Pretoria Railway Station.

The railway station at Pretoria is an imposing stone building where quiet and order reign. The trains leave on schedule time, and the rolling stock appears to be kept in excellent repair, the engines are big and powerful, and the carriages are designed to make travelling easy over long distances (from the Cape to the Zambesi one is five days and four nights in the train), and the officials are courteous and well-informed.

The tracks are well ballasted, and running conditions are smooth. The curves are wide, with little side sway when the trains are running fast.

Under the compartment system one has privacy, while the platforms along the full length of the train give ample opportunity for walking about. The beds are clean and comfortable, and night travelling is a pleasant experience. Electric reading lights are at the head of each bed, and the attention is equal to that on a well-conducted steamer. Morning coffee at 6.30, breakfast in your compartment or in the dining carriage at your choice, and—your ticket is looked at once a day.

Booking may be done days before travelling, and your name appears on an official list at the station, and also on the window of the compartment where your seat is. There is no rush, and everyone knows just where to go. Leaving Johannesburg at 8 p.m., level crossings are numerous.

There is a lot of signalling, and travelling is slow till the open veldt is reached, when the train then quickens up to a long easy running swing as it starts to eat up the 1,000 miles between it and the Zambesi.