The Geoff's Trains tour has been and gone from Sandstone and the first photographs are now coming in. 

Gert Jubileus has completed his weekly report which covers the event in detail.

 

By Charles Polkey

Hi all,
Saturday 22nd May 2010 was the day we decided to raise steam on the traction engine. The machine was picked up from our cottage by Martin and Andries and taken to the PMES grounds.

THE FINAL COUNT DOWN!!!

It is the final countdown and the heat is on to repair and prepare for the forthcoming Cooke tour next week.

Click here to view the report - 1MB PDF (opens in a new window)

 

SAS and SAR lettering

We have had a number of people, particularly modelers, asking us for details of correct lettering when marking locomotives with SAR insignia. We use an outstanding sign company to do the work and we have attached their latest artwork. They can supply complete decal sets, prespaced and ready to apply. (Each letter will be individually cut out but spaced correctly on a single sheet of backing paper and with application tape applied). The size of this works out to approximately 850mm X 760mm and a decal this size will cost R258.00 per decal (or R516.00 per set of 2 decals).

Should anyone require further details they can contact Jerry Evans on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

The 16CR Story - Pacific's from the past!

Sandstone’s 16CR has attracted quite a lot of publicity recently, particularly from Model makers.

Gert Jubileus has produced a nostalgic review of our loco.

The evidence of their existence is slowly fading away but never will the good old memories of spending years and years on their footplates.

 

Click here to view the article - 1MB PDF (opens in a new window)

 

FREEZING STEAM

The winter is slowly moving its hands over the beautiful Eastern Free State and the worst is still to come with temperatures well below zero.  This is the best time for Steam photography and therefore we now are preparing for the forthcoming Geoff Cooke tour.

Click here to view the latest weekly report from Gert Jubileus - 3MB PDF (opens in a new window)

 

The Sandstone Heritage Trust always follows up regularly with regard to locomotives that have been supplied to third parties within the Preservation community.

We are pleased to advise that the locomotives at Century City are being well looked after and are in good condition. A constant maintenance regime is very important bearing in mind the fact that they are based in a coastal environment. We applaud the Century City management for their care and attention to these items.

Detailed update on Sandstone Heritage Trust Class 25NC 3488 'Enchantress'

Sandstone Heritage Trust 25NC, No. 3488 has a fascinating history. It is a premier example of its class. It is currently located at Reefsteamers Germiston but it is not in day-to-day operation, although it is in good condition.

Our sincere thanks to Lee Gates and to Richard Niven for putting this together. It would be great if every working steam loco in SA had an accurate and concise summary of its background in this format.

Click here to view the report - 753KB PDF (opens in a new window)

A decision was made to steam every restored NG locomotive owned by the Sandstone Heritage Trust.

Unfortunately the Welsh Highland Railway contingent who had volunteered to make up the bulk of the Drivers and Firemen could not make it because of the volcano in Iceland.  However, we managed to assemble enough volunteers to make things happen, and in fact every steam engine at Sandstone was steamed during the week. 

Here are some preliminary comments together with the first photographs that have come in from our photographers.

NUMBER 88

Sandstone accused of scrapping Heritage Railway items.

 

An item has appeared in the sar-L blog which is supported by a number of steam preservationists worldwide to the effect that Sandstone has cut up a vintage lathe previously based at the Alfred County Railway Port Shepstone workshops.  The history of the lathe is as follows:

 

When  the  Sandstone Heritage Trust was first invited by Andries Geyser, the liquidator of the Alfred County Railway to view various Heritage item for disposal , this lathe was seen to have been stripped and to be badly rusted.  Notwithstanding the above we made an offer to purchase it.  Eventually after much consultation the liquidator advised that this item did not fall under the liquidation of ACR and was in fact a Spoornet (division of Transnet) asset.  An official offer was made to purchase the item by Sandstone but at no stage did they respond.  This is normal since offers to purchase items from the National Railways  are seldom acknowledged.  Subsequent to the above the site was cleared and we assume that the item was sold for scrap or stolen by scrap thieves.

 

We would like to state unilaterally that the accusation made by Julian Pereira of the Alan Paton Railway that this item was scrapped by Sandstone is not correct.  Sandstone has spent considerable time and money saving Railway Heritage items and in fact restoring them and would gain no benefit from scrapping them.

 

We do accept that there is divisiveness in the Steam Preservation world and sometimes people with an axe to grind make these statements.  In response to the many people who have sent us e-mails asking why we were involved in this scrapping exercise we hope that our explanation will suffice.  The entire transaction is well documented from our side.

 

We would also add that in the view of our technical personnel this item was beyond repair due to the fact that it had been outside for so long.  At best it could have survived as an incomplete static exhibit.

 

SARL member writes:

 

Picked this up today, refer to posting 2a and 2b reply from Julian Pereira. This does not look like Sandstone’s style!

 

 

From: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]
Sent: 06 April 2010 12:11
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subject: [sar-L] Digest Number 3404

 

South African Railways fans

2a.

2' gauge shop equipment From: david b

2b.

Re: 2' gauge shop equipment From: Patons Country Narrow Gauge Railway

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2a.

2' gauge shop equipment

Posted by: "david b" This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   locomotive112

Mon Apr 5, 2010 10:23 pm (PDT)

Does any member know if either the Portshepstone or Port Elizabeth shops, or any of the South African shops for that mater, have any; wheel lathes, crank pin lathes and journal lathes that were specifically manufactured in the smaller size required for the 2' gauge equipment?

Most of the wheel lathes in North America can go no smaller than a 26" Dia. wheel and I don't think they will grab an axle of less than about 5' in length, so they won't work on the 2' gauge equipment.

I know the 3' gauge "Durango and Silverton" in Durango, Colorado. USA bought one of the SAR's driving wheel lathes back in the early 1990's. I wonder if these were capable of also working on the SAR's 2' gauge; wheels, axles, journals and crank pins?

Please enlighten me. I've wanted to know the answer to this question for about 20 years now. Loco112

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2b.

Re: 2' gauge shop equipment

Posted by: "Patons Country Narrow Gauge Railway" This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   dukejpdac

Tue Apr 6, 2010 3:10 am (PDT)

There was one at Port Shepstone which was cut up for scrap by Sandstone

A One-day Conference at the National Railway Museum in York, Walker and Alport Rooms

Outline Programme:
09:00 Registration and Coffee
09:45-10:15 Welcome and Introduction by C. Divall
10:15-11:30 Beyond Porta: New Front End Research (J.J.G. Koopmans)
(History of Front-End Research and Latest Developments)
11:30-12:00 Coffee and Tea Break
12:00-13:15 Experience with Modern Steam and new Developments (R. Waller, DLM)
Modern Steam in England: The 5AT Project (A. Fozard & C. Newman)
13:15-14:15 Lunch in the Engine Hall of the National Railway Museum
14:15-15:30 New Build Steam in England: The A1 Project (D. Elliott)
New Thinking on Fireless Steam Propulsion (H. Valentine)
15:30-16:00 Tea and Coffee Break
16:00-17:15 Modern Steam on the Hauenstein in Switzerland (A. Haas)
Alternative Traction for Community Railways (J. Sharpe)
17:15-17:30 Closing address by P. Salvesen

Conference Chairs:
Colin Divall (IRSTH), Robin Saunders (Sheffield) and Felix Schmid (RRUK)

Conference Fees:
£120.00 Standard Conference Fee including Refreshments and Proceedings

£ 85.00 Advance Payment Fee (Deadline 20 October 2006)
£ 50.00 Special Fee (Limited Number of Places, on Application to the IRS&TH)

Sponsoring Organisations:
Institute of Railway Studies & Transport History, National Railway Museum, Rail Research UK

Conference Journal:
‘Steam Railway’

Further Information and Registration:
Martyn Halman, IRS&TH Facilitator
Institute of Railway Studies
University of York
Heslington
York YO10 5DD
Tel: 01904 686 284
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Marina Boulis
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Sheffield
Mappin Street
Sheffield S1 3JD
Tel: 0114 222 7751
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Objectives of the Conference Organisers
The one-day conference on Developments in Modern Steam Traction for Railways is aimed at show-casing recent research and technical advances in railway steam traction for commercial use in specific applications. Colin Divall and Felix Schmid initiated this event in order to publicise the completion of Dr. J.J.G. Koopmans’ ground-breaking research into the front end design of steam locomotives and to promote current work on modern steam traction taking place in a number of European countries. It is hoped that the speakers and audience will engage in fruitful debates on the future direction of modern steam traction.

Who Should Attend
Developments in Modern Steam Traction is targeted at railway engineers and managers working in a professional capacity in today’s railway industry and in heritage operations. The conference is intended to raise their awareness of current developments in modern steam traction, the opportunities and limitations.
The organisers are expecting delegates with realistic views of the market potential of modern steam traction and interested in optimising its potential while minimising the environmental impact of steam railway operations. Heritage railways, in particular, will find that they have to improve the environmental footprint of their operations if they are to continue to succeed in an increasingly aware tourist market place.

The Contributions
Colin Divall will introduce the conference and will set the scene with a brief overview of steam traction as a commercially viable traction option for tourist railways and specific other applications.

Jos Koopmans studied at the Universities of Delft and Sheffield and presented his doctoral thesis 'The fire burns much better...' at the University of Sheffield in autumn 2005. His theoretical and practical studies have led to a substantial extension of the work of Chapelon and Dante Porta and have resulted in guidelines for good practice in front end design. Jos will outline the history of front-end research from its earliest days at the beginning of the 19th century to the work of Porta in Argentina. He will then outline the conclusions from his theoretical studies and will describe the results of the tests he undertook with the RTM54 locomotive in Holland.
Roger Waller of Dampflokomotiv und Maschinenfabrik of Switzerland will report on his company’s experience with building new steam locomotives and a steam engine for the ‘Montreux’ lake steamer for Lake Geneva. He will also discuss recent projects and plans.

Alan Fozard and Chris Newman will update the audience on progress with the 5AT project, conceived by David Wardale and his team, and will outline the major technical advances to be incorporated in the design to achieve success in commercial operation.

David Elliott will discuss the current status of the A1 project, including the production of the boiler and will inform the audience of the next steps. He will highlight the difficult compromise decisions that must be taken when recreating a historic locomotive that must satisfy modern standards of safety and environmental performance.

Harry Valentine will outline the current thinking on the use of stored steam in traction applications, with a particular focus on the availability of process steam and industrial applications.

Alfred Haas and John Sharpe will present both a Swiss and a UK view on the potential role of modern steam traction in enhancing the attractiveness of community railways and in revitalising branch lines.
Paul Salveson from Northern Rail will provide a closing summary, commenting on the relevance of the day’s proceedings for today’s railway industry.

Conference Proceedings
It is expected that conference proceedings, including technical papers by the authors, will be published by IRS&TH after the conference in paper form and these will be dispatched to delegates at the address given on the application form.

Registration Form (copy and paste into an email/word document)
I / we wish to participate in the 1-day conference ‘Developments in Modern Steam Traction for Railways’ at the National Railway Museum, 11 December 2006. Please reserve …. places for my organisation.
Name: …………………………………. Title: Mr. / Mrs. / Miss / Dr. / Prof. / Ir.
First Name: ………………………………….
Job Role: ………………………………….
Department: ………………………………….
Organisation: ………………………………….
Address: ………………………………….
Address: ………………………………….
Address: ………………………………….
City: ………………………………….
Post Code: ………………………………….
Country: ………………………………….

Conference Fees:
£125.00 Standard Conference Fee including Refreshments and Proceedings
£ 90.00 Advance Payment Fee (Deadline 20 October 2006)
£ 50.00 Special Fee (Limited Number of Places, on Application to the IRS&TH)
I enclose a cheque to the amount of £ …….., made out to ‘The University of York’.

Application for Special Fee
A number of reduced fee places are reserved for technical staff from heritage and community railways. Applications for a supported place must be made in writing to:
Prof. Colin Divall, IRH&TS at the University of York
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please send the registration form to either:
Martyn Halman, IRS&TH Facilitator
Institute of Railway Studies
University of York
Heslington
York YO10 5DD
Tel: 01904 686 284
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Marina Boulis
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Sheffield
Mappin Street
Sheffield S1 3JD
Tel: 0114 222 7751
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

SANDSTONE STEAM LOCOMOTIVES: THE RATANGA LOCOMOTIVE This last week Henry made good progress with the restoration of the Little Ratanga Locomotive. He machined new piston and valve rings as well as some of the bushes on the motion. Henry completed the left side of the locomotive motion and is busy with the right side. Lukas Nel in Bloemfontein also completed the boiler work that was needed. Below are some photos taken of Henry and the Ratanga Locomotive restoration.
The right cylinder.	Henry making new packing for the cylinder covers.
The piston head, cylinder cover, piston and crosshead.	Henry cleaning of all the rust and uneven surfaces inside the cylinder.
Good clean workmanship.
Henry machining parts for the Ratanga locomotive.	The inside of the right cylinder after Henry machined it to a smooth surface.
The Ratanga tender.	The motion on the right.
Once Henry is finished with both sides of the motion and cylinders, I shall set the valves and test her with air. The cab was sanded off and will be spray-painted soon. The boiler will then be fitted and the cladding will be made. The tender is halfway completed and on hold till Henkie returns from Port Shepstone.
CLASS NG 15 NUMBER 17: Last week we steamed the Kalahari on Saturday and this week it was time to attend to all the little steam leaks that was booked. Normally the driver will book the repairs and will not care how many he book, for it’s the fitters problem to fix all the repairs, but here I book repairs and have to fit them myself. J All the tarot spindles were packed and the left injector spindle has to be faced.
Packing of the spindle packing nuts with rope.	The injector spindle and valve was removed.
The injector valve with a thin layer of grinding paste.	The faced injector steam valve.
CLASS NGG 13 NUMBER 49 This week we took of the rear steam brake cylinder of 49 that was not working. The brake cylinder then was stripped and cleaned and a new steam pipe was fitted. The steam old steam pipe was blocked and was the reason the brake cylinder did not work. At least it was worth it to clean the cylinder in and outside.
Below left: The brake cylinder.
Below: The cylinder was stripped and cleaned.
Below: Then a new steam pipe was fitted after the cylinder was cleaned and lubricated inside and out.
CLASS NGG 16 Number 153 This week all the tarot spindles of 153 were packed as well as the ejector packing nuts.
THE LAWLEY:   The Lawley received some special attention this week. First of all the lubricator pipes were loosened and the choke valves were removed. The choke valves were stripped and were washed with degreaser. It is very important to keep these tiny holes open for they easily blocks. We then removed the valve covers and the valve setting was checked. Before we could do the valve setting, it was needed to catch up the play on all the pins working directly to the valves.   Below: The valve of the Lawley The Choke valve The stripped choke valves. Pins removed to catch up any play. The reverse axles were removed, cleaned and the play cached up.   THE WICKHAM RAILCAR: The Wickham came to the Inspection pit this week and little repair work was done to it. Henry made a new exhaust bracket and secured the exhaust.     THE FUNKEY MIDGET This Little locomotive gave some problems with her rear coupler and Derrick removed and done some welding work on it. Below is a photo of Derrick fitting back the coupler.   THE BSA RAILCAR: The BSA Railcar was re-railed this week and a full-scale restoration is done to the body as well as the mechanical side.   Below: Derrick is working on the body. Henry is doing the mechanical side of the car.   SANDSTONE ESTATES TRACK: This week the entire Railway line was sprayed for weeds. To see a short clip of the Wickham attacking weeds, click here! >>>>>>   POINT NUMBERS We made and stenciled numbers for the points. Each set of points has its own number, as illustrated below right. This will make it easier to book repairs as well as to follow up on repairs. The rest of the point will receive their numbers in next week. PHOTO BELOW: While we were spraying the Railway line, two airplanes were spraying the lands on the Farm. Below: Just imagine yourself on a train running through these breathtaking scenes on the Sandstone Steam Railway. Here are so many photo opportunities to be explored. WOODEN TOLLS: Petrus completed 21 wooden tolls so far and will continuous as soon as he is finish cleaning all the locomotives motion. LOCOMOTIVE MOTIONS: Below are some photos taken of Petrus washing the motion of the locomotives. We are going to clean the motions of the locomotives after each run and once they are clean, it will not take up much time to keep them clean. It is needed to be kept clean to enable us to see if any cracks may occur. THE OVERHAED WATER COLUMN: This week we erected the overhead column just outside the shed where we lit the locomotives. We can shunt out the locomotives and while we wait for steam we can fill the tenders and safe lots of time. The water for the column comes directly out of the black water tank wagon on the left in the photo below. The column has no water in unless we plug in the two-inch water pipe and start our big centrifugal pump. This is water in a second with a feeding of 27000 liters an hour. We also fitted a spray light in the middle of the column to light up the area below the column in the nights. Above left: Derrick shows where the two-inch pipe is connected. Below: Henry machined a pin for the Farm. WAGON NEWS: The restoration of the wagons is slightly on hold while we concentrate on other loose ends. However, Derrick is busy with the fitting of a new vacuum train pipe onto the XC as illustrated below.   PLANNING FOR NEXT WEEK 1.) To fit back brake cylinder of 49 2.) To prepare Little Bess and the Peckett to steam. 3.) To go on with restoration of BSA Railcar body and mechanical. 4.) To clean the motion of all locomotives 5.) To clean Locomotives 6.) To box remaining wooden Tolls 7.) To go on with restoration of Ratanga Locomotive. 8.) To ballast storage line and lift and pack. 9.) To offload spares from Port Shepstone. 10.) To fit all point numbers. 11.) To stencil wagons 12.) To do under frame restoration of XC and stencil. 13.) Locomotive Repairs. 14.) Train Tour on Saturday. 15.) Wagon maintenance   NEXT LOCOMOTIVE IN STEAM!