Visit the museum of transport this month
Most of the steam locomotives at the museum are kept safe and in a fenced area.
VISIT the James Hall Transport Museum to learn more about the history of transport this Transport Month and see how South Africa contributed to the history and development of transport.
The museum still has a running Rolls-Royce that was used by the Johannesburg mayor in 1951 and a fireproof asbestos suit that was used by firefighters in the 1950s. In fact, firefighters back then did not have a siren so one firefighter would be tasked with ringing the bell all the way to the emergency scene even though there was not that much traffic. The fire engines back then did not carry water. A pipe would be pulled to the nearest river and the firefighters would physically work the pump, shooting water at the burning building.
Most of the steam locomotives at the museum are kept safe and in a fenced area because most are from European and American countries. Small parts often go missing and senior curator Phillimon Maeko, suspects it could be because of their rarity.
“When America was advancing to fuel vehicles they exported these steam locomotives to Africa and now they do not have many of them and wish they could own them again. Even when they advanced to steam locomotives, they brought animal transport vehicles to Africa,” said Phillimon.
Most of the animal transport is still in mobile condition and some of the tools that were used by the blacksmith (the term referred to people who fixed animal transport) are still available at the museum. It was very interesting to learn that there were a lot of places like garages where blacksmiths repaired animal transports – on the routes you could stop and have your vehicle checked.
Visit the museum and learn more or to view the gallery visit the Southern COURIER online and for more details about the museum visit https://www.jhmt.org.za/
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