Sandstone’s third Class 91 diesel has safely arrived at Hoekfontein and has been placed in the running shed alongside sister loco 91-010. Initial examination has shown that the loco has a good engine and excellent wheels and bogies. A number of cab fittings are missing together with some electrical components but these will be retrieved from 91-016 acquired from Grindrod in 3’6” gauge some time ago.

Sandstone has acquired 91-019, the penultimate member of its class, from Port Elizabeth. 91-019 is believed to be the last unit given an overhaul by Transnet but a full inspection will be carried when the unit arrives at Sandstone this week. After almost 9 years out of use the unit looks a bit shabby but will be fully assessed by the loco workshop team.

Our pictures from Hansie Claasen show the complex loading procedure at Humewood Road on to the transport lowbed using two cranes.

Ex SAR 19D, Sappi no 2, has been donated to Sandstone by Sappi from the Saaicor Mill at Umkomaas in Kwa Zulu Natal. The Unkomaas Mill was the last industrial steam operation in South Africa and introduced diesel operation in 2015. The 19D, which was SAR no 2633, was built by Skoda as works number 928 of 1938 and is one of only fifteen 19D’s built by this manufacturer. Planning is now underway to relocate the locomotive to Sandstone’s Eastern Free State base where the locomotive will be initially plinthed and examined for possible future restoration.

The Class NG10, currently under restoration at Sandstone’s Bloemfontein workshop, underwent its first steam test under the watchful eye of Lukas Nel and moved under its  own power for the first time in 59 years having been withdrawn from service for preservation in Port Elizabeth in 1960. The restoration will certainly go down in the annals of steam preservation in South Africa as one of the most difficult ever accomplished and on a par with some of the restorations from the famous Barry scrapyard in the UK.

The locomotive will be launched into service at the Stars of Sandstone 2019 event on April 5^th.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ebetGWzf9DQ

As we mentioned last time progress has slowed slightly with a lot of detail work being completed. We are proud to release the first pictures of the cab interior and fittings plus a view of the exterior of the cab with all the windows and frames now in place.

What a beauty!

After the arrival of a number of outstanding parts prior to the weekend Lukas Nel and his team exceeded their expectations over the last couple of days with the fitment of a large number of items:

The cylinder cladding was fitted along with the snifter valves, the left and right side injector piping, the lubricator and piping, the whistle valve, safety valves and the tender handbrake. We will now be able to complete the hydraulic test to identify any leaks prior to a steam test next week. Not long to go now!

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The locomotive is now attached to the tender and apart from a few minor boiler mounts and regulator parts is almost at the end of an impressive restoration by Lukas Nel and his team. What a beauty!

As per our last report we needed to mate the NG10 with its tender which were on different lines in the Bloemfontein Workshop. Lukas and his team built a temporary traverser to move the locomotive across the workshop and re unite it with its tender. Now work continues to the finish. There are still a large number of small parts due back from suppliers in the next few weeks to bring the restoration to its conclusion.

Our pictures show the temporary traverser and the locomotive complete with its tender.

The tender is now close to completion and will be moved behind the locomotive to finish the intermediate pipe work. A completely new blast pipe, blower nozzle and vacuum exhaust nozzle has been manufactured and fitted into the smokebox so not long to go! The number plates and Baldwin works plates will be completed soon and we will feature those when they arrive.

Some time ago we made an offer to purchase the redundant locomotive turntable at Assegaaibos on the Port Elizabeth to Avontuur 2ft gauge line which was accepted by Transnet. Over the last few days we have dismantled the turntable and loaded it on our low bed for transport to Sandstone where it will be re-erected close to our loco depot. The turntable was erected at Assegaaibos in the late 60’s when the whole depot was upgraded but since the demise of steam in the early 70’s has seen little use although it was used to turn 91 Class diesel locomotives occasionally.

Originally a 3’6” gauge unit, it is believed to have come from Greytown.

The turntable will be a useful addition to the railway infrastructure and give the railway added turning capabilities over and above the existing triangle which can become congested at times being part of the main running line.

Our pictures show the turntable in situ and being uplifted and loaded for transport by the Sandstone team.

Lukas Nel and his team have been very busy prior to the holiday break. The tender tank fitment to the frame has now been completed and a handbrake plus the required levers have been fabricated. We have also acquired a number of spares to complete the water valves for the tender. Those magnificent tool boxes we showed in our last report have also had a repaint. This detail work has taken a lot of time and the steam test will now only be in January.

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Our pictures this week shows the NG10 moving towards a finished state with most of the external piping in place, the chimney fitted together with the safety valves on the dome. Attention now moves to completing the tender with its new tank and rebuilt frame and completing the cab on the locomotive.