Railway Heritage

RN 293 - Madelaine Senekal brings the local children from the church for a day of steam

16 April 2010

Sandstone Heritage Trust - Rail News

RN 293 - Madelaine Senekal brings the local children from the church for a day of steam

14th December 2006

Madelaine Senekal, her husband Jan and their two sons brought their church group of 70 underprivileged children to Sandstone to enjoy a day of steam! Madelaine's thank you letter explains it all!

Dear Mr. Mole,

From myself, Jan , our two boys and 70 other children we would like to thank you very much for the wonderful opportunity to visit Sandstone Estates on 4/11/06. I think it was better than the children's wildest dreams, definitely not what they had in mind at all.

There was a little boy that went to the reverant and said:
"Sir I have a train too, but only a toy one, but today I am very glad I could have a ride in a real locomotive".

Our youngest Jano, was very excited as we came near to the farm. Some of the children were riding with us in the car. He could not stop telling them about Pandora, Kommandoberg, Drakenstein, the silo's, the oxen, the steam tractors etc, etc.
One little girl said to him, "Jano it looks like you know everything about the farm?" and he proudly answered that of course, this is where I grew up, then he just chatted away telling them with his two eyes so big, remembering everything that he could remember about the farm.

Our church has got an orphange house that we must look after with regards to food, clothes and cleaning materials. Our ladies each get a chance quarterly to give a bithday party for 14 children. 9 of the boys were also at the farm. One little boy who was in our carriage did not say much, he just stood wondering away as the locomotive steamed along. We who have more than enough dont realise everyday how fortunate we are. This little boy is probably not even 10years old, and has ahad so many awful things happen to him in his life. So we could place the little stars back in his eyes, although it was just for the moment.

A small token of appreciation will be delivered to the farm as well as a cd with some pictures on.

For Hester, Gert, Derick and Petrus who organised and handled everything we also want to say thank you.
It was really nice seeing all of you again.

I myself left the farm with tears in my eyes

Thank you very much once again.

Lots of love, Madeleine, Jan, Morne and Jano Senekal

All the happy kids in front of the Waenhuis

Smiling in fron of the Kalahari's tender

Gert Jubileus with Derrik van Zyl in the background on the Kalahari's footplate

While the church group's visit was complimentary (Sandstone Estates hosts many such educational children's groups throughout the year) it is nonetheless good to remind everybody that certain things are "the right thing to do".

The Kalahari off to a steaming start

Hanging out of carriage windows is a great way to pass the afternoon!

Mmm... I'm not too sure about this... will this thing hold?

Tenelle & Lenka Papenfus in front of the Kalahari, with Gert Jubileus and Derrik van Zyl

Enjoying the view

RN 294 - An outing for the Peckett 2161

16 April 2010

Sandstone Heritage Trust - Rail News

RN 294 - An outing for the Peckett 2161

14th December 2006

Our newly restored Peckett, No.2161 had an outing during the week. It is a big, solid, powerful locomotive that performed flawlessly.

Below: Driver Derrik van Zyl

RN 296 - O & K update from Bloemfontein

16 April 2010

Sandstone Heritage Trust - Rail News

RN 296 - O & K update from Bloemfontein

14th December 2006

Quietly in the corner of Lukas Nel's workshop, another locomotive is moving towards full restoration.
O&K 0-4-WT 2510/1907, is seen here in its different forms.

The chassis and wheels.

The boiler is complete and ready for installation.

RN 297 - Bloemfontein - The NG4 is coming together very rapidly now

16 April 2010

Sandstone Heritage Trust - Rail News

RN 297 - The NG4 is coming together very rapidly now

14th December 2006

The NG4 is coming together very rapidly now.
When the brass goes onto a loco in Lukas Nel's wonderful workshop in
Bloemfontein one must start planning the steam trials.

A close-up of the brass.

A close-up of the brass.

One should remember that this locomotive had
almost no components left. The reverser had to be made from scratch.

During last week Lukas had an assistant in
the form of Robert Farmer from the UK. Robert has come out to South Africa
for a few weeks and offered his services as a volunteer. He is knowledgeable
and has been of great assistance to us.
Here is a picture of Robert on the footplate of the NG4.

RN 298 - Spectacular documents on the Avontuur line's rich history

16 April 2010

Sandstone Heritage Trust - Rail News

RN 298 - Spectacular documents on the Avontuur line's rich history

19th December 2006

Although the memories of the Sandstone Heritage Trust Avontuur Adventurer train in 2005 is fading from memory, the line's future remains in the balance. To support our position that this is the most spectacular Narrow Gauge railway in the world (in fact apart from being the longest and serving the highest bridge), it has a very rich history which is well documented.

One of the residents of Avontuur, Jimmy Zondach, has kindly made available this spectacular set of documents which commemorate some of the history of the line. The information is of the highest quality including the letter from the Lady in Waiting to the late Queen Mother, personal correspondence together with publicity documentation, and special front cover editions.

Our sincere thanks to Jimmy Zondach for making this information available to us.

We encourage anyone who has the interests of the Avontuur Line at heart to write in and express their support for the continued survival of this line.

RN_298_01

RN_298_02

RN_298_03

RN_298_04

RN_298_05

RN_298_06

RN_298_07

RN_298_08

RN_298_09

RN_298_10

RN 299 - Steam shed report - by Derrik van Zyl

16 April 2010

Sandstone Heritage Trust - Rail News

RN 299 - Steam shed report - by Derrik van Zyl

19th December 2006

Sandstone Estates Welcomes Robert Farmer Sandstone Estates would like to welcome Robert Farmer from The Bredgar & Worms Hill Light Railway (www.bwlr.co.uk). Robert has requested some time ago to make a dedicated volunteer trip to The Sandstone Heritage Railway. Therefore he has offered his services for a month on a working holiday basis. Robert has an agricultural engineering background gained from agricultural dealerships in the UK and is a pro-active member of the Bredgar & Worms Hill Light Railway. Robert hails from Tonbridge in the Garden of England Kent. Robert was first packed into a Freightliner Argosy truck and sent on a cross country trip to urgently recover a narrow gauge Garratt coal tender and wagon bogies from Port Shepstone. This provided him with some excellent experience in heavy duty rigging assisted by truck driver Leon Flynn and steam shed fitter Henk De Bruin. Robert also had a chance to experience the closure of a huge steam operation the Banna Express. Robert also spent some time with our master loco builder Lukas Nel in Bloemfontein and seen first hand at the quality standard and speed to which the restoration workshops are operating under. Robert can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we look forward to a website report from him soon on his experiences of the Sandstone Heritage Railway. Right: Robert on the NG4's footplate at the Bloemfontein workshops.
BSA Rail Car Gets Eager for "Loco-Motion" The BSA rail car has had a roller coaster year, often accumulating with a huge burst of activity and then stalling with some set-backs. Of course since this is a complete rebuild project there is considerable amount of fabrication, design and issues to overcome. Henry Brown has committed himself to the project and as such has fabricated diesel tank and sorted out some of the drive problems from the main gearbox. While there is a lot of cosmetic body work to complete the mechanical aspects are almost done and the first live rail test should be completed shortly after Xmas.



New Storage Line Development Due to continued acquisition of narrow gauge assets we have realised that the most efficient storage for these is actually on a siding. As such we have outlined the proposed development of a new storage line that will provide up to half a km of storage. This proposed line will start from near the main farm silos infrastructure and loop out of the complex towards the implement sheds. Some of the steam staff are busy getting the components ready for this operation, gathering clips, cleaning bolts, sorting rail and sleepers. This will ensure that when we start we have all the parts in place to finish as quickly as possible. Who knows in the future this innocent storage line may be linked into the main farm line and provide another dimension to the ever-developing railway. We envisage this storage line to start in late January.



Unloading of Wagons From PE Leon Flynn and Arno Serfontein are still busy with the clean-up project. Below Shunting a flatbed into the storage area with the Funkey.

Wagon Woodwork A number of open sided wooden wagons have been taken in for a slight cosmetic upgrade to the woodwork. This includes some sanding down, new varnish and some minor repairs. Its essential that all woodwork is repaired and maintained to a high standard, especially given the tough Free State conditions. Our staff members Petrus and Oupa have tackled this task with great vigor and will have the two units back into service shortly.

Level Signals Three level crossing signal posts have been erected at Sandstone. These signals will complement the realistic aspect of the three main road crossings and junctions near the main farm complex. The signal posts were set with deep concrete foundations and we can thanks Len Huxham for the effort in getting them installed quickly. The signal posts are a real asset to the maturing rail network and asserts our commitment to operate as professionally as possible.

RN 300 - First Secretary of the South African High Commission in London, Janet Kotze, unveils Bathala at Beaulieu

16 April 2010

On 19th December 2006 the First Secretary of the South African High Commission in London, Janet Kotze, unveiled Bathala, the 1899 Decauville locomotive owned and restored by the Sandstone Heritage Trust. The
locomotive has been placed at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu on loan in order to assist Beaulieu to highlight the potential for a 2-ft Narrow Gauge Railway on the estate.

A large group of journalists and steam railway enthusiasts gathered to listen to Ralph Montagu outline the project. Wilfred Mole from the Sandstone Heritage Trust described Bathala's interesting history and how it had survived the Angolan War to emerge in its current pristine condition. Janet Kotze said that it was a significant milestone for South Africa that a locomotive of French origin which had worked in Angola and had been saved
and refurbished in South Africa should now be on display at a prodigious
location such as Beaulieu.

Bathala will remain with the National Motor Museum until late summer 2007 and then move to the Decauville Museum in Holland.

Bathala in her new home for the moment

Ralph Montagu speaks at the opening - Wilfred Mole looks on

Beaulieu has maintained a unique collection of classic Formula One and other successful race cars
covering a number of generations.

RN 301 - From the Southampton Daily Echo - 22nd December 2006 - "Beaulieu sees future in steam"

16 April 2010

RN 302 - Great input from David Payling regarding two original photographs of the Garratt 115

16 April 2010

The beautiful photo of 115 in primer paint finish is one of the works photos taken in 1939 at Beyer Peacock in Gorton, Manchester, before the engine was sent to South Africa. You can see the Natal coupler on the front bogie, different from the Port Elizabeth chopper couplings.

The second is a scan of the other works photo of 115 which I obtained some years ago from the Manchester Museum of Science and Technology.

There are a couple of interesting things to mention in the photo.

In both scans you can see the sand box mounted on the front water tank. I always thought this was a crazy place to place it. The sand would only flow down the pipes to the rails if it were dry and unclogged. So, why place the sand box right next to the tank filler which would be heavily splashed every time the tank was filled from a water tower?

The other thing is that this batch of seven engines was fitted with cab side number plates without the NG prefix. So the engine was 115 rather than NG115, unlike the 1950 engines (NG125-NG131) and 1968 (NG149 to NG156).

Only a little detail, but there you are!

The diagram and dimensional information is from a SAR diagram which was circulated quite widely in the 1940s and 1950s (it does not list the 1968 NGG16s (149 to 156)). There are copies of this diagram and others in the Crittenden Archive of the NGRS.

The photo taken at Exmoor shows one of the more complete engines and I am not sure which it is. The loco bought by a private donor for the Welsh Highland is No. 87, one of the 1937 John Cockerill NG/G16s. It had no cab or steam dome and was in very stripped condition when it arrived in North Wales. I think that the engine in your small photo may be No. 115 which is at Exmoor. There are two others however, NG130 and No. 109. So, it could be one of these.

It is good to hear from you. Am I right in thinking that the tender has been offered for scrap narrow gauge equipment at Port Elizabeth? If so are you bidding for any of it? Last year Dave Richardson and I looked round Humewood yard and he thought that the NG15s and the ballast hopper marked as scrap might be offered?

With kind regards

David Payling

RN 303 - Great archive scans of the Decauville type one - courtesy of Arnoud Bongaards

16 April 2010

RN 304 - Ship one out, bring one in

16 April 2010

Locomotive No. 12536, has left Stevens Mechanical and the pictures tell the story. However, without so much as grabbing a cup of tea, Keith dived into our next project.

With the NG4 coming out of Bloemfontein in the next 10-days we are having a good 2007.

My own regulator design

New Tube Plate completed

New Tube Plate in position

RN 305 - "Shunting with Garratts" - by Dave Kent - article in Steam Railway Magazine - 29th December 2006

16 April 2010

When traincrew from the Welsh Highland Railway were invited to work on its South African "Twin", the Sandstone Heritage line, it was an offer too good to miss. Dave Kent tells the story.

RN 306 - Weekly Steamshed Report by Derrik van Zyl - 8th January - 15th January 2007

16 April 2010

Henry made a new fuel tank for the BSA railcar and is busy fitting the fuel filter and the new tank.
Earlier in the week he helped to offload the one converted cattle truck that arrived at Sandstone from Port Shepstone.

Henk is still busy at Port Shepstone with the removal of rolling stock and various other things that were bought by Sandstone from the PS steam loco shed.

Robert was busy repairing the lubricators on the Barkley and the Peckett, he is currently helping with the replacement of the inspection hole on the tender of NG/G16 No. 113.

I have finished repairing the tender on NG/G16 No.153, as well as the repairs on NG/G16 No. 113.
After testing the tender for leaks I painted the inside of the tender. Now helping Henry on the BSA railcar and busy with the body work.

Ben has finished drilling bigger holes in the No. 2 clips and put them in bags for the contractor how is going to built the new storage line at Sandstone.
He also helped to offload the converted cattle truck that arrived at Sandstone from Port Shepstone.

Oupa finished painting and varnishing the old wooden 3'6" gauge bogie.
He helped with the tapping of the fishplate bolts for the new Sandstone storage line.

Petrus helped at Vailima with the off loading of the converted cattle truck that arrived at Sandstone from Port Shepstone. He is also busy with the tapping of the fishplate bolts for the new storage line.

Jamina is, as always, at her post, sweeping and washing the floors and keep the workshop garden neat and tidy.

RN307 - Sandstone combines largest ever wheat harvest

16 April 2010

Photographs courtesy of Gavin Boy

This year our team was called upon to combine 2,300 ha of high yielding wheat on our various farms. For lands that were close to the railway we were able to make full use of our private narrow gauge railway on the farm.

With six high capacity combine harvesters operating we were able to bring in more than 500 tons of wheat per day which would tax any normal haulage system. However a double headed NG15 and NGG16 combination makes light work of the transport issue. This is an excellent example of how Sandstone, a large commercial arable farm, works hand in glove with the Sandstone Heritage Trust and its narrow gauge railway to achieve a common objective,
namely to bring in the harvest.

The train is swiftly off loaded using high technology equipment. Here is our John Deere 6820 imported from the UK working with the Canadian manufactured Agrivac designed vacuum the train clean on a most efficient basis.

RN308 - Narrow Gauge World Magazine - No. 49 Jan/Feb 2007 "Limestone to Port Elizabeth" by David Payling

16 April 2010

Narrow

Guage World magazine has produced this wonderful article about Port Elizabeth's Avontuur Railway. This year the railway celebrates its centenary, but its future is far from secure. David Payling looks at one of the world's great narrow gauge railways and its now vanished limestone traffic.

Thanks go to Narrow Gauge World for letting us use their article, David Joy - The Editor, and David Payling for writing the article.

Website: www.atlanticpublishers.com