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• 12th December 2007
• Update 21st January 2008
• Update 19th February 2008
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• Update 18th March 2008
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• Update 11th April 2008
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• Update 9th May 2008
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• Update 10th June 2008

12th December 2007

Some years ago an agreement was entered into between the James Hall Transport Museum and the Sandstone Heritage Trust. As a result of this  agreement Texas Jack, the famous Sentinel Steam lorry, was restored. In  addition the James Hall Transport Museum assisted in the acquisition of the Sandstone Sentinel S4, which has been restored and which has been the subject of some  recent publicity.
 
Owing to the fact that we now have capacity in our steam restoration workshops  the Lawley which has been based at the museum for many years has been moved  to Sandstone's Bloemfontein workshops for a complete rebuild.  Details of the moving of this Lawley are as follows:

On the 4th December 2007, one of Sandstone Estates' heavy haulage low-bed rigs arrived at the James Hall Museum of Transport located in the heart of Johannesburg's south.  The reason for this, to collect a very famous locomotive, one of the ex-Beira Railways Lawley locomotive which was donated to the museum by The Dryden Engineering Co (PTY) Ltd  who purchased the locomotive (along with Sandstone's Lawley, Falcon 233) from the Zebedeila Estates where the engines ended their working lives.  It has been suggested that the James Hall Lawley ended its working life as Zebedeila No. 4 with Sandstone's Lawley being No. 5.  After the rebuild at Bloemfontein, the engine will be reunited with her sister engine at Sandstone Estates.  

Built by the Falcon Engine and Car Works, a subsidiary of the Brush Electrical Engineering Co Ltd, Loughborough, England in 1897 for the Beira Railway in Mozambique, this engine is of the F4 type with stepped running boards, single slide bar and 9 inch cylinder bore.  At various stages of its working life the locomotive changed ownership a couple of times, it is almost certain that the true identity of the locomotive will be confirmed during the rebuild.   According to various sources, the locomotive should be Beira Railway No. 29 making it Falcon works No. 267.  She was designated Class NG6 No. 101 during SAR days and finally Zebediela No. 4.

The team jacking No. 267 and its plinth rail
prior to building the rail ramp onto the low-bed.

The loading of No. 267 was achieved with the help of a four man crew from ReefSteamers namely Andrew King, Piet Steenkamp, Sakkie Kekana and Shaun Ackerman assisted by Sandstone Estates HMV driver Leon Flynn.  This joint operation between Sandstone, the James Hall Museum of Transport and ReefSteamers forms part of the Steam in Action initiative and will help to develop steam preservation and tourism in South Africa as well as boost public awareness.

Andrew King removing the valve-gear eccentric rods from the straps
so as to prevent any breakage when the locomotive is moved.

First of all, one palisade fence panel needed to be removed then Leon skilfully backed the low-bed into position in line and nicely centered with the plinth rail.  The locomotive and its plinth rail were jacked up in the front so as to create the start of the ramp which was built onto the low-bed.  An all important task was to separate the eccentric rods and eccentric straps because the straps appeared to be very solid due to corrosion between the straps and eccentrics, this action prevented any damage to the eccentric rods.  The connecting rods were also removed in case the pistons were rusted in the cylinder bores.   The rail ramp was positioned and packed in the correct places and then two nicks were cut out of the rail head at the location where the ramp levelled out onto the low-bed.  Once the rail was in position, it was time to winch the engine along with its tender onto the low-bed using a lateral chain block, a very slow yet effortless process.

No.267 on her way to the top. 

After about an hour and a half of winching, No. 267 was finally on top of the low bed and in position in readiness for its journey to the Free State.  The next job was to secure the engine and its tender onto the low-bed.  Finally it was time to clean up and gather all the rigging equipment.

 

No. 267 mid-way up the loading ramp,
fortunately only one fence panel needed to be removed
to facilitate loading.

A close-up view showing the location of the rail head cut-outs

The air in the low-bed’s air cushion suspension can be released
allowing the deck to drop nearer to the ground.

With No. 267 secured and the fence back in position,
it's time to hit the road.

The Lawley on its way to the Bloemfontein rebuild facility
where she will spend a few months
before moving to Sandstone Estates

If anyone would like to add to the above information or would like to submit a more comprehensive article about this famous locomotive, please do not hesitate to contact us.

REFERENCES:

Plateway Press, Antony Baxter.  The Two Foot Gauge Enigma: Beira Railway 1890-1900.

SA Rail, October-December 2002 pages 130-135, article by Leith Paxton and Robin Lake.

Despite power cuts Lukas Nel has given us two further updates.

I have been asked to try and find some positive identification on the Lawley. The number shown below is the only number that seems to be original as it is riveted to the frame.