During July we were privileged to host a visit from Andreas Giller, the Locomotive Archivist from this German museum who has assisted us with a number of photographs and drawings of NGG13 number 49 recently. Andreas was visiting Southern Africa as part of a tour which took him to Zimbabwe on a rail tour and then, joined by his wife Carola, a visit to Namibia. He was keen to visit Sandstone as we have the only restored Hanomag built NGG13 Garratt in South Africa, number 49 from 1928, so prior to his return to Germany he requested a visit to Sandstone to which we gladly obliged.

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The regulator assembly for the NG10 is now complete and ready to be fitted the locomotive. Our pictures from Lukas Nel show the components and in particular the dome assembly for the regulator valve. Work will continue on a number of other items as we approach the steam test of number 61.

Frameline have produced a large number of video features for Sandstone since the inception of the Sandstone Railway. A large amount of footage was kept as reference for the Sandstone Archives and has not been previously seen. We shall be showcasing a number of these clips over the next few months and we begin with Sandstone’s visit to Angola in 2003 which resulted in the rescue of a number of locomotives from dereliction including the 1899 Decauville, “Bathala” featured in the link below.

Work continues at Bloemfontein on Phase 1 of the cosmetic restoration of this loco for Transnet. After stripping the locomotive as in our last report  attention is now concentrated on descaling the various components. Our pictures from Lukas Nel show work on the cab, tender tank and boiler.

As we are fabricating many parts from scratch we have had to slow down a bit but will soon pick up the pace. Our pictures from Lukas Nel show the newly fabricated reversing ratchet, part of the drop grate, the finishing touches on the roof and more small parts for the regulator assembly and main steam pipe.

Great progress has been made on the boiler of NGG13 number 49 at Reefsteamers as it is prepared for retubing.

The old tubes have been removed and the tube plates cleaned. The boiler barrel has been descaled and washed out and subject to MPI (Magnetic Particle Inspection) as have the tube plates. The initial report is that all is well. A full boiler inspection by the Boiler Inspector prior to commencing the retube will take place next week. The tubes have been cut to length ready to be fitted.

Our pictures from Reefsteamers show the boiler being descaled and washed out and the flue tubes being annealed ready for fitment and the small tubes after being cut to size.

As mentioned in our last report there are numerous small items that take up a lot of time to complete. Our pictures from Lukas Nel show the chimney in its first stages of fabrication (when received the locomotive had a wooden replica), the inner cab wooden roof in place, the boiler flange for the turret and the regulator valve in its first stages of fabrication.

Although seemingly small tasks they all go together towards the restoration of this special locomotive.

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Work has now begun on stripping the loco at Reefsteamers in Germiston for the retubing with the removal of the ashpan,  fire bars and brick arch as our pictures from Reefsteamers show. Luckily a cracked fire bar was discovered during the process which will be replaced when the locomotive is re-assembled at Sandstone.

Sandstone has awarded the contract to Reefsteamers as they have the correct facilities to engineer the work and also to assist the club with income for their preservation efforts.

The restoration of Class 4AR number 1555 foe Transnet Foundation.

The locomotive and tender have now been completely stripped and the cleaning process has begun. With bitterly cold temperatures in Bloemfontein an impromptu boiler has been set up for warmth!

Work continues on the cab and its fittings with the installation of the cab surround and the window frames. The next task is to fit the regulator assembly.

Work has now begun on the stripping and cleaning of the second locomotive for the Transnet tender at Bloemfontein. The 1913 North British built 4AR locomotive number 1555 awaits its place in the new museum at Bloemfontein after spending over 30 years in storage. As can be seen from our pictures it is much poorer condition than the NZASM “B” tank recently completed. Some damage is evident on the running boards plus serious corrosion to the cladding.

The locomotive has been separated from its tender which has been fitted with new bearings and axle box keeps and covers. The cab has been removed and our pictures show the deterioration of the cladding and the generally poor condition of 1555. Not surprising after so long in open air storage.

The locomotive continues to take shape as the brass boiler bands have now been fitted and work is well underway on completing the cab.

Work has progressed with this restoration with completion of the fitment of the running boards together with fitting the boiler bracing bars to the front of the smokebox and  frames. The next project is now the completion of the cab and its fittings.