Century City Tramway

23/12/2024

🎄 December holidays running schedule:
🗓️ Open daily from 21 December to 5 January, weather permitting (closed: 25 Dec & 01 Jan)
🕰️ 10:00 to 17:00 (schedule available on our website)
🎟️ Tickets only available from the conductor onboard
💵 R70 per person for a 20min return trip

19/12/2024

Tram Thursday is running a tad behind time today but not to worry it’s still Thursday!

Today we are showing a process that was paired with the wood slats of the roof. You may remember from a few weeks back we wrote about the roof and how it’s joined using the tongue and groove technique. Well it would not be easy to clean is the top of the roof had those grooves so an additional layer was needed.

Enter fibreglass! We used fibreglass extensively to fill in and give the roof its lovely smooth appearance.

Next week we are looking at the frames of the tram!
If you have any questions please let us know in the comments.

19/12/2024

🎄 December holidays running schedule:

🗓️ Open daily from 21 December to 5 January (closed: 25 Dec & 01 Jan)

🕰️ 10:00 to 17:00 (schedule available on our website)

🎟️ Tickets only available from the conductor onboard

💵 R70 per person for a 20min return trip

13/12/2024

🚋 We are open this long weekend (14-16 Dec '24) from 10.00 - 17.00, weather permitting. See estimated tram schedule below
🕚 Please wait next to the track, ready to board:
(Depart in front of the Club House close to Intaka Island: 10.00 | 10.30 | 11.00 | 11.30 | 12.00 | 12.30 | 13.00 | 13.30 | 14.00 | 14.30 | 15.00 | 15.30 | 16.00 | 16.30)
(Depart in front of Century City Hotel close to Ratanga Park: 10.15 | 10.45 | 11.15 | 11.45 | 12.15 | 12.45 | 13.15 | 13.45 | 14.15 | 14.45 | 15.15 | 15.45 | 16.15)
☎️ Crew: 065 538 6108
🎫 Tickets sold by the tram crew
📷 Other attraction: Intaka Island | Ratanga Park | Eateries | Canal Walk Shopping Centre

Please visit our website for further information: www.centurycitytramway.co.za

12/12/2024

Welcome to today’s Tram Thursday. Today we are showing the painting process.

The tram was painted using automotive 2k paint and was applied in about 7 coats of paint. Then sprayed with a few coats of clear paint to keep it nice and shiny. The whole thing was painted with a primer first then the bits that needed cream was down. Only after all that was the first coats of red sprayed on.

The painting took a while due to it needing to dry, be sanded and then painted, but it was well worth the time and effort as the paint is still as crisp as the day it rolled out the works!

Next week we are looking at the fibreglass roof. And as always if you have any questions let us know in the comments!

06/12/2024

We are open this weekend from 10.00 - 17.00. The tram schedule can be viewed on our website: www.centurycitytramway.co.za

In collaboration with Intaka Island, you can enjoy a boat ride, a tram ride, and gain access to Intaka Island for only R145pp. Where & how to book: Contact Intaka Island on 021 552 6889.

05/12/2024

Today’s Tram Thursday the power bogies are in the spotlight.

The tram has 2 and each bogie has 2 electric motors in them. The motors are actually from electric forklifts ensuring that they are powerful enough to move a fully loaded tram which would weigh around 6 tons. The bogies have no metal to metal contact this is achieved through extensive use of vesconite which is a self lubricating plastic.

Next week we will have a look at the tedious painting process.

If you have any questions please comment them!

29/11/2024

🚋 We are open this weekend from 10.00 - 17.00. See estimated tram schedule below
🕚 Please wait next to the track, ready to board:
(Depart in front of the Club House close to Intaka Island: 10.00 | 10.30 | 11.00 | 11.30 | 12.00 | 12.30 | 13.00 | 13.30 | 14.00 | 14.30 | 15.00 | 15.30 | 16.00 | 16.30)
(Depart in front of Century City Hotel close to Ratanga Park: 10.15 | 10.45 | 11.15 | 11.45 | 12.15 | 12.45 | 13.15 | 13.45 | 14.15 | 14.45 | 15.15 | 15.45 | 16.15)
☎️ Crew: 065 538 6108
🎫 Tickets sold by the tram crew
📷 Other attraction: Intaka Island | Ratanga Park | Eateries | Canal Walk Shopping Centre

Photo credit: A. van Jaarsveld

Please visit our website for further information: www.centurycitytramway.co.za

28/11/2024

Hello and welcome to today’s Tram Thursday! Today we will be taking a look at the benches of the tram, how they were made and some of their features.

This is the first bench we made for the tram, and it was put up by the kiosk at the Winelands Light Railway for people to test. The consensus was that it is comfortable and nice to sit in.

The benches are made out of wood, and laser-cut metal sides. The bottom planks are screwed on to the curved sides. The tops are slightly different, one of the features of the benches is that they needed to be able to change direction. This was accomplished by bolting the back rest onto the support beams using a bolt and bearing allowing it to be flipped up and over thus changing direction.

Next week we are looking at the power bogies!

If you have any questions, queries or anything else, comment them down below and we will answer them!

22/11/2024

🚋 We are open this weekend from 10.00 - 17.00. See estimated tram schedule below
🕚 Please wait next to the track, ready to board:
(Depart in front of the Club House close to Intaka Island: 10.00 | 10.30 | 11.00 | 11.30 | 12.00 | 12.30 | 13.00 | 13.30 | 14.00 | 14.30 | 15.00 | 15.30 | 16.00 | 16.30)
(Depart in front of Century City Hotel close to Ratanga Park: 10.15 | 10.45 | 11.15 | 11.45 | 12.15 | 12.45 | 13.15 | 13.45 | 14.15 | 14.45 | 15.15 | 15.45 | 16.15)
☎️ Crew: 065 538 6108
🎫 Tickets sold by the tram crew
📷 Other attraction: Intaka Island | Ratanga Park | Eateries | Canal Walk Shopping Centre

Please visit our website for further information: www.centurycitytramway.co.za

21/11/2024

Today’s Tram Thursday we are looking at the roof.

Our Trams roof was made out of thin strips of wood that was cut into a tongue and groove. This allowed the strips of wood to lock into each other. They were screwed into the metal roof beams and then covered in resin.

The resin was sanded down filled and painted into the striking silver colour.

Next week we will look at the benches and how they were made.

If you have any questions please comment them down below!

15/11/2024

🚋 We are open this weekend from 10.00 - 17.00. See estimated tram schedule below
🕚 Please wait next to the track, ready to board:
(Depart in front of the Club House by Intaka Island: 10.00 | 10.30 | 11.00 | 11.30 | 12.00 | 12.30 | 13.00 | 13.30 | 14.00 | 14.30 | 15.00 | 15.30 | 16.00 | 16.30)
(Depart in front of Century City Hotel close to Ratanga Park: 10.15 | 10.45 | 11.15 | 11.45 | 12.15 | 12.45 | 13.15 | 13.45 | 14.15 | 14.45 | 15.15 | 15.45 | 16.15)
☎️ Crew: 065 538 6108
🎫 Tickets sold by the tram crew
📷 Other attraction: Intaka Island | Ratanga Park | Eateries | Canal Walk Shopping Centre
www.centurycitytramway.co.za

Photo credit: Jordan Horn

14/11/2024

Today’s Tram Thursday we are looking at this, the test chassis for the tram.

This chassis was used to see if the tram would fit the different radii of curves and to see if the motors could handle the gradients in places.

Thankfully all was good in those fronts, an issue that was only noticed on the day was a low bridge. The clerestory style roof would make the tram too tall to make it under the bridge. Rather than changing the appearance of our tramcar, Century City gave us the go ahead to cut the shape out of the wooden planks on the bridge.

If you have any questions about tram ask them in the comments below! Next week we will be looking at the building of the roof.

08/11/2024

🚋 We are open this weekend from 10.00 - 17.00. See estimated tram schedule below
🕚 Please wait next to the track, ready to board:
(Depart in front of the Club House by Intaka Island: 10.00 | 10.30 | 11.00 | 11.30 | 12.00 | 12.30 | 13.00 | 13.30 | 14.00 | 14.30 | 15.00 | 15.30 | 16.00 | 16.30)
(Depart in front of Century City Hotel close to Ratanga Park: 10.15 | 10.45 | 11.15 | 11.45 | 12.15 | 12.45 | 13.15 | 13.45 | 14.15 | 14.45 | 15.15 | 15.45 | 16.15)
☎️ Crew: 065 538 6108
🎫 Tickets sold by the tram crew
📷 Other attraction: Intaka Island | Ratanga Park | Eateries | Canal Walk Shopping Centre
www.centurycitytramway.co.za

07/11/2024

Today’s Tram Thursday we will look at the moving process of the tram!

The tram was built in our workshop at Stellenbosch so moving it to its home at Century City was no easy task. The bogies were sent first and the tram was put on a set of road wheels and rolled on to a lorry.

This photo shows the tram being rolled onto the tramway after being moved from Stellenbosch. The road wheels allowed for easy movement of the tram. The body was put on jacks and the bogies pushed under it and then slowly lowered onto them and all the cables and wires were connected up.

Next week we will look at the testing of the chassis. If you have any questions please comment them below and we will answer them.

01/11/2024

🚋 We are open this weekend from 10.00 - 17.00. See estimated tram schedule below
🎉 Hop aboard our vintage tram and experience the outdoors in a unique way
☎️ Crew: 065 538 6108
🎫 Tickets sold by the tram crew
📷 Other attraction: Intaka Island | Ratanga Park | Eateries | Canal Walk Shopping Centre
🕚 Please wait next to the track, ready to board:
(Depart in front of the Club House by Intaka Island: 10.00 | 10.30 | 11.00 | 11.30 | 12.00 | 12.30 | 13.00 | 13.30 | 14.00 | 14.30 | 15.00 | 15.30 | 16.00 | 16.30)
(Depart in front of Century City Hotel close to Ratanga Park: 10.15 | 10.45 | 11.15 | 11.45 | 12.15 | 12.45 | 13.15 | 13.45 | 14.15 | 14.45 | 15.15 | 15.45 | 16.15)

www.centurycitytramway.co.za

31/10/2024

Welcome to our second instalment of Tram Thursday’s!

Today we are looking at how the tram was designed. It took many months of research of vintage trams, power sources and the limitations of the track to come to the final design. Before any construction began, the tram was modelled in CAD, this way we could get an idea of what the tram would look like. What you see here is the final CAD model of our tram, and it is pretty much identical to the real thing. Using CAD we could also calculate the weight of the tramcar.

If you want to find out more about how it was built you can visit out engineering page: Esteamed Industrial Engineering.
If you have any questions about it feel free to comment them below!

27/10/2024