RN 102- Sandstone Steam Railway weekly activities - by Gert Jubilius

1st - 7th October 2005

Wagon restorations

B WAGONS NO. 1629, 2436, 1812 The three B wagons were moved from the siding to the shed for the finishing touches of restoration. The vacuum cylinders were de-scaled and painted. Vacuum steel pipes were fitted and Jacob did some finishing paint touch up to these wagons. The three B wagons still need the vacuum cylinders to be fitted and a brake adjustment. This B wagons will be completed by the end of next week and will be stencilled as well. Here are some photos of the restoration process:

THE FLAT WAGON: Jacob finished the paint touch up work that was needed to finish the second flat wagon. This wagon is now ready to be used and will be added on the list of the Sandstone restored wagons. We have stencilled the remaining wooden crates that will be fitted on this wagon.

THE BRITANNIA B WAGON: Derrick started on the Britannia B wagon again this week. He finished the welding of the plates for the water tank on the Britannia B, and started with the building of the coalbunker and shovel plate. The construction work on this B wagon will be finished by the end of next week. Derrick will then start with the transformation on the B wagon body and will include the spraying with spray filler to give a smooth paint effect after it is sprayed with paint. He then will fit a wooden floor similar to the floors of the flat wagon that will help to absorb the shock on the Britannia Boiler that will be fitted onto after the completion of this B wagon. This promise to be a masterpiece of restoration because of the high standards of work on this wagon. Here are some photos of the construction work on the Britannia B wagon:


Locomotive Report
THE KALAHARI: Ib am currently attending to a backlog of work, but the Kalahari’s fire bars was bothering me so much, so Derrick finished the construction of all seven fire bars for the Kalahari and fitted the new fire bars. This is done and my mind is at rest now. Here is Derrick busy with the last fire bar for the Kalahari:

THE REFURBISHING OF THE DOUGLAS LOCOMOTIVE: Henry collected the pieces of the Douglas locomotive cab and side tanks at Pandora. He started with sandblasting of the locomotive and will finish it on Monday. He took the tank into the workshop and started with construction work that is needed on the side tanks. The cab will be repaired next and once its finished, it will be fitted onto the Douglas locomotive. The sandblasting will recommence and the locomotive will be sprayed in the correct colours. Henry also collected the cab of a 19D at Pandora. This will make part of a sideline job and will be sandblasted and spray-painted as well. The cab will then be placed inside the shed for display purposes and we are going to fit all the required fittings inside the cab to look as realistic as possible. This will be of special interest to visitors. Here are some photos of the Douglas Locomotive restoration.



The BSA Railcar
Des started with the construction work on the BSA again this week. He removed the original radiator and stripped it to repair the cores. The radiator was fitted back and he started with the construction of the bonnet for the BSA. All the pedals were removed and plates were cut and fitted onto the BSA. The main frame received fibreglass and the edges of the frame will be supported with extra angle iron. It really gets exciting to see the body of the BSA getting the shape like in its younger days. Here are some photos of the BSA progress:

General & other restorations
SOFTENER HOUSES: Henry finished the construction of the third softener house and it was spray-painted. The houses are now ready for use with the installation of the water softeners at the water columns.

STATION NAME BOARDS AND RECTIFICATIONS TO STATIONARY BOILER DRAW BARS: Arno fitted the completed station name boards to appropriate poles and it is now ready to be erected at the stations. Arno also rectified the stationary boilers drawbars and fitted all the new fire extinguishers inside the workshop.


BAGGAGE TROLLEY RESTORATION: Jacob started with the restoration work to the baggage trolleys. He de-scaled the trolley and spray painted it. The under frame just needs to be painted black to finish the first trolley in line for restoration.

LINE WEED SPRAYING: Jacob and Ben started with the spraying of the Railway line and will complete the line spraying in next week. Here is a photo of the Wickham and weed spray trolley in action:

From the past

My late grandfather who used to be the Station Master on Perdeberg station took this photo. The date of this photo is unknown, but the locomotive is a Class 23 awaiting a crossing at Perdeberg station on the Kimberley - Bloemfontein line. My grandfather was very proud of his Station and won many trophies for having the neatest Station in the Free State. Today, he is gone, the Station derelict but the trophies remain in the family to remind us from a man who gave his life to work on the Railways.


Steam Greetings, Gert