steamfreak.com

33 files, last one added on Jan 14, 2009
Album viewed 231 times

Alfred County Railway - 30th November 1996
After working late in CNA test store on the Friday night, I set off at 6:30 pm for the Alfred County Railway. The drive was looooong and tiring, arriving at Durban at 12:30. Stopped for dinner at Harrismith, and had a near miss near Pietermaritzburg in a thunderstorm when a semi trailer tried to sandwich me in the hills.
After a comfortable (if not short) night at the Durban Formule 1, I set off at 6:30 am. The drive down to Port Shepstone was quite nice down the coast, but I missed the Port Shepstone station and carried on to Shelly Beach before heading back to Port Shepstone. I wasn’t entirely sure if the train was actually running, and I was very disappointed on arriving at the depot to find it deserted.
The interchange yards had a couple of dead electric locos and various “broad gauge” rolling stock, with some two foot gear on the coast side, and what looked like a cold NGG16. I cursed for not having checked if the train was actually running, and driving 8 hours to see a rail yard. But then I heard something clank and walked around the side of a shed and saw a lovely narrow gauge Garratt simmering under the column! The loco was 2-6-2+2-6-2 NGG16A 155, a modified ’16 with a gas producing firebox and modified front-end. She was to take a train to Paddock and return. In the loco shed, NGG16A 141, the “Red Dragon” was being overhauled, and on two flat 3 foot 6 trucks sat two NGG16 oil burners which were ready to be transported to Durban for shipping to the Welsh Highlands Railway in Wales.
The crew were busy preparing the loco, and pretty soon she coupled onto the load, a grand total of two coaches. A quick stop up the line at the passenger station to pick up a small bus group, then off towards Paddock.
A nice shot was taken of the train crossing Izotsha creek, and then up the hill across the level crossing just before Izotsha station. The loco took water at Izotsha before heading up the hill once more. A few in between shots were taken at level crossings and farm tracks. Nice shots were also had at Bomela on the sharp curve there, then further up the hill where the line climbs the side of the mountain below the road. The loco working up the hill around the curves gave some idea of what the old Victorian narrow gauge lines would have been like, with G42 labouring up the grades.
Next shot was at Renken, with the sun shining and the loco smoking nicely, then up in the forest not far from Paddock, then finally at Paddock with the loco rolling to a stop in the station.
The tour group had a braai organised near the station, and after talking to the loco driver for a while, I was invited to join them. I got talking to the guard, a bloke called Tom Stanton, who used to take a lot of cine film of the SAR in the 70’s. By coincidence I had just seen some of his stuff at a FOTR meeting the previous week. We had a good long chat about railways etc., then it was time to shunt the train and prepare for the return trip.
The load back to the coast was 10 loaded timber truck, plus the two coaches, plus three empty B wagons, a great consist. Snapped the train leaving Paddock, up the grade past the shed where the out-of-service locos are stored, then again in the forest. The train looked fantastic at Renken, where there is a short upgrade, working hard to lift the load. Many more shots were taken on the return trip, the least attractive being a shot by the church near Izotsha where a bloke in one of the coaches was hanging his backside out the door! Another shot Izotsha creek, then arriving at the passenger station. Time for a few more shed shots, then the 7 hour drive back to Pretoria. All in all a fantastic day!

28 files, last one added on Oct 26, 2006
Album viewed 1275 times

10 files, last one added on Oct 19, 2007
Album viewed 100 times

Trans Karoo Express - 13 April 1996
Having left Pretoria at 5:00 am to be sure of catching the Trans Karoo at Potch, I arrived to find the station nearly empty, and a local Spoornet guy told me in Afrikaans:"The Trans Karoo is late this morning. It won't be here somer till 8 o'clock. I didn't hear the locos last night so I think today it's electric..."
That's all I needed to hear! I thought I would wait anyway, and the factory just across the way really sounded like safety valves lifting, so my hopes were continually raised then dashed as I waited. To make matters worse, the fine Transvaal (Gauteng?) morning clouded over during the hour or so wait, and by 8 o'clock the rain was bucketing down, with thunder and lightning to boot.
All I needed now was to see units at the head of the Trans Karoo. Then at 8:15 am I heard the safety valve sound once more and, not to be fooled again, I didn't even look, but a waiting passenger beside me rose to his feet.
I looked through the gloom to the far end of the platform to a glint of copper: the cowcatcher on the front of a magnificent gleaming 25NC, its partner still cloaked in the clouds of steam being issued by its leader! The locals shook their heads as this crazy Aussie shouted jubilantly and dashed out into the rain to photograph this sight that could only be commonplace in South Africa. 2 NC's (3472 "Lilly" and 3404 "Griet") came gliding in at the head of 21 coaches. What a magnificent sight. As usual the two locomotives were immaculate.
I snapped a few photos and ran through the (thankfully) diminishing rain to my car and set off up the track to photograph them at an overpass a few km's down the line. I didn't have to wait long before a huge cloud of steam was seen billowing in the cold morning air, rapidly approaching. The NC's appeared around the curve, working hard but still travelling so fast that you could not distinguish the individual exhaust beats from either loco.
After both video and photos were taken I set off to catch it again. No easy task! The Toyota hire car must've thought it had died and gone to hell, whilst I thought I was in heaven! At 140km/h I was barely gaining on the last carriage, and trying to drive at speeds faster than that whilst staring at these magnificent locos alongside was not easy!
Good shots were obtained at Welverdiend where the train slowed to proceed through the yards past a rare array of semaphore signals, and some more at Oberholzer (Carletonville) leaving the station. At these last two locations the sun had reappeared and the air was still cold enough for some great steam effects. After a few more shots alongside and a good video sequence near Randfontein, then I had to quickly return to Pretoria where I was expected at work at 10:00 am. I arrived at 11:00 am and had to explain that I had an important meeting with two old friends, that's why I was late!

5 files, last one added on Oct 26, 2006
Album viewed 115 times

Rustenburg Platinum Mines 22 January 1995
I arrived in South Africa never believing that such a paradise of steam could exist. Of course it had all but finished, but to me, finding the RPM loco shed at sunrise, brimming with 15Fs and 15CAs was a paradise. We spent the day cruising around the RPM system, finding the big locos hard at work all over the system. Magnificent. Huge thunderclouds in the afternoon gave some dramatic skies to put behind the locos - a couple of them came out okay.

21 files, last one added on Oct 26, 2006
Album viewed 117 times

These pics were taken on one of the last days of regular steam operation at Randfontein Estates Gold Mines. The overhead shots were taken from the railways control tower - out of the toilet window! Talk about a loo with a view...

17 files, last one added on Feb 27, 2008
Album viewed 117 times

12 files, last one added on Nov 18, 2009
Album viewed 84 times

21 September 1997 - Magaliesburg Branch
Friends of the Rail hired their Class 24 No. 3664 to a film company for two weeks or so during 1994 for the filming of "Sweepers".
This was done at various places along the Pretoria - Magaliesburg branch, with Dolph Lundgren the star action hero. Some great action scenes in the film, especially of 3664!
Oh, and during the filming 3664 was involved in a level crossing accident in which 2 people unfortunately died. The minor loco damage is show in one of the pictures below, the car was a total wreck.

21 files, last one added on Oct 26, 2006
Album viewed 101 times

Randfontein Estates - 23 November 1994
An early visit to Randfontein Estates Gold Mine to see the GMAM Garratts in action. I had finally replaced the point & shoot camera with a compact with 35-70mm zoom, and this was its first outing. What a disappointment. The auto focus was terrible and there was no manual focus! Anyway, a couple of shots came out okay.

5 files, last one added on Oct 26, 2006
Album viewed 402 times

7 files, last one added on Jul 04, 2008
Album viewed 71 times

Magaliesburg Trip - 16th May 1993

After first arriving in South Africa in Feb 1993, I noticed an advertisement in a tourist brochure regarding "Steam trains to Magaliesburg". I had no idea what a Magaliesburg was, but steam trains sounded great!

So we set off for Johannesburg Station on 16th May for the trip. I was quite excited as my only SA steam to this point had been what I had seen in books. It was a great momemt when not one, but two SAR steam locos backed onto the train!

16D 860 and 15F 3016 looked beautiful, altough admittedly at the time I couldn't have distinguished a 6th Class from a GMAM!

From memory the trip out to Magaliesburg was uneventful, but the return was magnificent, with the sound of that 16D blasting out of Magaliesburg.
A memorable excursion, and without a doubt the beginning of a long fixation with SA Steam!

19 files, last one added on Oct 26, 2006
Album viewed 100 times

1 files, last one added on Sep 09, 2009
Album viewed 60 times