--- title: "SHUNTED: The story of a railway junction" description: "The slow disintegration of the South African Railways over the two decades prior to democracy led to a bleeding out of small towns all over South Africa. What happens to the people left behind at these ghost stations?" type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "MAVERICK CITIZEN PHOTO ESSAY" author: "Eric Miller" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/eric-miller/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-09-22-shunted-the-story-of-a-railway-junction/" published: "2019-09-22T23:29:31" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 430 --- # SHUNTED: The story of a railway junction > The slow disintegration of the South African Railways over the two decades prior to democracy led to a bleeding out of small towns all over South Africa. What happens to the people left behind at these ghost stations? By Eric Miller · Published 23 September 2019, 01:29 SAST ## Content South African documentary photographer Eric Miller passed through a tiny dot on the map of the Northern Cape, a railway junction called Hutchinson – where once up to 200 mainline freight and passenger trains passed through every week – and felt compelled to tell the place’s story. “It’s an extraordinary narrative about the lives of ordinary people in a hollowed-out town. There are layers and layers of complexity, and it includes, but isn’t limited to, transport policies before and after democracy, racial segregation, economic change and social-grant survivalism,” Miller told *Maverick Citizen*. Miller wanted to tell the story in a medium other than photography. The result is a film documentary titled *Hutchinson: SHUNTED*. Next week, at 2pm on Heritage Day (Tuesday 24 September), the people of Hutchinson, Victoria West and Beaufort West will get to see it at a special screening at the Apollo Theatre in Victoria West. *Maverick Citizen* will be there. The award-winning photographer shared some of his photographs from Hutchinson with us. **MC** ![AA Shosholoza Meyl train, Cape Town-bound, stopped at the Hutchinson station platform. The train is seldom on time, leaving people shivering in the winter pre-dawn cold. It is scheduled to arrive at 5.30am, but it can arrive anything from an hour to ten hours later than that. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/yha7Q4ZYHSTJYpo-Gp6SnuTcM34=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-7.jpg) *AA Shosholoza Meyl train, Cape Town-bound, stopped at the Hutchinson station platform. The train is seldom on time, leaving people shivering in the winter pre-dawn cold. It is scheduled to arrive at 5.30am, but it can arrive anything from an hour to ten hours later than that. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![Siyanda Fass, a Hutchinson teenager, in the rubble of the old whites-only school. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/zUb2WqHZq56pEN9_7l51qmKPRuo=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-Inset-1.jpg) *Siyanda Fass, a Hutchinson teenager, in the rubble of the old whites-only school. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![The front of the now-abandoned remains of the old whites-only school. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/42J175JSbVwZ7P5-Bw7hDwMZjZ8=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-2.jpg) *The front of the now-abandoned remains of the old whites-only school. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![Hutchinson station sunrise, from the railway bridge. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/4xbb1us3kJE-yYlkFSwHukWH1ro=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-3.jpg) *Hutchinson station sunrise, from the railway bridge. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![The abandoned swimming pool, changing rooms, recreation hall and playground in the old white part of town. Miller used a drone to render a bird’s-eye view of the town’s ruins. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/VSjX9kCfRUTgkV_oyfwTOre6ykA=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-4.jpg) *The abandoned swimming pool, changing rooms, recreation hall and playground in the old white part of town. Miller used a drone to render a bird’s-eye view of the town’s ruins. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![From the railway bridge in the early morning light, one can almost miss the desolation and destruction of the station. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/gUCsP2z1-ja3CwCb7vIZ_4Y4ea0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-5.jpg) *From the railway bridge in the early morning light, one can almost miss the desolation and destruction of the station. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![Unoccupied railway houses have been left vulnerable to the elements and plunder. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/d8KC0n4P6EvsZY7ymg-UUNcYosc=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-6.jpg) *Unoccupied railway houses have been left vulnerable to the elements and plunder. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![Maria Maseti provides for her children and several dogs by working as a part-time cook at the local crèche. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/4AnjMqN6NJeDiJPhUvc4kGmkbTo=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-8.jpg) *Maria Maseti provides for her children and several dogs by working as a part-time cook at the local crèche. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![A schoolboy on his way to early-morning class asks passengers for food. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Bu5a3TuuyE-iRSSv97bkQUXImJE=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-9.jpg) *A schoolboy on his way to early-morning class asks passengers for food. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![Sophie Plaatjies has been teaching at Hutchinson Primary for 40 years. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/SVaFzIYlh9ihH1cq64mWviAnp0w=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-10.jpg) *Sophie Plaatjies has been teaching at Hutchinson Primary for 40 years. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![The Hutchinson graveyard alongside the railway tracks. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Pfiqa6gZREpGsiNzj0Y1hz36eQo=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-11.jpg) *The Hutchinson graveyard alongside the railway tracks. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![Two local women after a foray collecting firewood in the bush. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/xz8MNEGV74_6rwZuEqQab5CGTGo=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-12.jpg) *Two local women after a foray collecting firewood in the bush. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![Arend Maarman, retired railway worker, and part-time dominee at the local church. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/LPVpaQB2Tcg_ff_zFDhQpScZ6OY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-13.jpg) *Arend Maarman, a retired railway worker and part-time dominee at the local church. (Photo: Eric Miller)* ![The moon sets over Hutchinson Station. (Photo: Eric Miller)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/4Kg2pEOipyf7hwbeKRnmeDWcHE0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/MC-Hutchinson-Pics-Schimke-inset-14.jpg) *The moon sets over Hutchinson Station. (Photo: Eric Miller)*