned by the City of Cape Town and has been leased to the Rotary Club since 2006, said Tony Robson of Sea Point.
During May’s tenure at the Sea Point Rotary club it had opted to take over management of the run-down facility with “naive enthusiasm”.
“We were hopelessly undercapitalised and lacking the necessary skills to run the park. We tried unsuccessfully to manage the train and were about to hand it back to the City of Cape Town when we were fortunate enough to meet businessmen Sean Holmes and Cornelis Ouwehand who are spearheading the revitalisation of the train park.”
The 126m2 permanent outdoor ice rink is a key part of the restoration project.
It was partly sponsored by Peninsula Beverages.
Holmes said the project had been developed for more than a year.
“The ice rink has created a lot of interest, keeping in mind that it was a difficult time of the year to launch anything. But we will see a lot more popularity after the festive season when people will be more aware of it.”
The rink is environmentally friendly as it does not require electrical power to operate.
Only children between the ages of three and 12 are allowed to skate at the rink. Skates may be rented at the park.
Holmes said a priority of the restoration was the safety of child visitors and a full inspection of the train by specialised rail engineers was undertaken.
Holmes said the train now operates with a new Deutz diesel engine and all carriages have been repaired, welded and rebranded.
“We also started with the replacement of perimeter fencing, refurbishment of existing play structures and the inclusion of some new play structures. All the while, we established a new method of park operation and management to ensure a better visitor experience.”
To date R2m has been ploughed into the park’s restoration.
“Many parts of the rails required full replacement which has been a costly exercise. Then we started with the overall repair of the train engine and carriages. Initially we tried to salvage the original deep mine shaft diesel engine but after months of continuous maintenance and hydraulic repairs we decided to buy a completely new engine for our ‘Old Lady’,” said Holmes.
A portion of the park’s operational proceeds are donated to Rotary. Everything else is invested back into park operations and maintenance.
Davidson said: “Many people have told us that they went on the train as children, and now as grandparents we are delighted to take our grandchildren to the refurbished train and park.”
What makes the R1m ice rink unique is that it operates all-year round regardless of temperatures.
“The unique self-lubricating synthetic ice product is eco-friendly and requires no energy or electricity to operate. There are such installations in more than 70 countries including Disneyland,” Holmes said.
* See www.thebluetrainpark.co.za or call 084 314 9200.
Mika Williams, Weekend Argus