During the winter, rail services between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay are often plagued by windblown sand, which covers the tracks and undermines the trackbed and sleepers. This isn’t a new problem – 5km east of town on the C14, notice the embankment which has buried a section of narrow-gauge track from the last century. In front of the train station are the remains of the Hope, an old locomotive that once ran on the original narrow-gauge railway.
Both were abandoned after the line was repeatedly buried beneath 10m sand drifts. The Hope is now a national monument and stands on 6th St in front of the train station.