each other diplomatically, and therefore a passenger wagon was wheeled onto the bridge in between and the negotiators returned to their home countries. As the agreement was signed a year before the line's opening, it appears that this short rail line was completed before the Volksrust-Standerton line was built, and that it was used to transport railway construction goods to the area. The government of Natal paid for the line. They were eager to pay the costs since they anticipated profits that would more than cover the expense. Zuid-Westerlijn In 1885, the Cape railway reached Kimberley, and the following year, when the ZAR had difficulty obtaining a £5,000 loan and McMurdo struggled to build the Delagoa Bay line through the swamps near Delagoa Bay, President Kruger and the Cape government proposed extending the Kimberley line to near the Rand. No agreement was reached, and therefore the Zuid-Westerlijn started as a domestic rather than an international line. Gold was discovered in August 1886 on Rietvlei Farm near Klerksdorp, and therefore the Randtram line was built between Krugersdorp and Springs. On 18 August 1884, the Volksraad decided to build a line between Krugersdrop and Klerksdorp. This line, the Zuid-Westerlijn, was an extension of the Randtram with the same gauge. NZASM was not eager to build the line since they realized it would be unprofitable. Eventually, the ZAR government and NZASM agreed that the government would cover half of the costs and guarantee the NZASM's interest. The route was surveyed during the first half of 1894, and on 18 September of that year, the Volksraad granted the permit to start construction. Construction began on 18 July 1895, and after the work was delayed by the Jameson Raid, the line opened to near Potchefstroom on 11 July 1897, and finally began serving Klerksdorp on 3 August. In 1897, the line carried 3,975 passengers boarding at Klersdorp station, more than 270 tons of freight, and around 1,848 horses, livestock, and vehicles. Income was £5,976, but expenses were £6,779. At the beginning of 1898, to help the gold mining industry, railway tariffs were lowered, despite losses growing to £13,047 by the end of that year. In 1905, after the NZASM was merged into the Central South African Railways (CSAR), the Zuidwesterlijn was extended to Fourteen Streams (near Warrenton), and today the line is served by the Blue Train. Locomotives The NZASM did not classify locomotives into