When the railway came to Grahamstown

The opening of the railway-line between Alicedale and Grahamstown on 3 September 1879 was a red-letter day for Grahamstown. The idea of linking Grahamstown by rail to the harbour of Port Elizabeth was initiated twenty-three years earlier by Grahamstown businessmen. By the time the railway came, Grahamstownians were more in favour of a railway-line to the harbour of Port Alfred. This, however, came only five years later. The turning of the first sod to build the railway station and the arrival of the first passenger-train at Grahamstown gave its inhabitants reason for big celebrations and festivities.