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The train station building in Potchefstroom caught fire on Sunday.
- Parts of the Potchefstroom train station were destroyed in a fire early Sunday morning.
- Trains between Cape Town and Johannesburg stopped at the historic building on the long-distance journey between cities.
- It was also a favorite place to visit for train fans interested in an old steam engine.
Parts of the historic 100-year-old Potchefstroom train station were destroyed by a mysterious fire early Sunday morning.
“It’s a huge loss,” said Willy Maphosa, spokesman for the JB Marks Township, to which Potchefstroom belongs.
He added that the fire department received a call for help around 03:00 on Sunday, but when they arrived to put out the fire it was already too advanced.
Maphosa said the train station itself was not used as regularly as in the past, and commuters used taxis and buses, but the long-distance train from Cape Town to Johannesburg stopped there.
The station with its pediments and covered terraces is understood to date from 1919.
He added that the lockers and the adjacent building were destroyed.
“Fortunately, the train tracks, the few freight cars in the vicinity and the old steam engine were unharmed.”
The cause of the fire is unknown and no injuries were reported.
What remains of the historic Potchefstroom train station after a fire. (Photograph by Aldus Smith, Netwerk24)
Netwerk24 Said Smith Photography
