Steam in Action – An Association Incorporated under Section 21 – Registration Number 2007/035119/08
www.steam-in-action.com - Email : joannewest@btinternet.com

Reefsteamers Depot News Report
- SATURDAY, 19 January 2008 -

Introduction :

This would have been a good day to do some loco spotting at the Reefsteamers Depot, with much shunting going on in both the upper and lower portions of our facility and our ‘Back Tracks.’ It was a dark and cloudy day, with enough drizzle to spot camera lenses, but four Reefsteamers, including yours truly, made sure to be on hand to take action photographs. But the pictures came out dark, the usual problem of taking pictures of predominantly black SAR locomotives on a cloudy day. Just before the afternoon shunt, we conducted a raid on a derelict locomotive which was in of itself an unusual and slightly mischievous outdoor activity outside the depot. The coaching repair work continued quietly as it will do for the next months. Thus, we had the Reefsteamers widely spread on the game board today – NASREC, main workshop, coach yard and out by the main line.

The corner braces for the tender of Class 15F No.3052 ‘Avril’ were measured up and cut during the following week. The locomotive was to be kept in the top shed for accessibility for some painting and cleanup work.

Project : Salvaging 15CA Bogie Leaf Springs :

FP01 – Mission accomplished. The second of a pair
of salvaged Class 15CA Leaf Springs is loaded up
after removal from a derelict locomotive.

AKA, the ‘Raid of the Bogie Bandits.’

We had discovered an extra problem with our Class 15CA No.2056 ‘Dorothy, when the front bogie was removed to repair a damaged axle surface. We took the opportunity to strip the bogie down to look for other issues and yes, we found one. Talk about mixed emotions… As you may have read already, upon close inspection of the recently removed front bogie leaf springs, we found that they didn’t match. One spring had 18 leaves and the other 17, which means the locomotive has been running with an asymmetrically sprung bogie ever since we’ve had her back on the rails. And there weren’t any springs in the spares store. The local hardware store is fresh out of stock and Germiston Midas Motor Spares don’t have Class 15CA’s in the parts catalogue.

A stripped-out derelict locomotive that had been parked for good out next to the western Germiston-passenger main line suddenly changed from being a static feature on the horizon to an object of interest. (Pic B01 below) This locomotive is the Class 15CA No.2046 that is parked on the embankment between the main line and where the old coal stage used to be. This locomotive was assigned to the Steam Museum, now SANRASM. It is currently named ‘Alfa Romeo’ according to the painted name across the back plate – so someone’s obviously had a bad experience with their Italian car! Unfortunately, this particular 15CA locomotive was never moved into a safe place for preservation and became the object of attention for itinerate scrap mental bandits. These fellows had actually climbed under the engine and completely cut away the main frames around the axle bearings to extract the heavy brass bearings. From the outside, the locomotive looks like a just another big lump of nondescript derelict locomotive with all the wheels intact. But a seasoned SAR locomotive spotter would notice that the boiler sits a bit low and is tilted backwards slightly. A close inspection reveals that the frames have totally been cut away at eight points and the four driving axles are actually standing free. (Pic B02 below) Both ends of the front bogie frame were also cut off to extract the brass horn guides. Essentially, it’s the boiler that’s supporting its own weight.

B01 – The abandoned locomotive way out on the embankment. Apart from the usual missing brass and plumbing, it looks reasonably complete from this distance…

B02 – A closer view from between the wheels shows that the main frames have been completely cut away to remove the wheel bearings. You can see a cut down frame section on the center right. Those axles didn’t support anything.

B03 – Bissel Truck Spring with broken leaves visible at the right hand set. (Front) Notice the angle of the spring as all the weight is now on the rear.

The entire weight of the poor old locomotive is bourne by the bricks and boulders stacked under the truncated front bogie frames and the still intact rear Bissel Truck – which has broken springs on one side because of the overload. The boiler has sagged so low that the boiler jacket is less than an half an inch away from the driving wheel rims. This locomotive is abandoned, unusable, unrestorable and totally unmovable. It will eventually need to cut up on the spot to be disposed of.

But it does a good set of bogie springs. (Or more correct, it did have a good set of bogie springs.)

Like any military operation, the target had to undergo recce – with Andrew King and Shaun Ackerman investigating the locomotive closely. It’s perched on rotten-wooden-sleepered track, on a stub siding on top of a steep embankment, knee high in weeds and mosquitoes, with the approaches guarded by demolition rubble and the footings of the old coal stage. (Pic B01 shows the embankment and some of the rubble.) Hidden pitfall traps and tip-over masonry booby traps abound. Obstacles aside, the job seemed do-able. And because the front and rear of the bogie frames and the wheel stretchers (Compensating Beams) had already been cut off, we wouldn’t even have to remove the bogie axles. These axles were sitting loose on the rail heads and could be just rolled out of the way and chocked. Our intrepid scouts then walked along the two sidings (one still under electric cantenerary) to investigate the possibility of getting a pickup truck up there. The scouts got back to the depot intact, with an optimistic good report. The battle plan was then put into place.

The logistics part of the operation was under way – with the loading of assorted ‘gwala’ bars, wooden blocks, the acetylene torch set and two 50 ton ‘Buda’ jacks rolled out in their custom trolleys. These jacks are big bruisers, operated by a reversible ratchet and are lifted with a minimum of two people. (Pic B04 below) Initially a four man squad was dispatched for the engagement, Andrew King and Shaun Ackerman, naturally – but also Patrick Ackerman and Mark Berry. Your favourite photographer pitched up a little later (on foot) once the bivouac had been set up. The pickup truck (‘Bakkie’ as we call them in South Africa.) had arrived at operations with the spot lights still hanging on, exhaust system intact and the prop shaft still unbent – and I was requested to take shots of the vehicle up to the wheel arch spats in greenery. ‘Smudge’ Ackerman represents a relatively rare species of South African driver –actually using and needing the high ground clearance, a big grunt of an engine and some good traction of a SUV type vehicle. I gotta admit that 2.5 liter Ford did the Blue Oval proud this day.

B04 – The tactical support vehicle is loaded. Notice the size of those 50 ton bottle jacks. Shaun is waiting for the ‘gwalas’ (Pry bars) and a jack handle to be found and loaded up.

B05 – Diggin’ In. The squad start digging ‘fox holes’ around the buffer beam and clearing away the weeds. Note the intact sealed beam lamp and bracket.

B06 – If you look carefully, you’ll see the bricks and rubble in a shallow hole, under the beam, which is under the jack. That’s Mark Berry doing the jack handle callisthenics.

The operation started with a bit of ground clearing work – the ample weeds and brush around the front of the locomotive being manually dug away. The three-man spade crew managed quickly, the abundant six legged wildlife offering more resistance than the soft, moist soil. (Pic B05 above) The fellows dug a pair of shallow ‘fox holes’ under either end of the faded red buffer beam. The holes needed some rubble to spread the weight, under the sawn-off beams that we were planning to use as jacking pads. (Pic B06 above) So, the troops went scrounging for bricks and rubble to fill the holes up. There was literally tons of building rubble available – down a literally 60 degree slope and across a few old ash trenches. Getting down that slope is interesting enough … try coming uphill with your hands full of brick chunks, so you can neither use your arms for balance or for grip. Later in the afternoon – Tony ‘Shaky” King impressed us all by getting up that steep embankment with the afternoon tea!

With the fox holes filled with sleepers and rubble and properly tamped, the two 50 ton jacks were unloaded and put on either side of the buffer beam. An often fondly mentioned photographic characteristic of South African Steam is the overhang past the 3ft6in Cape Gauge tracks. It’s awkward when climbing out of a cab or a tanker and the steps fold inwards, (especially on the 25(NC), which has real shin scrapers), but comes in very useful when looking for jacking points. With the 5 foot gwala and two men on each jack, we got the locomotive tensioned up and ready to lift. (Pic B07 below) But the jacks were simply sinking into the ground under the weight, and it looked as if the locomotive would tend to roll backwards. (Remembering that all four driving axles were effectively disconnected and not taking any weight.)

We tried twice to lift the engine with the buffer beam but she was having none of that. Operations plan B was under way. The fellows remembered that the front bogie axle could be rolled backwards towards the hacked off bogie frames, and thus clear enough space for the ‘Buda’ jacks behind the buffer beam and to support the locomotive’s frame itself. (Or what’s left of it.) An additional bonus to this move was that the jacks could be put directly onto a very conveniently placed sleeper to help spread the load. (Pic B08 below)

The locomotive was then jacked up very gently and evenly, and all seemed well. The buffer beam hindered the swing arc of the jack levers so we made small but frequent strokes. Then the bolts holding the rail to its chair suddenly snapped off with a load report and the sleeper compressed into the ground under the weight. (Pic B09 below) Not the sort of thing you want to hear when you’re dealing with a locomotive on a high embankment, supported only by two wheels and a pile of stones, with a loose set of wheel rims in which to settle. We were all standing clear anyway – and this little incident made us even more wary. It’s doubtful whether the newly instated Reefsteamers hard hats would help defend one’s noggin from a tumbling ALCO.

B07 – The abandoned second attempt to jack up the engine using the buffer beam – achieving jack-sized divots in the soft earth.

B08 – The third attempt to lift the engine. The jacks have been moved to the front frames instead of the buffers. Notice the loose bogie axle has been moved backwards and is touching the cylinder covers.

B09 – Pop! If you look carefully behind that piece of weed overhanging the rail, you can see that the rail clip has sheared off – also notice the gap between the rail and the sleeper

But after that little adrenaline rush – the locomotive’s weight was successfully jacked off the springs, which straightened out and the rusty shackles relaxed. The cutting operation was now able to start. We retained the acetylene cylinders on the bakkie and used the long hoses to much advantage. Only the surgeon and the photographer worked in the lee of the engine, with everyone safely out front – and Patrick Ackerman stationed just a few inches away from the buffer beam to watch for any movement. The front coupler had been cut off, and of course, there was no bovine catcher, so he could get quite close. (Pic B10 below)

The cutting went okay. We didn’t have to remove axles as they were already rolling free, and the bogie ends already cut off, which saved us a lot of time. (Pic B11 below) The torching job started with the bounce straps bolt heads being cut off first, followed by a hopeful removal of the straps the straps themselves. The shackle bolt heads had to be cut off as well and one shackle on each side to be cut into two. The first set of cuts were delayed slightly with the torch misbehaving – the problem turning out to be blocked jets in the burner itself. In spite of this, it wasn’t long before the outer wheel stretcher was basically bonded to the springs only by rust. But as this lot had now settled – the dropped hardware had moved between the rails.

B10 – A pensive looking Patrick keeps a close eye on the jacks to raise the alarm in case of settling or movement. Notice that the front coupler has been torched off.

B11 – The operation site. Pointing to the
left is the truncated bogie frame. The bottom center is the cut down wheel stretcher.
Just above it you can see a swing link pin.
We were saved the hassle of having to remove axles.

B12 – Andrew settles down to cutting
the rails away to make a slot to withdraw
the dropped bogie hardware.

We weren’t up to jacking any more, partially because there were no more jacks and mainly because of the danger it would involve. So the acetylene shift was changed and the fellows began to cut away the rail itself. It took two cuts on either side to completely disengage a chunk of ISCOR’s finest. But, although we could twitch the rail with gwala blows, the rail chair on the depressed sleeper, with the remains of the snapped off rail clip, were still fouling the rail. So, the project shifted over to track clearance, with the continued monitoring of the locomotive’s footing on those jacks.

But once the rails were cut away, the side sections of the bounce straps could be removed. And we managed to get a complete strap off with surprisingly little trouble. Then a few pryings from a pair of simultaneous crowbar operators got the spring and the outer wheel stretchers off. To our delight, the spring matches the existing samples and the spring leaves and the straps were all intact. We now had a spare matching bogie spring.

B13 – The rail section has come loose after the rail clip bolts have been cut off the chair.

B14 – A puffed Tony ‘Shaky’ King recovers after bringing afternoon tea all the way from the depot, across the demolition site and up that embankment.

B15 – Boys in the bush. By the time we finished, the work area looked like a buffalo had turned around three times and settled to sleep – but as you can see – the weeds were head high in the seated position.

The pleasures of packing up was briefly debated, especially as we were exposed on that embankment and the dull clumpily overcast day was threatening to rain. And the mosquitoes were hungry! Pat, Mark and myself were the main course although Andrew and Shaun weren’t touched – must be the valve oil circulating within their blood streams. In spite of the temptation to pack up, the task team got on with removing the spring on the other side – now knowing what to expect and not having to unpack and transport tools twice. A semi-sarcastic request was made to the base camp for logistical canteen support – ie, Oi! Where’s our tea! None of us really expected the tea to arrive – but arrive it did – transported by Tony ‘Shaky’ King with six cups in an aluminium saucepan. (Pic B14 above) It proved surprisingly effective as a thermos flask too – Tony isn’t the fastest mover and he had a real obstacle course to get through. But he managed and so we spent a few minutes sitting amongst the reads, slapping mosquitoes and commenting on the driving techniques of the 5M Metro Commuter sets passing by below on the main line. (Pretty impressive service too – for a Saturday afternoon.)

Cutting the springs out on the right hand side was pretty much more of the same (Pic B16 below) – enlivened by Oom Attie de Necker getting bored all n his own at the Depot and coming out to see what was going on. It wasn’t long before we were packing up the tools and the bogie-booty – and a pair of MATCHING springs onto the bakkie. I was wondering if we’d have the odd sock phenomenon – when you find that you’re wearing an odd pair, there’s likely to be another pair just like it at home. Would we find the match for the odd spring?

Nope – these springs matched up.

B16 – A spring comes out still attached to
the bogie’s wheel stretcher (Compensating Beam). The shackle is clearly seen.

B17 – Inspecting the booty.
Shaun Ackerman takes a breather
on the tail gate and examines the
right hand side bogie spring.

B18 – Almost over the edge – the rear wheels are literally at the edge of the embankment on a rather tight 12 point turn. Those dark clouds over the loco is the smoke from Class 25(NC) No.3472 ‘Elize’
returning from NASREC.

We did briefly discuss liberating the double sealed beam headlamp and the smokebox’s lamp bracket, which was still in reasonable condition and even the glass lens cover was intact. And we discussed the virtue of using locomotive chimneys as heavy weight flower pots. But it’s best not to be too greedy at times…

We now had to get this bakkie turned around and out of there. There were two tracks up there, one of them shorter than the other. So, the vehicle was driven forward past the buffer stops on the short track, and then several attempts were made at a three point turn, with Patrick Ackerman hanging on frantically to the rocking top-heavy acetylene trolley. We couldn’t use the full width of the embankment to turn around as the other set of rails were still there, sneakily buried in the greenery and standing very proud off the ground. The three point turn degenerated into a twelve point turn but eventually they got the vehicle pointing west and not having to reverse their way along the embankment.

At the time of the tactical withdrawal, Class 25(NC) No.3472 ‘Elize’ was returning from her run to NASREC, her column of black smoke teasing us from the distant main freight tracks as the train passed by out of view.

The mission was a success with no casualties and just some green grass stains down Tony’s bum cheeks from his involuntary slide on the second tea run. Still, we got out of there without any locomotives, bakkies or Reefsteamers tumbling down the embankment. Nobody broke legs or ankles in the booby traps or pit falls, and we have a nice rusty pair of springs to show for our trouble. Apart from checking the pair of truck-sized compensation springs for tension, there’s nothing stopping us from getting Class 15CA No.2056 ‘Dorothy’s’ ‘front feet’ back on and getting this engine back into service.

B19 – Sprung from captivity under a wreck, these springs wait next to the dismantled bogie fro cleaning and close inspection.

SIA PROJECT : Moving a clunker (and some other locos) :


	FP02 – Here’s ‘Rusty Rosie’ Class 12R No.1947 in her original exposed location in the workshop tracks.

This has been a day of moving engines around. In amongst moving the ‘ex-Ficksburg based’ Engines Class 15F No.3052 ‘Avril’ and Class 25(NC) No.3488 ‘Enchantress’, we took the opportunity of using the ‘early shunter’ to get Class 12R No.1947 ‘Rosie’ out of the No.1 Road of the Workshop and move her under cover in the old running sheds. This station pilot engine was plinthed upon retirement and never seriously dismantled. But all the brass and copper work was removed over time. This engine is on the Reefsteamers list of engines for which we seek Steam in Action sponsorship to restore. She’s been parked out in the open for years now, sharing the same track as the No.96 Booth Rodley Steam Crane. We want to get her under cover to help retard any further deterioration due to exposure to the weather, and to free up the track for ‘working’ engines.

Actually, the engine shuffle project was originally scheduled to be done on Friday night with the Class 25(NC) No.3472 ‘Elize’, which was newly put into steam on Friday afternoon in readiness for a run to NASREC for the Shongololo Express on the Saturday morning. However, a compensating link was remembered to be missing on the left hand side of ‘Rusty Rosie’. (Pic R01 below) The shunting was cancelled and put back for Saturday afternoon. The NASREC run is an easy one and Piet ‘Buffels’ Steenkamp and Fireman ‘Sakana’ would plenty of energy to do some shunting on the return before servicing their engine.

With the tight curvatures in our yard, moving an SAR locomotive around without a functioning compensating system for the rear Bissel Truck just isn’t an option. The effect is that the trailing Bissel wheel on the inner radius of the curve would lift off the rails and come down on the outside of the rail, and make the shunting really interesting. The compensating links are the vertical links that transmit the forces from the characteristic compensating beam to the leaf springs. This one had actually been removed and ‘lent’ to Class 12AR No.1535 ‘Susan’ as she had broken her own link.

R01 – Railway riddle – find the missing part. It’s the vertical compensating link between the bar (Bottom left) and the leading end of the leaf spring. Notice the axle box packed with waste grease.

R02 – A slightly bent rod that will suffice for the day’s shunting. The hammer is included in the kit for cotter pin work.

R03 – A generous coating of clean, green oil on the crosshead slides and the connecting rod.

Fortunately, Mr. ‘Smudge’ Ackerman had kept the ‘broken bone’ and he was planning to weld it back together as the first job of the day. However, a spare part was found, visible in Pic R02 above. It’s a bit bent but will do the job for the day. As these rods are adjustable at the lower end, as long as one keeps within rough limits, the effective length of the rod isn’t critical. Replacing the rod was actually quite simple, with Andrew King jacking up the rear end of the locomotive’s frame to get the weight off the springs. This has the effect of flattening the leaf springs, moving the spring end downwards in relation to the locomotive’s frame. Putting the rod back on was simply, akin to threading a rather large needle. The large square end visible in Pic R02 goes around the spring and the shaft end goes through the eye in the Compensating Beam. The adjustment is done with two nuts and a cotter pin.

At least when one has to move a long stationery locomotive, one doesn’t have to recharge or jumpstart the battery, or inflate the tires. But the several thousand joints and pivots need to be checked and lubricated. ‘Rusty Rosie’ was put away intact with all wheels present and accounted for, and the valve motion is still hanging on its pins. So with the compensation gear reassembled, it was time to start getting the joints and sliding surfaces sorted out. (Pic R03 above) Lee Gates tackled the job, using the ratchet oil pump and the dispensing hose. MH oil was applied to every joint as a rough lubricant. The ages old grease was still in the joints but shrunk over the years – and a bit of oil in the resulting crevices would be enough to get the engine to the other end of the yard without skinning the bearings.

The cylinders and valve chambers were lubricated directly via the inspection bores. The oil wand was blocked by a valve spindle, but carefully restrained pumping we got the oil to soak around the circumference of those old rings.


R04 – A locomotive IV Drip. Oil is injected directly into the valve chambers through the open inspection ports. The oil was pumped until it started coming out the cylinder cocks.	R05 – Andrew falls foul of the old railway rule – ‘What you put in, you have to take out again.’ The leftover used axle box grease from the GMAM Bissel rebuild project now has to be scraped out of the Class 12R’s Bissel Axle Box.	R06 – The exposed journal box wool is slowly and lovingly soaked in oil. Notice that the original brass axle bearing is still intact.

In the meantime, Andrew had the delightful job of scraping old grease out of the Bissel Truck Axle boxes. (Pic R05 above) This grease didn’t come as original with the 12R, especially as these are plain bearings and lubricated with oil soaked woolen padding. This grease was smeared into the axle boxes from the leftovers form the GMAM Garratt Axle Box work. With the axle wool exposed, Lee got in right after Andrew’s scraping, to put plenty of oil in there to let it soak into the wadding. (Pic R06 above)

Meanwhile Andrew was jacking up the tender journal boxes in turn and checking the crude temporary hard-wood blocks that had been inserted instead of the long-ago brass bearings. (Pic R07 below) Some of those wood blocks were replaced but all of them had a generous helping of the thick black ex-GMAM \ ex-12R grease that we had just removed form the engine’s Bissel journal boxes. We Reefsteamers are a frugal bunch! Shaun Ackerman removed the corrugated sheeting that was placed across the cab, to guard the fact that the wooden cab floorboards were missing. Then he applied some of the recovered grease to the front bogie bearings. Lee Gates had to get between the loco and tender and oil up the buffer pads just under the draw bar. (Pic R08 below.) Who needs yoga and various other yuppie new-age limbering-up exercises when one works on steam engines – when you have to wriggle between wheels, Bissel frames, cab steps, scuff plates, tenders and various pipes and safety chains – without tilting the oil can.

R07 – A tender journal box shows a rough bearing good enough for a few minute’s shunting. Blocks of hard wood wedges into the bearing recess and smeared with axle box grease.

R08 – A seldom seen tender buffer in the rusty alley between the cab and the tender. You can see the greasy headed buffer just under the rectangular sectioned draw bar.

R09 – It looks almost as if Class 25NC No.3488 ‘Enchantress’ is in steam again. Actually, she’s waiting on the Forge House track while our Class 25(NC) ‘Elize is backing up outside the yard and the stacks line up.

When the shunting action started, we basically swapped the positions of the Class 25(NC) No.3488 ‘Enchantress’ tucked away in the old running shed, with that of Class 12R No.1947 ‘Rosie’. ‘Enchantress was pulled out of bed first and then put out of the way on the forge-house track. (Pic R09 above) Meanwhile, the Western Gates were opened and our 25(NC) was able to get out the yard and run around the workshops. Lee had quite a battle to open those gates – as the 1 ½ inch bolt had seized in the saddles. Trying to drift it didn’t work and the acetylene torch option (to expand the saddles) was rejected. Eventually the bolt was hammered in slightly with an old draw pin, with oil on the leading circumferences and then hammered out the other way. Meanwhile, Class 25(NC) No.3472 ‘Elize’ and her crew just waited patiently.

The withdrawal operation went smoothly with just a little bit of wheel slip. ‘Rusty Rosie’ impressed us by not squealing or groaning – just giving somewhat gritty wheezes through the open inspection holes of the cylinders. The 25 had some harder work to get the 12R upgrade on the workshop back track, especially on damp rails in the constant drizzle that we had this day. The move was achieved with no more fuss than a faint smell of charring wood as the engine went by. Obviously the greasing wasn’t enough – but it got the engine safely into the recesses of the Top Shed with no hassles.

R10 – Out you come! Two generations of SAR steamers face each other as the Class 25NC draws in for the coupling operation.

R11 – Class 12R No.1947 ‘Rosie’ is wheezing past the forge house and shows off her elegantly proportioned pre-12AR boiler and long wheel-base to advantage.

R12 – An old lady in a decent bedroom, Class 12R ‘Rosie’ N0.1947 in the place newly vacated by Class 25(NC) No.3488 ‘Enchantress’

With No.1947 Rosie put to slumber, it was now time to pull out the Friends of the Rail Class 25NC ‘Elsabe’ – on road No.2 of the eight bay workshop. She was to be put into the same running shed track as ‘Rosie’ and certainly didn’t need much last minute tribological attention to the myriad bearings and pivots either. However – this engine added her own ‘wrinkles’ to the operation, as she has neither tender or draw bar. These means that the engine has no coupler at the back end – which is the only end to which we could get at.

The 1952 model 150HP Hunslet Shunter has a split knuckle design on the couplers, combined with borings and a removable pin. This design enables the engine to safely pull chains and ropes, taking the load on a structural member. So while our shunting Class 25NC was having the fire tended to and being run around to the workshop once more, we brought the diesel into action. Elsabe’s ascending stoker tunnel had to be blocked off first – as the worm is still in place, liberally intermingled with lumps of fossilized coal. The boys tied a board across the back of the engine to keep everything in place. (Pic R13 below)

R13 – You gotta guard every orifice … on a locomotive. A board is tied across the ascending stoker tunnel with some ingenious knotting.

R14 – In the 1950’s, it must have been hard to believe that the diesels will take over and abolish steam. The little Hunslet Taylor Switcher and the giant steam locomotive are actually contemporaries.

R15 – Heavy Metal. Even with a
tender missing, the twin 25NC combo
looks impressive as it shunts up
to the workshop ‘back track’

25NC No.3472 ‘Elize’ was already on the run around track by the time the FotR loco was hooked up via a wire sling to the shunter. The move went well, with no wheel slip or sprung slings – and the combo made it’s way right up to the head shunt of the little workshop yard, with the Hunslet stopping right at the buffers. (Pic R14 above) Now our 25(NC) could come down that gradient, into the head-shunt, and couple up the front coupler of Elsabe, and haul the patiently waiting locomotive up and away in the same fashion. Elsabe has light blue smoke box deflectors, with dark azure blue lining. In spite of the odd colouring, she looked quite decent in the patchy afternoon sun. They stand out against the predominantly black coloration of the average SAR locomotive – but would be a pain to keep clean in regular operation.

The Class 25(NC) No.3488 ‘Enchantress’ then took her turn to be shunted. The engine was facing east and we normally park them facing west in the workshop, so the smokebox and cylinder end is at the end of the inspection trenches and accessible from three sides at ground level. So, ‘Enchantress’ got to ride around the loop and come into the workshop nose first. So that’s of the first SIA transferred locomotives in a position to be worked on, under cover. She is to be inspected for repairs and to be repaired via contractors. One known problem is the poor condition of the boiler jacket and lagging.

Project : GMAM Garratt Stoker Motor Rebuild :

The Stoker Motor is coming back together and no more surprises have been discovered in the reassembly. The only work remaining is to couple up the valve spindles to their connecting rods, replace the glands, give all the working nuts a once over and then put the inspection covers and crank case covers back. Of course, this lump of machinery needs to be put back into the bowels of ‘the mother ship’ and then tested – which will probably be worthy of an article in of itself.


S01 – Manicure. Mike Thiel is carefully using a half round file to remove ridges in the cylinders.	S02 – The valve spindles are back in place with their new rings. You see the ports in the valve chambers. Normally the pistons are 90 degrees out of phase but one has been disconnected and pushed to BDC to facilitate the filing.	S03 – The rod chamber which shows the clevis-like valve crossheads. Notice that the glands and their castellated nuts haven’t yet been installed.

PROJECT : Coach Steps :

It’s been a long time since we’ve had an accident or a derailment in our facility. But something that does encourage the occurrence of bent locomotives and rolling stock is when we have 3^rd party contractors on site and they store their stuff next to the rails. One tends to forget the clearances required to move the long locomotives and coaches around, especially on the curves – and steps can get bent. And the locomotive crews tend to take it for granted that they can move anywhere on rails – especially as we’ve only done it like a thousand times before with no problems. One good thing about the bent step syndrome though is that it gives us something to tease the drivers with when they get on their high horses.

The steps on this coach were bent quite some time ago, when an unfortunate Class 15F was being cut up for scrap (by Transnet) within the Running Shed. The steps of this coach caught a pile of scrap that was placed too close to the line. Apparently they caught a piece of scrap piping, which rotated and then caught in the rest of the pile. The steps only being attached at the top, are prone to bending when force is applied on the bottom rung – due to the leverage. They could, in a pinch, have been repaired – but finding a matching replacement for the buckled and rusty top step isn’t going to be easy.


T01 – The removed bent coach steps with the badly buckled top step plate. They had been impacted on the bottom left where you can still see the indent.	T02 – Step two. (Couldn’t resist it.) Willie ‘Sarge’ Wehmeyer backs the new steps across the walkway. The angled back plate to fit the coach vestibule profile is clearly seen at the front end of the barrow.	T03 – Newly mounted steps with five bolts miraculously matching up in 20 plus year old holes. They need a bit of wire brushing, some gloss paint and then a light layer of dust and you’ll never know that they aren’t original.

The coach gang had removed the steps the previous week and had rustled up a spare set of steps. These are covered all over with a shallow layer of surface rust, but are as straight as you could wish for. The old bolts were twisted, so the coach boys had some fun scrounging around for suitable replacements in the Top Shed – but eventually got the steps mounted straight and true. Amazing that the holes actually lined up considering the lack of standardization that bedevils us on the locomotives.

Pictures from around the shed :


M01 – We have recently declared safety hats to be mandatory, with the existing requirement of safety shoes. One of the deficiencies pointed out in a recent safety Audit is the lack of safety signs. Fred Sewell’s signs on the workshop doors reflect the new requirements.	M02 – The ‘Cute Chairman’ Elize Lubbe reads a Christian devotional (In Afrikaans) before starting off the first monthly Reefsteamers Association meeting for 2008.	M03 – The two marketing guys look annoyed with each other. Actually, there’s two different conversations going on with Les Smith (RHS) and Hardie Visagie (LHS) present for the club meeting.

M04 – One of our loco drivers is in for seven years bad luck – not a good thing when operating trains. A loosely suspended mirror in the bar car came loose from its moorings while shunting.	M05 – Fred Sewell wears his badge of office while discussing coaching work with Oom Attie de Necker. Actually, the neck is just a convenient place to carry a new (clean) toilet seat with the hands full of electrical spares.	M06 – One of the reasons why original spec SAR coach lamp lenses are becoming rare – they make beautiful containers for nuts bolts and tools. This is Fred’s secret cache of quick connectors for coach wiring.

- Lee Gates -