Park Station (First) - Johannesburg

Aka: Old Park Station

Built: 1896-1897

Architect: Jacob Klinkhamer

Contractor: A. van der Ruit

Photo c.1906. (Source: Praagh)

Unidentified photographer, early 1900s.

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Timeline

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Notes

Rand Tram (see here)

The Rand Tram, also known as the Rand railway line, was the first railway in the Transvaal Republic (now part of South Africa) and played a pivotal role in Johannesburg's explosive growth during the Witwatersrand gold rush. Following the discovery of gold in 1886, the mining boom created an urgent need for reliable coal supplies to power the mines, as ox-wagon transport proved far too slow and expensive. In 1888, the ZAR Volksraad granted a concession to the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM), a Dutch-backed firm, to build a light steam-powered line primarily to haul coal from the Boksburg collieries westward to Johannesburg. Despite its "tram" nickname - reflecting its initial modest scale and tram-like character - it was a proper Cape-gauge (1,067 mm) railway using lightweight rails and small locomotives.

This was in fact not the main station for the City as Johannesburg Station was actually located in Braamfontein.²

Park Station (First)

The first Park Station in Johannesburg, often referred to today as the Old Park Station, began as a modest stop on the pioneering Rand Tram line (the Transvaal's first railway, operated by the Netherlands South African Railway Company, or NZASM). Initially known as Park Halt, it started around 1888-1890 as a simple tin shed or corrugated iron structure at the site near Krugers Park (later Old Wanderers), chosen for its proximity to the emerging city center along Noord Street and Rissik Street. This made it more convenient for passengers than the earlier Braamfontein (Johannesburg) halt, quickly turning it into the main passenger stop amid the Witwatersrand gold rush boom.

As Johannesburg grew rapidly into South Africa's economic hub, the NZASM recognized the need for a more impressive facility to match the city's status. In 1894, they commissioned Dutch architect and railway engineer Jacob Frederik Klinkhamer to design a grander station. While an ambitious masonry version was initially planned, budget constraints and political tensions (including unrest on the Rand) led to a prefabricated cast iron, wrought iron, steel, and glass structure manufactured in the Netherlands (by firms like Pletterij den Haag). Shipped as a kit of parts from Rotterdam to Cape Town and then railed to the Transvaal, it was erected on-site starting in 1895 under contractor A. van der Ruit.

• Jacob Frederik Klinkhamer (1854 Netherlands - 1928 Netherlands) was a Dutch architect and professor of architecture. He designed several buildings in the Netherlands, Dutch East Indies and South Africa.⁶

The central roofed section spanned about 53 meters with 21 bays, featuring glazed walls for natural light, a corrugated iron roof, wide unobstructed platforms for safety and flexibility, and allowed a lofty, open design with minimal supports. The station opened to passengers in 1897 (with construction completed around May that year), replacing the earlier halt and serving as Johannesburg's principal passenger gateways. It symbolized the city's swift transition from a mining camp to a bustling metropolis, impressing arriving visitors and even appearing on early postcards.

"In the first few years the elite lived on the north side of the town, but the building of Park Station and the arrival of the railway, with its noise and crowds drove them further north to Parktown, or north-east to Doornfontein and Jeppestown."¹

"In the late 1890s the ZAR government earmarked parts of the Brickfields, situated between Johannesburg Station and Park Halt for the development of new marshalling yards. Kazerne, as the yards became known, served for many years as the main goods gateway of Johannesburg - a vital supply link."²

"'Rand tram,' the wonderful innovation at which Boer patriots marvelled. In the period when the State railways were controlled by the N.Z.A.S.M. (Netherlands Railway Company), Park station, as distinguished from "Johannesburg" station, became the outlet for passenger traffic. This has now developed into the principal and central station of Johannesburg. Park station is the largest and busiest railway station in the Transvaal Colony - indeed, in South Africa. This station is situated about half a mile from the market square, on the north side of the town, and occupies all the ground between Noord Street and Hancock Street. The principal entrance is from the former street. The station is approximately 1.145 ft. in length from one end of the platform to the other. There are four lines of rails carried through, and the various platforms are reached by means of three over-bridges, one at each end of the station and one in the centre. The usual offices required in a large terminus, including booking office, baggage, Customs rooms, and bicycle shed, are conveniently arranged near the main entrance. On the centre or "island" platform are to be found the remaining offices, all of which are well fitted and spacious. The block to the west of the central waiting space comprises the cloak room, dining, and refreshment rooms, and that on theeast side the stationmaster's office, lavatories, and the general and ladies' waiting rooms, very comfortably furnished, where tea and light refreshments can be obtained. The centre platform is spanned by a fine ornamental iron roof, extending the greater part of its length, and the side platforms by smaller ones."³ (1906)

This original structure remained in use as the main station until the mid-20th century, surviving expansions and name changes (it was officially renamed Johannesburg Station in 1913 but commonly called Park Station). It was dismantled in the early 1950s to make way for modern expansions, with parts relocated - some to Esselen Park (now part of a railways museum) and a significant portion anastylosed (re-erected) in Newtown, Johannesburg, where it stands today as a heritage site and event space (like The Station Market). It's one of Johannesburg's oldest surviving buildings and a rare example of late-19th-century prefabricated railway architecture in the region.

Today, the old Park Station structure is perched on a concrete slab alongside Johannesburg’s Nelson Mandela Bridge and Brickfields Social Housing Precinct.⁷ Photo: Gauteng Tourism Authority.

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Sources

1. Provisioning Johannesburg. 2012. Cripps, E.A. (thesis)
2. Newtown Heritage Trail. 2017.
3. The Transvaal and its Mines. 1906. Praagh, L.V.
4. The Johannesburg Railway Station. 1975. Klintworth, P.W.J.
5. NZASM Structures of the Rand Tram and the southern line. 1987. De Jong, R.C. Restorica 21.
6. Jacob Frederik Klinkhamer
7. Visi: Building an icon: Park Station. 2023. Maharaj, V.