Working the train at our Easter Steam and Cosmos Festival.
Mark Ruddy together with his brother Gary are two of our most dedicated footplate volunteers and worked a number of trains at the recent Easter event. Here is a short video shot by Gary and Mark’s daughter, Ta-Nika, of the preparation and working of NGG11 number 52. Enjoy the experience!
Click on the link to view: https://youtu.be/6Lz84s0UZRM
Seb’s Children’s Railway with a new dimension!
At our recent Easter Steam and Cosmos Festival, our smaller children’s railway was reopened after repair to the Hippo Dam Wall over which the line runs. The line is now enclosed within our new Game Camp and has been renamed in 2023 as Seb’s Children’s Railway. Imagine a sundowner trip viewing game by rail in the beautiful eastern Free State!
Click here to read the article and view the locomotives for the line.
An exciting photographic event at Sandstone with Stimela Photographic Events! August 5th & 6th 2023.
Stimela Photographic Events (SPE), in collaboration with Sandstone Heritage Trust, presents The Maluti Wanderer. On the weekend of 5 to 6 August 2023 SPE have chartered two Lawley 4-4-0 locomotives (NG97 and BR7) and a consist of wagons to recreate spectacular scenes of yesteryear and narrow-gauge operations. Truly an adventure not to be missed by photographers nor rail enthusiasts!
For further details and bookings download the PDF with the booking form or contact Stimela Photographic Events by e mail on:
Aubrey Malden visited our Easter Event and sent us this short photo gallery or all to enjoy.
Our next event!
The Cherry Steam Festival. Friday 17th November to Sunday 19th November 2023.
After a very successful Easter Steam and Cosmos Festival we are pleased to announce that our next event for 2023 will be The Cherry Steam Festival. We will keep you posted on the information and attractions for this event through our web site and Face Book pages. Diarise the dates now! Friday 17th November to Sunday 19th November 2023.
Our annual Easter event was a great success this year with good weather for three days but heavy rain later on Sunday rendered much of the Farm waterlogged for Monday which limited activities to train rides. To compensate our visitors we offered free entrance for the final day.
After a recruitment drive for volunteers before the event, we were able to offer more military vehicles in action plus more tractors and a portable steam engine that was fired by mealie cobs!
Some great coverage of the recent Sandstone Easter Steam and Cosmos Festival in the Free State’s own newspaper, Volskblad.
The Easter Steam and Cosmos Festival played host to our first photographic charter for 2023. Stimela Photographic Events, run by Jade Wilson and James Attwell from Johannesburg, spent the Saturday afternoon of the event at Sandstone. They chartered our Bristol bus which followed the various service trains running at the festival for the afternoon. James Attwell wrote to us after the event.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to each and every one of you for your outstanding efforts in making our photographic charter on the 8th a resounding success.
Your tireless dedication, attention to detail, and unwavering commitment to excellence were truly remarkable. The level of professionalism, friendliness and expertise that each one of the Sandstone team brought to the table was second to none.
From the initial planning and logistics to the execution of the actual event, your hard work and expertise were evident in every aspect of the charter. The feedback we have received from our clients and guests has been overwhelmingly positive, and that is a testament to your exceptional skills and efforts.
I want to specifically commend Lucky for driving us around the estate in a safe and professional manner. My sincere thanks also to Mr & Mrs Mole, Mariette, Gert and every other member of staff that helped.
Once again, thank you for your dedication and hard work in making this photographic charter a huge success. We look forward to an exciting future!”
James Attwell