Locomotive No. 12536, has left Stevens Mechanical and the pictures tell the story. However, without so much as grabbing a cup of tea, Keith dived into our next project.
With the NG4 coming out of Bloemfontein in the next 10-days we are having a good 2007.
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My own regulator design
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New Tube Plate completed
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New Tube Plate in position
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When traincrew from the Welsh Highland Railway were invited to work on its South African "Twin", the Sandstone Heritage line, it was an offer too good to miss. Dave Kent tells the story.
| Henry made a new fuel tank for the BSA railcar and is busy fitting the fuel filter and the new tank. Earlier in the week he helped to offload the one converted cattle truck that arrived at Sandstone from Port Shepstone. |
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| Henk is still busy at Port Shepstone with the removal of rolling stock and various other things that were bought by Sandstone from the PS steam loco shed. |
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| Robert was busy repairing the lubricators on the Barkley and the Peckett, he is currently helping with the replacement of the inspection hole on the tender of NG/G16 No. 113. |
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| I have finished repairing the tender on NG/G16 No.153, as well as the repairs on NG/G16 No. 113. After testing the tender for leaks I painted the inside of the tender. Now helping Henry on the BSA railcar and busy with the body work. |
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| Ben has finished drilling bigger holes in the No. 2 clips and put them in bags for the contractor how is going to built the new storage line at Sandstone. He also helped to offload the converted cattle truck that arrived at Sandstone from Port Shepstone. |
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| Oupa finished painting and varnishing the old wooden 3'6" gauge bogie. He helped with the tapping of the fishplate bolts for the new Sandstone storage line. |
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| Petrus helped at Vailima with the off loading of the converted cattle truck that arrived at Sandstone from Port Shepstone. He is also busy with the tapping of the fishplate bolts for the new storage line. |
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| Jamina is, as always, at her post, sweeping and washing the floors and keep the workshop garden neat and tidy. |
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Photographs courtesy of Gavin Boy
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This year our team was called upon to combine 2,300 ha of high yielding wheat on our various farms. For lands that were close to the railway we were able to make full use of our private narrow gauge railway on the farm.
With six high capacity combine harvesters operating we were able to bring in more than 500 tons of wheat per day which would tax any normal haulage system. However a double headed NG15 and NGG16 combination makes light work of the transport issue. This is an excellent example of how Sandstone, a large commercial arable farm, works hand in glove with the Sandstone Heritage Trust and its narrow gauge railway to achieve a common objective, namely to bring in the harvest. |
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The train is swiftly off loaded using high technology equipment. Here is our John Deere 6820 imported from the UK working with the Canadian manufactured Agrivac designed vacuum the train clean on a most efficient basis. |
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Narrow
Guage World magazine has produced this wonderful article about Port Elizabeth's Avontuur Railway. This year the railway celebrates its centenary, but its future is far from secure. David Payling looks at one of the world's great narrow gauge railways and its now vanished limestone traffic.
Thanks go to Narrow Gauge World for letting us use their article, David Joy - The Editor, and David Payling for writing the article.
Website: www.atlanticpublishers.com
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The big 8LW Gardner engine which has been meticulously restored by Zach and Dave van Staden is now ready for
installation in the Bagnall diesel locomotive. |
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A few minutes after the first photograph was taken Zach fired up this magnificent engine.
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The Bagnall stands ready to receive its power plant.
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This was a very difficult locomotive to rebuild, but we water tested her today as a complete locomotive with all the necessary parts in position and overhauled.
A few more jobs to do and she is on her way to Sandstone for a trial trip and a steam test. Regards, Lukas. A Nel |
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Credits due to the Transnet Heritage Foundation, Nerina Skuy
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Transnet Foundation, the social responsibility division of Transnet Ltd, reached a mutual understanding with the Heritage Railway Association of Southern Africa (HRASA) when the two parties entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on how to best to preserve the assets and protocols of the heritage rail environment.
An aspect of the social responsibility mandate of Transnet Foundation is that it preserves, through its Heritage Preservation arm (TFHP), the country’s rail heritage. Once at the forefront of South Africa’s transport and logistics infrastructure, the roles of rail have been left behind by the increasing conversion to mechanisation and modernisation, the railway’s glory days of steam locomotives, wood-bodied carriages, sandstone stations and the like are all but gone. With a common purpose and for the greater good of the preservation of rail heritage, TFHP and HRASA have reached a mutual understanding on how best to preserve the assets and protocols of the heritage rail environment. The agreement augurs well for the future of these, and brings together the two most significant role players in the industry says Eunice Maluleke, the Head of the Foundation. “We will all benefit from this protocol reached by our two organisations – commercial and non-commercial heritage ventures can now rest assured in the knowledge that, as the Foundation, we have opened up our processes to the scrutiny of the community-appointed custodians of our steam heritage”. The MoU signed between the parties allows them to share relevant information, to jointly oversee the responsible preservation and disposal of any of heritage assets, and for HRASA to act as an advisory board on all future leases, sales or disposals of TFHP assets. “HRASA undertakes to execute its responsibilities under this agreement in a diligent and professional manner, said HRASA Chairperson, Mark Robinson. “We are delighted that both parties are on board the same train, headed in the same direction, something necessary and relevant for the times in which we live and operate,” he emphasised. The steam locomotive, in particular, is an integral part of South Africa’s history and steam-hauled trains operating on the lines that criss-cross the country’s landscape fed the mass movement of people into the interior, as well as the once vast migrant labour system in the southern part of our continent. Steam haulage is remembered with awe as a prime example of the Industrial Revolution that changed the face of the world, but that also created opportunities for breadwinners, while also creating sadness as the sound of the Choo-Choo heralded the end of an era in the ways of family life as the advent of railway expansion gave the average man the ability to travel – both for work and pleasure – at reasonable cost. Many a South African story or legend, from the latter part of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, have their origins on steam-hauled trains. |
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| ALL ABOARD… Mark Robinson and Eunice Maluleke with the historic agreement entered into between Transnet Foundation – Heritage Preservation (TFHP) and Heritage Railway Association of Southern Africa (HRASA). Photograph: Len Smuts (ABOARD) |
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| HISTORY ON THE MOVE… Almost 500 combined years of South African railway history on the move as these two Class 7 Locomotives (built 1896 and 1901) head a train of vintage coaches (built 1909, 1932, 1903 respectively) out of Oudtshoorn, which are all kept in working order at the TFHP Museum in George. Photograph: Peter Rogers |
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| MUSEUM LINE… The driver of world-renowned Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe train, which runs along the south eastern coast of South Africa, opened the throttle for a brisk climb out of the Kaaimans River Valley. Photograph: Peter Rogers |
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| LEND-LEASE SUCCESS… A number of locomotives in the National Collection are formally loaned to enthusiast organisations for refurbishment. Here a recently restored Class GF Garratt leaves Mnyamana (south of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal) with a railway enthusiasts’ photographic charter train. Photograph: Peter Rogers |
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| MAJESTIC MONTAGU… Just half a kilometre to go, but the crew of this GMAM Garratt locomotive show no sign of letting up before reaching the summit of Montagu Pass. At this point the train is on a ledge some 250m above the valley floor below – this must surely be the most spectacular of South Africa’s railway passes! Photograph: Peter Rogers |
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| SCENIC STEAM… Double-heading Garratt locomotives head a tour train through the scenic Southern Cape rural areas. Photograph: Peter Rogers |
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Requests for the above photographs in high resolution jpeg format may be sent to: Nerina Skuy at |
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TRANSNET FOUNDATION – HERITAGE PRESERVATION |
Credits due to Errol Ashwell
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We continue to receive criticism over the demise of the Banana Express at Port Shepstone. Sandstone has in fact has very little involvement with this railway over the years and in order to put the record straight here is a chronological synopsis of the history of this line.
The demise of the Port Shepstone to Harding narrow-gauge railway – and the Banana Express tourist train – is a long, sad, story. Here’s the short version:
Will someone succeed in reopening the line before its centenary in 2011! WHO KNOWS? |
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View the images below - click each thumbnail to enlarge
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Locomotive Completed
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Rear View of the Locomotive
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Locomotive in Steam
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Locomotive Hoisted up ready for loading
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Locomotive being transported down the driveway
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Locomotive loaded onto Leon's Truck ready to go to Ficksburg
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Derick
Did alot of shouting trying to pack everything away after harvesting weekend! Cleaned all fires out of loco’s. Drove the Peckett for the harvesting photo’s. Fired the NG15 No. 17 and the Garratt No. 153 Serviced the motor for the rail sprying trolley to clean the wheat on the line. |
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 Busy doing repairs on 153, putting in a new ring for the piston cover of the left rear cover and servicing the excel boxes. Cleaned and put new oil and wool in the boxes. |
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Ben helped with repairing the locos used at harvest weekend, he also fired the Peckett for the photos.
Now Ben is making Scotch blocks for safety. Repairing signal arms for the signal posts between Hoekfontein and Grootdraai. Spraying the wheat on the line with the Wickham. Fired Little Bess for Robert Farmer's farewell. |
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Henk used the Wickham sprayed the weeds on the line and made a safety chain for Little Bess.
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| Henk also made a bush for the water pump on the spray trolley and started on the loco repairs. | |
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| Oupa helped Ben with the weed spraying and cleaned the locos and the workshop after the harvesting.. | |
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| Jemina cleaned the workshop so it was sparkling and made sure the garden was looking beautiful. | |
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| Petrus cleaned the smokeboxes and locos that were running during the harvest weekend. He finished tapping the fishplate bolts and is now busy making the fishplate pairs. | |
| Henry is on leave! See ou next time... Derick. | |
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Henry has been busy building an exhaust system for the BSA rail car.
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I completed the right side of the Garratt No.153's tender, put new wool into the axle-boxes and re-oiled them.
Now I am busy completing the right side of the front unit axle boxes. |
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An axle box before service
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After the servcie
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Ben is concentrating on the Ratanga wagon. He has taken the arm rests off, cut them to the right size and rounded the edges to get rid of all the sharp ends.
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Henk has now finished building the cow-catcher for the Kalahari's right side drain cocks.
He is now busy with the left side, this prevents stones interferring with the locomotive. He is also busy collecting the rest of the rolling stock from Port Shepstone, and will be bringing the restored O&K back to the Sandstone workshop. |
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Jamina is making sure everything is always tidy inside and outside the sheds as usual.
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Petrus has been slashing the workshop's front garden.
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Petrus has been working with Jamina in making sure that everything is pristine.
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The whole Sandstone Steam Team has been busy cleaning the railway line to keep it looking clean and tidy.
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