A great article on our loco moves from Bloemfontein to Sandstone with many thanks to Paul Ash and Times Live.
Click here to read the article: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-08-27-heritage-steam-engines-trade-rail-for-road-to-get-to-new-home/
GMAM 4114 has been off loaded at Sandstone into its new position next to the main security gate. Our picture gallery shows the loco being offloaded from the multi axle trailer via the gooseneck lowbed as a ramp and finally in position in its new display area.
The movement of the Sandstone locos at Bloemfontein prompted photographer, Graham McWilliams to send in some pictures of GMAM 4114 at Graaf Reinet in 1979 and also a shot of 24 Class 3688 at Waterval Boven in 1984. It’s always good to see preserved locos in their past lives.
24 Class 3688 stands at Waterval Boven loco depot in 1984.
Our recent video showed GMAM 4114 on the road to Sandstone where it is now safely plinthed near to the main security gate. We have now also moved 24 Class 3688 and 19D 2654 from the Bloemfontein Depot. As we mentioned in our first posting on the GMAM, these two units together with 11 class 929, Crane 187 and two XC tankers, were staged next to the old 15M workshop which Sandstone leased for many years and where Lukas Nel and his team restored so many locomotives. This workshop was always rail connected and had a good road access but things have changed! Since Sandstone closed the workshop in 2019, the rail connection has been mysteriously lifted (stolen?) and the access road overgrown. It was the plan to shunt all these locos and rolling stock to the loading area which had been levelled for the GMAM multi axle trailer next to the main gate of the Depot where they could be loaded onto a lowbed.
Gert Jubileus and his team had to act quickly and decided to reinstate the road to the old workshop so that loading could be done directly there. After two days of frantic road works past the old coal stage and to the back of the 15M workshop a road was put through and the 24 and 19D were loaded for transport to Sandstone. Our photo gallery shows the road works in progress and the 24 (in red ochre paint) and 19D being loaded. Interestingly the diggings next to the old (long demolished) coal stage produced a few tons of coal from the earth which was much appreciated by the locals!
Our next report will cover the move of the 11 class and steam crane 187 and the XC tankers.
Road Building
After some minor delays with the traffic permits GMAM 4114 was finally on its way to Sandstone this morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbn4jk0bAW8
Although the global Covid 19 pandemic has slowed down international travel considerably, Steam Railway magazine in the UK has taken a proactive approach for when life returns to some form of normality, albeit probably different from what we all remember. Steam Railway has begun a series entitled “Bucket List” featuring venues around the world for rail enthusiasts to visit. The Sandstone Steam Railway is one of the first to be featured in the series and the latest edition of Steam Railway (number 522) published today, August 20th, carries the attached article. Compiled and written by Geoff Cooke, who is the international agent for Sandstone, the article will see potential visitors queueing up to head to South Africa as soon as we can open the doors. Click for PDF - Enjoy the read!
As Sandstone is not actively involved with 3’6” gauge operations it has been decided to move our 3’6” assets off Transnet property at the old Bloemfontein steam loco depot and relocate them to Sandstone Estates at Ficksburg. The first locomotive to be moved is the rather forgotten “other” GMAM, number 4114. This locomotive was purchased from Randfontein Estates Gold Mine at the same time as number 4079 “Lyndie Lou” which saw a great deal of main line use up to a few years ago.
4114 had been cared for by Lukas Nel before he retired in April 2019 and was moved on August 19, 2021, from its parking space next to the old loco shed in Bloemfontein Depot for loading on road transport to Ficksburg. It is believed that this is the largest locomotive ever moved by road in South Africa and unusually the GMAM has not been split into its component parts. Some clever logistics by Mercor Transport and Munro Transport has enabled the loco to be placed on a massive multi axle trailer in one piece. Avoiding the use of heavy and expensive cranes was key and by utilising a second gooseneck lowbed trailer as a loading ramp, 4114 was safely loaded on to the multi axle trailer without damage to any of the pivots which is always a risk when moving Garratt locomotives. 4114 weighs 160 tons devoid of coal and water and is just under 29 metres long.
There are other locomotives to be moved from Bloemfontein over the next few weeks and we will update the web site as this happens. Already there are some wonderful stories emerging about these later moves as some railway lines seem to have disappeared leaving the assets trapped. However, work is ongoing with a road construction gang to build a “highway” to their parking spot so they can be safely loaded. We must also say thank you to Transnet for their excellent cooperation and assistance at Bloemfontein Depot and at Transnet Head Office in Johannesburg for making the operation totally straightforward.
GMAM 4114 makes its first move since 2001
The expansion of our cattle herd over the last few years represents our ethos that our oxen lie at the heart of our preservation capabilities in terms of rare breeds. Maintaining teams of trained oxen has been a learning experience but has proved fulfilling and given us a unique attraction to showcase Sandstone both locally and to the world. Enjoy the short video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVyhaKqLaxc