Railway Heritage

RN335 - Update on movement of Garratts from Port Shepstone.

Now two out of the three Garratts have been moved. The second Garratt No. 152 has been relocated and is seen here standing at Vailima Siding prior to being reassembled for moving to the Hoekfontein storage area.

Unfortunately these Garratts are not a pretty sight at this point in time. Nos. 155 and 152 are now safely at Sandstone while our team is on their way to fetch No. 150.

Port_Shepstone_Garratt

RN336 - Unique double header

RN337 - Avonside Sezela photograph - circa 1966/8 sent in by Hannes Paling

Found this picture of Sezela No 3 amongst my sugar cane pictures, and thought you would perhaps be interested in it, seeing that Sezela No. 3 is at Sandstone. The picture was taken by the late Eric Angus, I estimate about 1966 to 1968. From the structures in the back ground it would seem at the mill.

Best

Regards

Hannes
Port_Shepstone_Garratt

RN338 - Ixopo based "Sand Painitng Artist" Mat Lourens' Garratt painting

While up in Ixopo Denis Usher and Andy Selfe visited with an artist friend who is based there, Mat Lourens.
Mat has perfected a very unique technique of "sand painting". He has done a picture of a steam train on the line near Creighton. It is absolutely beautiful and the medium he uses makes the picture come alive. The picture really does not do the painting the justice that it deserves. These paintings are unique in that Mat is the only person in the world that does them in this way.

The picture is done completely without any paint and only undyed mineral sand is used.
Mat paints with a special glue, which will not discolour or crack and then sprinkles the necessary colour of sand over that area and when dry, removes the excess. He developed the technique for Richards Bay Minerals to do a mural for their foyer 15 years ago, using their products instead of paint. So these are valuable strategic metals mined from the beach at Richards Bay.

This painting is virtually indestructable!

Unfortunately this image does not really show it to its full advantage, because the normal paintings have their colour on the surface whereas this has its colour within the translucent grain so with a strong light the colour comes from within the grain giving a tremendous 3D effect.
This is just a small file to facilitate downloading but should be interested in a larger file or a file showing the sequence, Mat would be glad to send it to you. Any further info would also be gladly sent to you. It may also be of interest to view Mat’s website at www.matlouwrens.co.za
You can contact Mat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Port_Shepstone_Garratt

RN339 - Tessa Joughin sums up the essence of our recent weekend visit by the TMHC

Tessa Joughin sums up the essence of our recent weekend visit by the Tractor & Machinery Holiday Club - 18th/19th February 2007.
Pausing for a chat during the military convoy along the border.
Sandstone encourages participation by youngsters of all ages.
There is no greater fun that threshing wheat - tiring too!

South African designed and manufactured Casspir removes substantial tree from border road.
Peckett and NG4 double headed through the beautiful Eastern Free State.
Our 19D's almost under the shadow of Soutkop.
Our little Lawley is never ever anything other than totally beautiful.
Our Feldbahn, also beautiful in its own special German way.
The briefing.
Almost a volcanic skyline.

RN340 - Sandstone's GMAM, No. 4079, has been working very hard lately

Sandstone's GMAM, No. 4079, has been working very hard lately. Recent trips include bringing 19 coaches back from Pyramid, followed by a trip to Centurion pulling 20 coaches.

Some concerns have been expressed about the stress being suffered by this locomotive and as a result a technical review is currently underway.

Port_Shepstone_Garratt

RN341 - Weekly Report - 22nd February 2007 - 1st March 2007 - by Derick van Zyl

The Sandstone Steam team has been putting a lot of time into building the new storage line.
We have sprayed the weeds on the railway line, preparing for the Steam Weekend.
General repairs were made to NG 4.
Here you see us steaming up the locos for the Kelsey Tour group.
Preparing and cleaning the Lawley for some beautiful photos!
We prepared all the big locos very early in the morning!
Stocking the Sentinel steam truck with coal.
Steaming the crane to do the days work.
Planning for the next week:

Move all the old Garratts and other locos and wagons to the storage line.
Join together the Port Shepstone Garratt and bring it down from Vailima load onto the storage line.
Shunt all the wagons and steam portables that were used during the steam weekend back into the loco sheds.
Clean the fires and smoke boxes of all the locos and portables that were steamed during the weekend.

RN342 - Lukas and his team of dedicated professionals

Lukas and his team of dedicated professionals as shown in the photograph (Left to right: Theunis, Leon, Lukas and Darby) had an opportunity to put their tools aside for the weekend (or partly put them aside) and spend time giving our locos some exercise. The NG4 which has been a real labour of love for this team was put through its paces and adjustments were made.

The fact that they were able to spend time with the locomotive was in their own words a very satisfying way of ensuring that their locomotive restoration was concluded in a tidy fashion.
In future the team will almost invariably spend as many days as are necessary to commission the locomotive that they have worked on in association with the railway staff at Sandstone Estates.

Our photograph was taken by Shaun Ackerman who is one of South Africa's most dedicated steam professionals and who heads up the team of volunteers that we rely on ever more as the years go by and as the number of locos on site increases.

Port_Shepstone_Garratt

RN343 - Photographic weekend - 17th-19th February 2007 - Dennis Moore's images

A busy weekend over 17th-19th February resulted in some top class photographers making the trip to Sandstone Estates to see what was happening. Dennis Moore, one of the most accomplished of our photographers and the author of the magnificent book 'Sunset of Steam' featuring the dying days of steam in South Africa, both Cape Gauge and Narrow Gauge, has sent us these photographs.

Dennis, thank you for these great photographs. It is the only reward we need for organising these weekends.
Newly restored NG4 with a small mixed freight configuration. NG4 is not a small locomotive and it can therefore be double headed with some of the bigger horsepower narrow gauge locomotives at Sandstone. Here she is double headed with NGG 16, No. 153.
Again double headed, this time with our Peckett Saddle tank, No.2161

RN344 - Reefsteamers report that their 15CA 2056 ran their first official main line trip

Reefsteamers report that their 15CA 2056 ran their first official main line
trip. Thanks very much to Shaun Ackerman for the update. Reefsteamers are
extremely competent at restoring and returning locomotives to steam. The
proof is there for all to see. Report below:

"Our 15CA 2056 ran her first official mainline trip on Thurs, 1st March hauling the Shongololo train from Nasrec back to Germiston. The short spur out of Nasrec is not the most photogenic but is extremely steeply graded and the locomotive was captured any how just leaving the spur and re joining the mainline with a crystal clear bark disturbing the peace.

What a wonderful sight and sound!"

Please see our website for the full story and more pictures.
www.reefsteamers.co.za

RN343 - No. 4079 photographed near Bon Accord - Chris Janisch

RN346 - Port Shepstone to Harding Line to be Scrapped

The Sandstone Heritage Trust has struggled long and hard to save what we can of South Africa's Narrow Gauge heritage. However, never in a million years would we have expected the authorities to have scrapped the magnificent railway line that runs from Port Shepstone to Harding.

Of course the writing has been on the wall for years. The facilities for a variety of reasons went to rack and ruin and vandals have been helping themselves to steel for years. In fact, by the time this auction takes place there may not be that much left to auction.

It is surprising that the Natal Tourism authorities, through the KwaZulu-Natal Government, did not show more interest in this line. Hopefully the loss of one of the greatest and longest narrow gauge lines in the world will remain on their conscience for many years to come.

Port Shepstone to Harding Line to be Scrapped
Posted by: "Johan van Veenendaal" This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. solrek
Mon Mar 5, 2007 1:41 am (PST)
Subject: Port Shepstone to Harding Line to be Scrapped
It would seem that we have lost the fight.
Apparently Aucor has been given a contract by Spoornet Disposals
Department to sell all the assets on the Port Shepstone to Harding Line -
rail, sleepers, the lot.
Please advise whether or not you have any information to the contrary. Do
we just give up now?
You may well be right. Aucor have been given a contract by Spoornet
through their Disposals Department, whatever that is, to sell all the
assets on the Port Shepstone to Harding Line - rail, sleepers, the lot -
so I think that you are spot on with your observations.

RN347 - Dave Richardson chats about an NGG11 of either NG51/52/53

This is an NGG11 of either NG51/52/53, the first order which had slide valves, you can see this on the right front cylinder. NG51 did go to Natal at sometime, so maybe if this is the loco the mechanical lubricator was fitted as an experiment or it could be one of the other two fitted after the fact.

I could not find any definite info on this however as all the 1st order NGG11 pics I looked at don't show the lubricator as fitted in this instance.

RN348 - Hannes Paling's response to Dave regarding the NGG 11's mechanical lubricator

In response to Dave Richardson's query (RN347) on the fitting of mechanical lubricator at some stage to the first order of NGG 11's numbers 51,52 & 53, I have a page which appears to have come from a Beyer Peacock catalogue, showing NG 51 fitted with the lubricator when new, it looks like a works picture. Perhaps they were removed at a later stage, I include a scan of the page, hope this solves the mystery.

RN349 - The Port Shepstone project has almost completed.

The very last few items in Port Shepstone are currently being loaded and moved to the Sandstone Heritage Trust.
We move these items with great sadness because there do not seem to be any initiatives afoot which might succeed in saving what must be one of the most interesting and scenically beautiful narrow gauge lines in the world.

During the next few days our Hunslet diesel and our 10-ton Hyster forklift truck will be removed and we will bid farewell to Port Shepstone.