SAMTA

Our Interests
Aims and Objectives
Meetings
Model Trolley Busses

We have around 19 active members, but each one of us has a particular interest relating to the hobby. Here are links to these different interests. Our Interests To Preserve and promote the advantages of Electric Public Transport. To reproduce these in H.O. Scale running realistically. Aims and Objectives Promote the hobby of Tramway Modelling in any scale Assist all members with construction of layout and running characteristics of their models Assist members in sourcing materials required for the construction Put on Video/DVD construction methods for those members that are not living in our area, so that this will assist them in their construction Promote New LRT developments throughout the world. Preserve any Tramway and Trolleybus/coach heritage in R.S.A. Meetings SAMTA have their monthly meetings, every second Saturday in the month. They are Held on a "Round Robin" basis, with the members living in and around the Johannesburg area. Meetings are also often held at our clubhouse venue: The James Hall Transport Museum Rosettenville Road Wemmer Pan Please contact me for more details: Phone: 082-880-9156. E.Mail: hansbac@gmail.com All welcome if you are in the area.
	New Low Floor Tram in Vienna	Museum Rolling Stock in action
	Street scene with Union Car	Part of Samta's Tram display

	Bird's Eye View of City Centre	Lay-over at the terminus
	Some of our club members at the clubhouse, situated at the James Hall Transport Museum. From L to R: Don Enright, James Smith, Ian Downie, Theunis Snyman, and Chris Hosken. Hans Bac took the photograph.

Model Trolley Busses Report on Visit to John Fann, Durban, 26 January 2012 John Fann is a gentleman who has lived in Durban most of his life, during those years he experienced the comings and goings of the Municipalities Public Transport System.
It started off with the horse tram, which he did not experience, (well before his time) and later the electric tram was introduced, which ran until 1949, this he did experience. Before the electric tram had ceased running the Corporation had started introducing the "Trolleybus" before the war years. This electric form of transport was also called a trackless tram, as it was not guided by rails as the two previous systems. Both John and our organization are firm believers in a "Green type of Public Transport", meaning no fossil fuels are used to propel the vehicles. In this case electricity. In 1974 the last year that trolleybuses operated in Durban, the Green Environment had not yet blossomed into a world obsession of "Greeny Beanies". The council therefore decided to abandon the trolleybus for the more user friendly dieseline conquerors (No Overhead Wires). John and some of his friends decided to build a model of each one of the types of trolley busses operated on the Durban system. The scale was to be 1: 24. This is the scale that was also used in the construction of the "Minitown" built by the Durban Rotary Club - or was it the Durban Round Tablers? Sorry not too sure, but it was one of these charity organizations. This was my reason for the visit to John Fann: to admire these excellent models that he built almost 30 years ago. I did not see them all, but the few I saw I managed to photograph (displayed to the right of this). He has built up a mock-up section of road, together with the overhead trolley wire to display these wonderful machines. The reason for making these models were two fold: a) to preserve the models; but b) to persuade the council to reconsider their decision to remove such a wonderful clean and inexpensive form of transport. They even went as far as to build a new prototype model for future expansion and replacement of the old equipment, which was now fast coming to the end of its lifespan. These busses were now from 34 to 45 years old, which is not old for electric traction. Trams, for example, last at least 50 years and over, but have to be modernized from time to time, to maintain their popularity with the public. The council did not fall for the new models, in fact, they had made up their mind that trolley busses belonged in the history books and that is, where they would stay. Just to mention that there are many cities in the world that still operate trolley busses, or trolley coaches as they are called in the USA, with great success. They come in various styles: Single Decker, Double Decker, Single Articulated, Double Articulated, Double and Single Articulated with Trailer. The cities that operate these fast and smooth running vehicles have no problems with dewirement of their trolleys, as the overhead has been so well designed that this no longer is a deterrent for not operating trolleys. You will see from the prototype busses John produced that these were built for speed and comfort. Lighting was also included in the models. These models would certainly stand-up today as a replacement for the diesel busses. I hope you enjoy this short article regarding Durban's Sunbeam Trolley busses. Thank You John for allowing us the privilege to view your excellent craftsmanship. Hans Bac Chair Person S.A.M.T.A.
	The first two trolley busses delivered to Durban Corporation in 1932.
	Trolleybus Number 59 in its Grey wartime livery. This bus is presently kept in Johannesburg at the James Hall Transport Museum.
	Some of the early trolleys delivered to Durban after the 2nd world war.
	These are models of two types of trolley busses purchased by the Johannesburg Municipality. The smaller version was used on the not so busy Mellville route and the larger with double axle was used on the busier routes in the city. Another view of the Johannesburg Busses.
	No 59 again in its wartime livery	A busy street scene in their "Hey Day".
	Models built by John showing off the newer facade and easier flow of passengers. The Light coloured bus was designated to the "European service" and the Red coloured was for the "Non European" services. Both busses were identical, with the exception of the colour.
	Front and Rear view of the proposed New Fleet. Note the "picture" windscreen and rear window for easy view for the drivers.

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