Hi Sybil, Happy New Year. I have a book on South African railways, so I had a quick look at the information on the line between Pretoria and Pietersburg. (Nylstroom is now called Modimole and Pietersburg is called Polokwane, - all a bit confusing). Apparently the area of the Waterberge was an agricultural area, but not very accessible. With the advent of the railways to that area, the agriculture began to flourish. A line was constructed between Nylstroom and Vaalwater as a way of creating jobs after the National Party won the 1924 elections with the support of the Labour Party. That might account for extra jobs in the area? Hope this helps a little. Best wishes, Rose > Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:16:51 +0200 > From: sybilbj@gmail.com >