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Private company

Central South African Railways

Railway operator

The Central South African Railways (CSAR) was from 1902 to 1910 the operator of public railways in the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony in what is now South Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War, as British forces moved into the territory of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic, the Orange Free State Government Railways, the Netherlands-South African Railway Company and the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway were taken over by the Imperial Military Railways under Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Girouard.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1902Founded1

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SAR Klasse F
Photo: http://www.enuii.com/vulcan_foundry/photographs/locomotives/no%201908-1915%20central%20south%20african%20railway%20no%20260-267%201903.jpg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

The Central South African Railways (CSAR) was from 1902 to 1910 the operator of public railways in the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony in what is now South Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War, as British forces moved into the territory of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic, the Orange Free State Government Railways, the Netherlands-South African Railway Company and the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway were taken over by the Imperial Military Railways under Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Girouard.2

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded Imperial Military Railways1
  2. Succeeded by South African Railways and Harbours Administration1

Timeline

  1. 1910Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1902Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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