Sandstone Heritage Trust - Rail News

RN 275 - Weekly Report - 23rd - 29th October 2006 - By Gert Jubileus

27th October 2006

SANDSTONE STEAMS AGAIN
This week we shunted “Sandy”, our 92 year old Fowler Locomotive from the sheds and steamed her to
haul a Passenger train from Hoekfontein to Grootdraai and Vailima. The Armour Museum gave training
on the Estates for the Military troops. In the photo above they posed for a photo with Mr.Mole and
Hester Papenfus, office manager, in front of the Fowler at Grootdraai near the Lesotho border.
Just left of Mr. Mole is their Instructor, Andrew Doyle.

The Fowler Locomotive hauled her train with ease and I could feel that she was happy to steam down
the tracks. This was good exercise for the locomotive and it gave me the opportunity to log all the
repairs that were needed. All the locomotive repairs are logged in one repair book and this helps
me to keep track of what has been done and what needs to be done.

Below are more photos of Sandy’s steaming day!

Click here for a VIDEO CLIP OF SANDY!!!
(For windows users, right click and save/play)
Mac users, control - Click, you know what to do.

Sandy’s right injector clack got stuck open while we were on our way to Vailima, the cut-off valve was
closed and the injector was put to work again. Although the injector worked again, we stripped both
injector cones and clack valves. The injector cones were cleaned and the clack valves were seated with
fine grinding paste. The cones were laid over the weekend in a special mix of soap to clean off all hard
salts that cannot be accessed due to the size of this little injector cones.
Below are photos taken of the repair work to both Sandy’s injectors.

The Left injector

The cut-off valve

The cone and clack valve

The left Injector

CLASS NGG 16 Number 153

This week Derrick finished the repair work that was needed inside the bunker of 153. He welded in a
new plate on the place where water was leaking out.
Below are photos of Derrick welding inside the bunker of 153.

The blow down cork spindle packing nut needed to be packed with new rope. The blow down
cork of these NGG is situated at a very unconvertible place under the boiler, and this was when I realised
that another requirement to be able to do this work, is to be able swear for ten minutes without using
the same word twice!!!
Below are photos taken of the repair work to the Blow down cork of 153.

THE BARCLAY
When we shunted the Folwer out, the Barclay landed on the inspection pit and I grabbed the opportunity
to adjust her brakes and to inspect her under frame with the hammer.
Below are photos of the Barclay on the pit.

Oupa started with the cleaning of all the locomotives in the shed.
Below: The Barclay on the pit and Oupa cleaning 49.

THE FUNKEY:
This week we adjusted the brakes of the Funkey and used her to shunt the mainline clear in Hoekfontein
Station. She shunted a total of 19 wagons from the mainline to the storage line.
Below are photos of the Funkey performing her duties.

View a short video clip of the wagons passing the tri-angle points in Hoekfontein Station. Click here >>>
(For windows users, right click and save/play)
Mac users, control - Click, you know what to do.

PORT SHEPSTONE WAGONS: We loaded our ten-ton Forklift early on Tuesday morning to assist with the loading and moving of wagons in Port Shepstone.

The Loading of the Forklift.	Arno secured the Forklift.
The Sandstone crew arrived back from Port Shepstone on Friday afternoon with a full load of 18 bogeys. All the bogeys were offloaded and the crew prepared again for the return trip to Port Shepstone. Below are photos of the load of bogeys.


GENERAL: SEMAPHORE SIGNAL. This week Petrus finished the de-scale work that was needed on the semaphore. He then painted the signal completely. WOODEN TOLLS: Petrus boxed another eight wooden tolls this week. We now have 13 wooden tolls ready to load onto the goods wagons.

WEED SPRAYING: Before we shunted the 19 wagons into the storage line, we sprayed the weeds with our weed trolley. We also sprayed the shunting yard around the Steam shed. WASH OUT PUMP: This week Derrick fitted another pipe next to the existing 2” pipe. This pipe can now be used to fill the smaller boilers.

THE COAL YARD This week Oupa finished the cleaning up of the coal yard. All the coal was bagged and stored inside the Coal stage for the use on small locomotives.

THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS

How far will you go? Sandstone Estates will go over the highest mountains, will cross the deepest rivers, travel across the borders and will go across the wildest oceans to save fast-disappearing Locomotives and wagons. A sad site to see, locomotives standing in immaculate conditions in derelict Locomotive graveyards. They are disappearing by the day, and the judge’s word was final, they must die! Below: Queenstown Locomotive Depot (photo taken 2006-10-29)


They might look little rusty, but it is not difficult to notice that who ever maintained these locomotives standing here, were well worth fitters. It is just so sad that within months these Giant machines, masters of a long gone era, will be gone forever!


One can just imagine how it will feel to have one of these locomotive? Why can’t they stop the slaughtering of these machines?



Class 19D number 2692 taking water at the column at Winburg Station, May 1979. She was the first Locomotive that took my breath away and she was the beginning of my Steam life. I was totally blown away when the driver took me on her footplate that day. I knew then that I was stuck to her forever. After a year our paths split and I never saw her running again.

October 1992 she was in a terrible accident near Lady Grey Station where she derailed with a passenger train in a cutting. Five passengers died on the scene and 38 were injured. A man and his wife were on her footplate and were killed too. She died too! After 27 years we met again in Queenstown and memories of her flashed through my mind. She was my first love and it really crippled my heart when I saw her yesterday and how badly she was hurt. After 27 years the circle was complete and we were reunited. Of all the Locomotives on the scrap list, she was the only one not crying out for help, for she knew that she was too badly hurt for anyone to save her from the torch and that her life ended on 10 October 1992. I touched her cold body yesterday and I know that it was our last goodbye. I wrote a poem for her some time ago:
	I AM THE LOCOMOTIVE SHINNING BRIGHT I am the locomotive shining bright Who greets the early morning light What a lovely day Received the ride away My whistle sounded loud My driver hanging out proud With thousand tons behind my back Speeding viciously down the track It’s a cold sunny day Then the track gave away Then the vicious sound My wheels touched the ground 26 ninety two Where is my crew? All the sounds I hear The very day I fear My warm body crashed the ground With a loud banging sound My body is torn apart The rocks in the cutting are hard This is my dying day My last steam blew away In Memory of her and all the people who died with her on the 10th October 1992.

PLANNING FOR NEXT WEEK: 1.) To finish 153 2.) To fit back regulator of number 17 3.) To spray weeds on 3’6” storage lines. 4.) To manufacture another coupler beam for Peckett 5.) To finish wooden tolls 6.) To clean all locomotives 7.) To clean ash puts 8.) To Prepare locomotives for Saterday trains 9.) To finish Semaphore Home signal. 10.) Clean all goods wagons in Station. 11.) To go on with the restoration of the Ratanga locomotive. 12.) To build a overhead column near the shed.