The hard work put in by Lukas Nel and his team over the last few months is now coming to fruition with the completion of the first of the two tender bogies for NG10 number 61. Our pictures of the first completed bogie show how the team almost travelled back in time to produce the units as they were in 1915 when the locomotive rolled out of the Baldwin workshops in the USA.
Class 91 number 91-016 has been acquired by Sandstone from RRL-Grindrod after the closure of their rail division. One of four ex TFR 91 Class diesels staged at the Pretoria workshops of Grindrod, 91-016 was Grindrod’ s number 91 04. This example, as with the other three, was converted to 3’6” gauge for use in the Welkom area by extending the 2ft gauge bogies and axles to 3’6”. The locomotive is complete and still retains its Caterpillar engine although it is not in working order. The locomotive is primarily for parts for Sandstone’s 91-010 but the locomotive is being examined to diagnose the fault that resulted in it being staged.
Our picture gallery shows its arrival at Sandstone and unloading for storage in the 150m shed. An additional picture shows 91 04 working in the Wekom area in 2011.
Click here to view the latest update on the railway scene at Sandstone.
The Bloemfontein team have received some spares from the machine shop but exciting news is the acquisition of some axle boxes that may be modified so that the rebuilt tender will now have eight boxes of the same type.
The tedious but essential work of reclaiming items from the chassis of the NG10 continues with subsequent cleaning. The tender bogie axles are also seriously rusted and much attention is being given to restoring them to pristine condition and repairing the damage caused by rust on the tyres and axles as well as the bearing journals.
Keith Stevens and his team have been forging ahead with the boiler rebuild for NG10 number 61, here is his latest report with a picture gallery.
“Work is progressing well with the NG10 Locomotive Boiler and it has now all been assembled together apart from the Outer Firebox. There is still a way to go and I anticipate completion around the end of October”.
Riveting the dome to new boiler barrel section
Attention has shifted to the tender bogie where some problems have been experienced. Many parts are not original with some items such as the axle box dust shields shown in the photo actually fabricated from wood. This is believed to have happened when the loco was originally set aside for preservation. Lukas Nel and his team are looking for parts with the original look or will fabricate new ones from the NG10 drawings we have.
The springs on the bogie have been pressure tested and the centre part of the bogie is being assembled. All this work is time consuming but necessary to complete the standard of restoration required.
Following on from our last update, the Bloemfontein team are waiting for some parts for the motion and in the meantime have begun to strip the number two tender bogie for assessment and repairs. A complete overhaul is required as expected as many parts are damaged and all are very badly rusted.
Attention has now been given to the cylinder and valve covers as all the studs were rusted solid and could not be unscrewed. They have now been drilled out, retapped and replaced with new studs as our pictures show.
The repairs to the front bogie and bissel bogie are now complete and work has progressed to assembling the front ends starting with the side rods, connecting rods, piston slide bars and cross heads. When the loco was originally stripped many parts were found to be missing and these are now being fabricated to complete the work. Our pictures show some general views of the loco’s front end.
After receiving the necessary machined fixing bolts the brake shaft and bissel bogie have now been fitted to the frames of NG10 number 61 as our photo gallery from Lukas Nel shows.
Gert Jubileus from our rail division has produced an excellent schematic map of Hoekfontein and its railway infrastructure. Click here to view the PDF.
