O&K 11112 is a favourite with our younger visitors on Seb’s Heart of Africa Railway. Picture by Sandstone.
We tend to think that 1925 was not that long ago but it is now 100 years ago and two of our steam locomotives have just celebrated their 100th birthday!
On the 2ft gauge system we have O&K 0-4-0WT number 11112, which was rescued from Fazenda Tentativa Sugar in Angola where it was their number 5. It last saw service in Angola in 1969 and was returned to working order by Lukas Nel and his team at Bloemfontein in 2016.
The 15CB is seen in steam at Rustenburg in July 1985. Picture by Dennis Moore.
In the 3’6’ gauge collection and standing at Kommando Nek siding, is 15CB 4-8-2 number 2071. This was the last of its class of 12 locomotives ordered in 1924 and 1925 with many American features new to South Africa such as grease lubrication and self-cleaning smokeboxes. By 1976 they were all withdrawn and sold to industry. 2071became Rustenburg Platinum number 4. They are close cousins of South Africa’s noisiest locomotives, the 15CA.The locomotive was gifted to Sandstone along with 15F number 2910.