A Journey begins
The story of Rovos Rail started with a plethora of characters and establishments that, although different, would mesh together to form the most luxurious railway in Africa. Phil Acutt, a man with a love of trains, the Witbank Steam Railway and Witbank itself, where Rohan Vos ran a successful auto parts business were just a few of the components that would fit together to form Rovos.
“Rohan has always been obsessed with things mechanical,” recalls Rohan's wife, Anthea Vos. Anthea has been part of the story and Rohan's passion from the beginning, raising their family around the railway business. Even though Rohan started his first business from the sale of vintage cars he had rebuilt, even Anthea didn't realise an entire railway would be part of their future.
It all began in 1985, when Rohan and Anthea went on a last-minute Magaliesberg train trip to meet business suppliers. Rohan immediately spent all his time in the engine with the driver, enthralled by the train's mechanics. "The irony was that we should have seen then how difficult it would be – the train broke down and we were bussed back to town,” remembers Anthea.
Rohan was inspired by friend, Phil Acutt's, passion for trains and the work of the Railway Preservation Society (RPS) in Witbank. He decided to buy a coach or two at an auction and restore four carriages. The carriages would be fixed to a South African Railways train to form a family caravan. Geoff Pethick was with Rohan at the auction. “I'd I’d hoped Rohan wasn’t another penniless lunatic with grand ideas,” he recalls. “As we chatted, I quickly noticed that he was a man of great vision.”
Rohan successfully bought some coaches and had them sent to the RPS to be rebuilt. Private Saloon 15063 is one of the carriages still in service today. Rohan hit a snag when he realsied working with the South African Transport Services administration was extremely complicated and set about determined to become self-sufficient. He purchased a 1938 Class 19D locomotive and rebuilt, naming it Bianca, after his daughter.
Rohan was granted permission to run his train in 1986 by the SAR. Rohan came up with the idea of running a vintage train as a business. The major obstacle was the high tariff quoted by the SAR for running the train. Rohan objected the tariff and the SAR gave him the right to sell tickets.
Says Rohan of that time: "I knew that launching into the arena of tourism and trains, of which I had no experience, held many dangers. It was an uncharted course and I had little idea where to start, let alone where to aim. However, a unique challenge was right up my alley and the decision was made to go forth. This was – not known to me at the time – a life-changing moment and sadly, during the next few years or so, I had many agonising thoughts regretting the move. I could never have imagined how all-consuming the business was to become both financially and emotionally."
The train launched on 29 April 1989 with a locomotive and seven carriages. On board were four paying passengers, friends and press and the train headed for the Eastern Transvaal. The business bgean to flourish although Rohan recalls the immense stress of running a well-oiled machine and itineray. "As any train operator or airline will confirm, running a schedule is risky and nerve-wracking," he muses. "To project consistency and reliability to agents and passengers, it’s imperative to run according to the advertised schedule. I found, to my horror, that one can lose considerably more money establishing a schedule and consequently a reputation than it might cost to buy or construct the hardware.
To aid his venture, Rohan sold his businesses. Prior to Rovos Rail's first journey, he sold his Witbank and Secunda spares businesses and used the shares as security for the overdraft to fund Rovos Rail. Unfortunately, the business went insolvent, rendering Rohan's shares as worthless. The pressure to pay the overdraft was immense as the political atmosphere of 1994 put the business future of the country in chaos.
The train operation Rohan had envisioned was close to breaking even as of 1993 but Rohan could not find anyone keen to invest. As a last resort, he visited the London World Travel Market and met Philip Morell, a tour operator and owner of Jules Verne, London. Together, they planned to charter a journey from Cape Town to Victoria Falls. The journey was advertise in the Sunday Telegraph during December and Rohan received surprising news after Christmas. "To my relief, he reported that sales were going extremely well and nearly four train loads had been booked," says Rohan. "My answer, after a suitably stunned silence, was “send cash. And so, bankruptcy was avoided by a nose, and to illustrate the turnaround it was only a year later that I purchased 38 redundant carriages from the South African Railways. Since then we have never looked back, although the scars of battle are always there reminding me never to relax.”
Rohan then concentrated his search on looking for suitable coaches to be used as dining cars. He found three rundown dining cars at the Jewish Guild Country Club in Johannesburg. They were named Kei, Nile and Modder and sent to Witbank to be restored. The engines have all been named after the Vos children; Brenda, Bianca, Tiffany and Shaun, testament to the lifelong family venture that has been part and parcel of the Rovos Rail's remarkable story. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Rovos Rail, a restored locomotive, a 25NC 3484 was named Marjorie, after Rohan's mother.
The first employee of Rovos Rail was Joy Strydom, who joined the compnay in 1988, where she continues to work to this day. “Rohan called me out of the blue and we met at a Cape Town restaurant with a railway coach bar. Rohan spent most of the time checking it out to see what had been removed and which features remained. The romance of the railway project – and his enthusiasm – had me hooked," says Joy.
Two decades of struggle, toil and hard work, the birth of democracy in South Africa and a growing tourist trade have all contributed to the ongoing spirit of Rovos Rail. “Many of us in those early years didn’t believe that Rohan would ever achieve what he’d set out to do,” admits Geoff Pethick. “It’s wonderful to see that Rovos Rail has helped preserve much of our railway history.”
[Source: ww.rovos.com]
“Rohan has always been obsessed with things mechanical,” recalls Rohan's wife, Anthea Vos. Anthea has been part of the story and Rohan's passion from the beginning, raising their family around the railway business. Even though Rohan started his first business from the sale of vintage cars he had rebuilt, even Anthea didn't realise an entire railway would be part of their future.
It all began in 1985, when Rohan and Anthea went on a last-minute Magaliesberg train trip to meet business suppliers. Rohan immediately spent all his time in the engine with the driver, enthralled by the train's mechanics. "The irony was that we should have seen then how difficult it would be – the train broke down and we were bussed back to town,” remembers Anthea.
Rohan was inspired by friend, Phil Acutt's, passion for trains and the work of the Railway Preservation Society (RPS) in Witbank. He decided to buy a coach or two at an auction and restore four carriages. The carriages would be fixed to a South African Railways train to form a family caravan. Geoff Pethick was with Rohan at the auction. “I'd I’d hoped Rohan wasn’t another penniless lunatic with grand ideas,” he recalls. “As we chatted, I quickly noticed that he was a man of great vision.”
Rohan successfully bought some coaches and had them sent to the RPS to be rebuilt. Private Saloon 15063 is one of the carriages still in service today. Rohan hit a snag when he realsied working with the South African Transport Services administration was extremely complicated and set about determined to become self-sufficient. He purchased a 1938 Class 19D locomotive and rebuilt, naming it Bianca, after his daughter.
Rohan was granted permission to run his train in 1986 by the SAR. Rohan came up with the idea of running a vintage train as a business. The major obstacle was the high tariff quoted by the SAR for running the train. Rohan objected the tariff and the SAR gave him the right to sell tickets.
Says Rohan of that time: "I knew that launching into the arena of tourism and trains, of which I had no experience, held many dangers. It was an uncharted course and I had little idea where to start, let alone where to aim. However, a unique challenge was right up my alley and the decision was made to go forth. This was – not known to me at the time – a life-changing moment and sadly, during the next few years or so, I had many agonising thoughts regretting the move. I could never have imagined how all-consuming the business was to become both financially and emotionally."
The train launched on 29 April 1989 with a locomotive and seven carriages. On board were four paying passengers, friends and press and the train headed for the Eastern Transvaal. The business bgean to flourish although Rohan recalls the immense stress of running a well-oiled machine and itineray. "As any train operator or airline will confirm, running a schedule is risky and nerve-wracking," he muses. "To project consistency and reliability to agents and passengers, it’s imperative to run according to the advertised schedule. I found, to my horror, that one can lose considerably more money establishing a schedule and consequently a reputation than it might cost to buy or construct the hardware.
To aid his venture, Rohan sold his businesses. Prior to Rovos Rail's first journey, he sold his Witbank and Secunda spares businesses and used the shares as security for the overdraft to fund Rovos Rail. Unfortunately, the business went insolvent, rendering Rohan's shares as worthless. The pressure to pay the overdraft was immense as the political atmosphere of 1994 put the business future of the country in chaos.
The train operation Rohan had envisioned was close to breaking even as of 1993 but Rohan could not find anyone keen to invest. As a last resort, he visited the London World Travel Market and met Philip Morell, a tour operator and owner of Jules Verne, London. Together, they planned to charter a journey from Cape Town to Victoria Falls. The journey was advertise in the Sunday Telegraph during December and Rohan received surprising news after Christmas. "To my relief, he reported that sales were going extremely well and nearly four train loads had been booked," says Rohan. "My answer, after a suitably stunned silence, was “send cash. And so, bankruptcy was avoided by a nose, and to illustrate the turnaround it was only a year later that I purchased 38 redundant carriages from the South African Railways. Since then we have never looked back, although the scars of battle are always there reminding me never to relax.”
Rohan then concentrated his search on looking for suitable coaches to be used as dining cars. He found three rundown dining cars at the Jewish Guild Country Club in Johannesburg. They were named Kei, Nile and Modder and sent to Witbank to be restored. The engines have all been named after the Vos children; Brenda, Bianca, Tiffany and Shaun, testament to the lifelong family venture that has been part and parcel of the Rovos Rail's remarkable story. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Rovos Rail, a restored locomotive, a 25NC 3484 was named Marjorie, after Rohan's mother.
The first employee of Rovos Rail was Joy Strydom, who joined the compnay in 1988, where she continues to work to this day. “Rohan called me out of the blue and we met at a Cape Town restaurant with a railway coach bar. Rohan spent most of the time checking it out to see what had been removed and which features remained. The romance of the railway project – and his enthusiasm – had me hooked," says Joy.
Two decades of struggle, toil and hard work, the birth of democracy in South Africa and a growing tourist trade have all contributed to the ongoing spirit of Rovos Rail. “Many of us in those early years didn’t believe that Rohan would ever achieve what he’d set out to do,” admits Geoff Pethick. “It’s wonderful to see that Rovos Rail has helped preserve much of our railway history.”
[Source: ww.rovos.com]