NG15 number 17 is ready for action over the next two days with The Cherry Express in conjunction with the Cherry Festival in Ficksburg. No 17 has undergone extensive repairs to its spring gear and is seen carrying the new "Cherry Express" headboard prior to its first run on Friday morning.
Keith Stevens has sent us a gallery of the recent work on the NG10 boiler which is now almost complete.
The firebox under construction and almost complete
While the Bloemfontein team awaits the boiler from Keith Steven’s Workshop, Lukas and the team are stripping the tender frame of number 61.This is in very poor condition due to rust and previous accident damage. Both ends of the tender will be renewed with new draw gear and drag boxes. The brake shaft is in its final stage of refurbishment.
While Bloemfontein awaits the new boiler from Keith Stevens in Howick, Lukas Nel and his team have made a start on refurbishing the boiler cladding around the firebox as well as fabricating new sections based on the rusted and paper thin sections that could not be used.
Attempts have also been made to remove the old cylinder cock nipples but these are rusted solidly into the cylinders and will need to be drilled out and replaced with new ones.
Our wonderful old Leyland bus operated by the African Star Bus Company which has done hundreds of thousands of kilometres traversing the dusty back roads of Africa is the mainstay of our transportation for early morning run pasts.
Narrow gauge enthusiasts around the world have been shocked by the scrapping of the last remaining NGG16 locomotives from the Port Shepstone-Harding line at Paddock in Kwa Zulu Natal in recent months despite efforts by the Sandstone Heritage Trust to purchase and preserve them. This has now attracted the attention of Narrow Gauge World Magazine in the UK with an article on these sad events. Click here to view the article.
Sandstone will be open to visitors at the forthcoming Cherry Festival in Ficksburg on the 17th & 18th November 2017.
For full details on the attractions and bookings please click on the links below:
