Transnet revives Outeniqua Transport Museum in George

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In a joint effort to revive the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George in the Western Cape, Transnet has opened the historic building to the public with the introduction of a new market.

The building houses trains and cars from yesteryear, including the famous Outeniqua Choo Tjoe.

While Transnet’s core business does not refer to tourism, it’s happy to use its existing assets to contribute more to George’s tourism.

Transnet has a large footprint in the country, and the Garden Route is no exception. Its train infrastructure in particular has a long history.

One of their iconic assets was the famous steam train – the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe.  Now retired, it is housed at this museum, along with other historical treasures.

Transnet revives Outeniqua Transport Museum in George:

In a bid to revive the museum, Transnet has joined hands with the community to bring more feet to the museum.

Transnet’s Chief Business Development Officer, Yolisa Kani says, “It only made sense that we play our part in conserving and preserving these assets for the current as well as future generations. We came to the realisation that it’s such a wonderful asset to have. The museum itself is a good 67 years old and we are fascinated by the interest in the facility itself, both from domestic and international visitors. And it only makes sense that we relook at our approach to these assets that are not necessarily our core and find ways of making them part of the community.”

With the new market and its vendors in operation since earlier this month.

Thousands of visitors are exploring what the museum has to offer.

Visitor Sulene Zwiegelaar says, “It’s very cozy. It’s comfortable. You can take a look around at the products that are locally made. You can show your children the trains. It’s the first time for her. she’s enjoying it and taking in everything so, I think she’s gonna sleep afterward. It’s nice for rain the weather, you can come to enjoy a nice family day.”

Market organiser, Pieter Du Plessis says, “It’s a very special venue and very dear to a lot of people and we are very grateful to Transnet for giving us the opportunity to host the market here. We have so many attractions here, we’ve got the railway museum first of all, we got the scale model trains which is the biggest one in the southern hemisphere that’s open to the public, we’ve got the Outeniqua power van that departs from here.”

Other tourism opportunities in the Garden Route have also been boosted with the help of Transnet infrastructure, such as the power van that runs between Hartenbos and Glentana; as well as the steam train rides that now operate between Hartenbos and Great Brak river.”