While work continues on the boiler in Pretoria, Gert Jubileus and his team have been busy at the Sandstone restoration facility. The overhaul of the engine units for number 155 has begun as our picture gallery shows.  The bearings proved to be in great condition and all the components have been stripped from the frames and  thoroughly cleaned. The loco has been out of service since 2000 when its boiler ticket expired at ACR so 20 years of accumulated grime had to be removed.

The front tank which was removed from the loco on arrival at Sandstone in 2002 has been brought up to the workshop for refurbishment. The loco will be turned out in its original red livery when the restoration is complete.

Preparatory work on the boiler of number 155 has begun in Pretoria with the old tubes being removed and the tube plates and boiler internals thoroughly cleaned. We now have the specifications for the Gas Producer Combustion System (GPCS) inlets on each side of the firebox which comprise a hollow boiler stay with a steel insert. At each outer end are “swirler” plates which rotate the air entering the firebox above the fire bed. Amazingly we have located a number of new ones in the Sandston store which must have arrived with 155 so many years ago that they were forgotten! Our picture gallery shows arrival in Pretoria and work on removing the tubes and cleaning the boiler in preparation for the retube.

After many years of debate Sandstone Heritage Trust has put the wheels in motion for the restoration of the modified 2ft narrow gauge Garratt Class NGG16 number 155.

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British Heritage Journalist, John Titlow, was an enthusiastic visitor to Stars of Sandstone 2019 and has written a number of articles for the British Heritage press. The February 2020 edition of Buses magazine has a story on Sandstone’s ex Welkom Bristol bus with some interesting new facts on the vehicle.
Click the links to Read More: Busses 1 & Busses 2