We recently were advised that some very special, ex SAR, coaches were in danger of being scrapped in the Ladybrand area. These two coaches, which have been used for many years as part of a BnB, needed to be moved for new developments.
The coaches are believed to be from the Royal Train of 1947 which were subsequently used in the original Blue Train and then the Drakensberg Express. We have moved the coaches to safety at Sandstone and we are now deep into the detective work of identifying them as there are no visible numbers on each coach. We know there are ID numbers on the underframes as the old SAR always stamped numbers there in case of a fire and these would be the last point of identification if the body was destroyed. Our pictures shows the coaches in situ as part of the BnB and are courtesy of Keith Simmons. We shall publish a story of their rescue in due course once we identify them. A full restoration is planned for each coach.