Sandstone's GMAM, No. 4079, has been working very hard lately. Recent trips include bringing 19 coaches back from Pyramid, followed by a trip to Centurion pulling 20 coaches.
Some concerns have been expressed about the stress being suffered by this locomotive and as a result a technical review is currently underway.
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The Sandstone Steam team has been putting a lot of time into building the new storage line. |
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We have sprayed the weeds on the railway line, preparing for the Steam Weekend.
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General repairs were made to NG 4.
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Here you see us steaming up the locos for the Kelsey Tour group.
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Preparing and cleaning the Lawley for some beautiful photos!
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We prepared all the big locos very early in the morning!
Stocking the Sentinel steam truck with coal. |
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Steaming the crane to do the days work.
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Planning for the next week:
Move all the old Garratts and other locos and wagons to the storage line. Join together the Port Shepstone Garratt and bring it down from Vailima load onto the storage line. Shunt all the wagons and steam portables that were used during the steam weekend back into the loco sheds. Clean the fires and smoke boxes of all the locos and portables that were steamed during the weekend. |
Lukas and his team of dedicated professionals as shown in the photograph (Left to right: Theunis, Leon, Lukas and Darby) had an opportunity to put their tools aside for the weekend (or partly put them aside) and spend time giving our locos some exercise. The NG4 which has been a real labour of love for this team was put through its paces and adjustments were made.
The fact that they were able to spend time with the locomotive was in their own words a very satisfying way of ensuring that their locomotive restoration was concluded in a tidy fashion.
In future the team will almost invariably spend as many days as are necessary to commission the locomotive that they have worked on in association with the railway staff at Sandstone Estates.
Our photograph was taken by Shaun Ackerman who is one of South Africa's most dedicated steam professionals and who heads up the team of volunteers that we rely on ever more as the years go by and as the number of locos on site increases.
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A busy weekend over 17th-19th February resulted in some top class photographers making the trip to Sandstone Estates to see what was happening. Dennis Moore, one of the most accomplished of our photographers and the author of the magnificent book 'Sunset of Steam' featuring the dying days of steam in South Africa, both Cape Gauge and Narrow Gauge, has sent us these photographs. |
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Newly restored NG4 with a small mixed freight configuration. NG4 is not a small locomotive and it can therefore be double headed with some of the bigger horsepower narrow gauge locomotives at Sandstone. Here she is double headed with NGG 16, No. 153.
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Again double headed, this time with our Peckett Saddle tank, No.2161
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Reefsteamers report that their 15CA 2056 ran their first official main line |
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The Sandstone Heritage Trust has struggled long and hard to save what we can of South Africa's Narrow Gauge heritage. However, never in a million years would we have expected the authorities to have scrapped the magnificent railway line that runs from Port Shepstone to Harding.
Of course the writing has been on the wall for years. The facilities for a variety of reasons went to rack and ruin and vandals have been helping themselves to steel for years. In fact, by the time this auction takes place there may not be that much left to auction.
It is surprising that the Natal Tourism authorities, through the KwaZulu-Natal Government, did not show more interest in this line. Hopefully the loss of one of the greatest and longest narrow gauge lines in the world will remain on their conscience for many years to come.
Port Shepstone to Harding Line to be Scrapped
Posted by: "Johan van Veenendaal"
Mon Mar 5, 2007 1:41 am (PST)
Subject: Port Shepstone to Harding Line to be Scrapped
It would seem that we have lost the fight.
Apparently Aucor has been given a contract by Spoornet Disposals
Department to sell all the assets on the Port Shepstone to Harding Line -
rail, sleepers, the lot.
Please advise whether or not you have any information to the contrary. Do
we just give up now?
You may well be right. Aucor have been given a contract by Spoornet
through their Disposals Department, whatever that is, to sell all the
assets on the Port Shepstone to Harding Line - rail, sleepers, the lot -
so I think that you are spot on with your observations.
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This is an NGG11 of either NG51/52/53, the first order which had slide valves, you can see this on the right front cylinder. NG51 did go to Natal at sometime, so maybe if this is the loco the mechanical lubricator was fitted as an experiment or it could be one of the other two fitted after the fact. |
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In response to Dave Richardson's query (RN347) on the fitting of mechanical lubricator at some stage to the first order of NGG 11's numbers 51,52 & 53, I have a page which appears to have come from a Beyer Peacock catalogue, showing NG 51 fitted with the lubricator when new, it looks like a works picture. Perhaps they were removed at a later stage, I include a scan of the page, hope this solves the mystery.
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The very last few items in Port Shepstone are currently being loaded and moved to the Sandstone Heritage Trust. |
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Assembling a rusty Garratt is not work for the fainthearted. It is tough manual labour with a lot of skill involved. However, the Sandstone team has done it many times. |
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NGG 16 No. 88 prepares to relocate to Bloemfontein. The photograph shows the boiler being prepared for loading and delivery to our Bloemfontein workshops for restoration. |
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These photographs show the work that has to be done in reassembling an NGG16 Garratt from components. |
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An engine unit is shunted into position.
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One engine unit is aligned to the boiler, the second one to follow.
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It all comes together.
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What would we do without our little Funkey Mine Diesel?
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Work is progressing well on the Kerr Stuart Locomotive No. 4063 and attached are pictures reflecting what parts have been manufactured to date. The next major step will be to manufacture the new firebox. |
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Note the waste on the stays
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Removal of Firebox
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Machining dome flanging former
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Manufacture of throat plate for the McLaren Traction Engine (work being completed in tandem)
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Fitting outside wrapper
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Manufacture of new tube plate for McLaren Traction Engine
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Smoke Box front and front tubeplate
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Parts to Manufacture new dome
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Smoke Box Wrapper
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Drilling outer Wrapper Rivet holes
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There are two types of couplings typically available on narrow gauge rail freight stock in South Africa. The more robust of these is what is known as the Natal coupling, which is shown in the attached photograph. A decision has been made to retrofit Natal couplings to all passenger and freight stock on the Sandstone Narrow Gauge Railway.
This project will be completed in 2-3 weeks. Because of the larger trains that are being pulled, particularly with triple headers, it is important that the integrity of the couplings be of the highest order.
