Sishen

Sishen, also spelt Sesheng, means New place

Attractions

Also see the neighbouring towns

Sishen is a mining town built for mining iron ore. It is located in an area called the Green Kalahari.

The mining pit is about 900m in diameter.

The Sishen-Saldanha railway of 861Km takes iron ore to Saldanha Bay. The train is one of the longest and heaviest in the world.

Normally the train transports about 22'300 ton per trip.

On 26-27 August 1989 a train ran, consisting of 660 wagons, 7.3Km long, weighing 69'393 tons, excluding locomotives. The wagons were pulled by nine 50kv electric and seven diesel electric
locomotives distributed all along the train.

The heaviest known train runs in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, carrying 32'320 tons per trip. The train of 2.5Km consists of 220 beds.

History

Sishen was established in 1953 to house mine workers.

TOP