Inchanga

Inchanga is a village in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, approximately halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

Inchanga iNtshanga
Inchanga train station
Inchanga Inchanga
Coordinates: 29°44′27″S 30°40′42″E
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
Municipality	eThekwini
• Councillor	(SACP)
Area [1]
• Total	3.29 km^2 (1.27 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	1,008
• Density	310/km^2 (790/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	19.5%
• Coloured	1.2%
• Indian/Asian	2.4%
• White	76.3%
• Other	0.6%
First languages (2011) [1]
• English	77.2%
• Zulu	13.4%
• Afrikaans	6.3%
• Other	3.2%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
PO box	3706
Area code	031

Schools

Inchanga has several schools, including Rietvallei Combined School, Siphesihle High School, Inchanga Primary School, Zifikele High School MbaliYezwe Primary School and KwaXimba Combined School.

History

Inchanga was noted as the location of a 27 meters (89 ft) tall rail viaduct that was poorly constructed and required extremely slow crossing (10km/h), and if the wind speed exceeded 15km/h the passengers were made to walk across the bridge, after which the train followed.[2]

Inchanga viaduct, c. 1880

An alternate route around the ravine made the bridge obsolete in 1892, and a train station was built nearby in 1895.[3] A hotel was built near the train station in 1903,[4] but 20 years later a new rail line was built some distance away and business suffered. Both the hotel and the train station have been restored and are operating in their original function. The station serves as the midpoint on the excursion trips of the Umgeni Steam Railway.

External links

• Inchanga Hotel
• Umgeni Steam Railway

References

1. "Main Place Inchanga". Census 2011.
2. http://www.fad.co.za/Resources/foster/inchanga.htm
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2010-09-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2010-09-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)