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

Introduction :

Bad news sells. 

Ever noticed that?

This trend is why most newspapers tend to be text-based drama queens, blowing up current issues out of all proportion in an attempt to appeal to our base human nature in reveling in bad news and perhaps, to rejoice in the ills, misfortunes and downfalls of others.  (Especially the famous)  Who cares about the pratfalls and trials of Britney Spears, Angela Jolie or Tom Cruise anyway?  I mean, get a life!  But amongst clubs and fraternities, the bad times, the struggles and the discomforts always seem to end up being remembered as amusing stories and retold over and over again.  And usually, those stories are retold with much relish and not a little embellishment, especially when the beers and the klippies n’ coke begins to flow, with an inevitable bit of spicing up on the facts to make things sound even more exiting.

I have noticed this amongst third party articles written by others about the Reefsteamers, and even amongst stories verbally told by the Reefsteamers themselves.  A few incidents in an otherwise successful trip are mentioned world wide.  For instance, practically the whole steam preservation world probably knows that our vintage generator packed up on our 2007 Dave Rogers Tour.  (As if no other elderly generator in the world has ever blown a gasket on heavily-loaded 24/7 duty.)  So the electrically pumped plumbing and the lighting didn’t work until Fred Sewell hooked up temporary external generators a day later… big drama.  But not much mention was made of the spectacular scenery;  the clear, cold ideal-for-steam-photography weather;  the trio of beautifully performing locomotives 460km from their home base, including the then recently completely re-tubed and recertified Class 15CA No.2056 ‘Dorothy’;  the many successful photo run-bys, with many of them additional to the schedules, even with the crews battling with poor coal and clinker. 

The generator blew…oh crikey!

The discomforts, weariness and trials make good stories.  But the good times generally get forgotten.

If we stick to this formula, then this will end up being a pretty boring report, as there are no major incidents or real discomforts to highlight.  We, quite simply, had a great trip.  My photos don’t do the trip much justice.

The starring locomotive of our free State Explorer train to the Steam and Cosmos festival, Dave Shepherd’s Class 15F No.3052 ‘Avril’, ran like a somewhat dusty Rolex.  She didn’t miss a beat and the only minor repairs required was to clean out a cylinder cock valve and to adjust the cylinder cock linkages.  Otherwise the grand old engine ran flawlessly, steaming proudly through the Free State scenery.  One coach’s water pump failed to switch off, which blew some of the piping apart, and the same pump later tripped itself out while stubbornly cycling against back pressure – but that was the finicky 25 year old original spec pressure switch misbehaving, rather than the pipes or the pumps themselves.  One pump in the entire train and so far as I know, it didn’t kill anyone to use the hot and cold running water on tap in the adjoining coach.  No unwashed corpses (with bars of soap clasped in their cold dead hands) were found in the corridors or gangways anyway.

We did have two failures out on the main line – both of them involving the electric locomotives behind which we had to be ignominiously hauled due to the current ban of steam power on the Transnet ‘core lines’.  These ‘core lines’ were mind blowingly busy and it really justifies the banning of steam operations on the main lines.  In a 920km round trip of main line running – we encountered two Shosoloza Meyl passenger trains, a coupled pair of Class 38 diesels idling as light engines, a single Class 6E1 running light, one mixed freight train and a rail inspection vehicle on the busy main lines.  And the only sign of Transnet during our 3 days at Ficksburg was a converted Toyota truck road-railer chugging through on the center irons. 

And that’s it.  We had a great time and a truly fantastic run.  The weather was mild with warm sunny days, and brisk, but not unpleasantly chilly mornings.  There were some brief cold snaps on two afternoons, with ominous clouds oozing over the Maluti Mountains – but that never amounted to much.  And trimming coal is a great way to keep warm.  (Just ask Andrew n’ me)  Many of us who had cleverly packed extra blankets in anticipation of the biting Eastern Free State autumn cold ended up sleeping on top of them, instead of under them.  The food was superb and the ladies in the kitchen did themselves well working non-stop to prepare three delicious meals a day.  They, in fact, put in the longest working hours out of anyone on the tour.  The footplate crews had it relatively easy – as we had originally planned to crew two engines, and there wasn’t the heart to kick some people off the crew list just because we eventually went down to one engine for economy reasons.  We wanted every crew member who are regular contributors at the Depot to share in the experience of the Free State Explorer \ Steam and Cosmos Festival.  So nearly every crew member only had to work two or three shifts.  Some of them even volunteered to do extra work.

The Sandstone Steam and Cosmos Festival itself was a bewildering grassy-buffet board of action, alive with movement and living mechanical history.  We were treated to three narrow gauge trains running non stop through the day, military vehicle convoys, a Sherman tank demonstration, constant overhead fly bys and acrobatics from military and civilian aircraft, a vintage bus, a vintage fire engine, tractor drawn ploughing and a host of steam and vintage diesel and gas powered engines on display, as well as combine harvesters, modern and vintage tractors, traction engines and the oval-stickered infrastructure of the Sandstone Estates itself.  The infrastructure and equipment alone is impressive, on this modern, commercially operated 8 500 Ha farm.

Not to mention, of course, the unusually richly coloured Cosmos flowers!

So yes, this was a great trip and a credit to all those involved – and kudos too, to the Sandstone Heritage Trust and their varied partners in preservation in putting on the festival.  This trip was also a credit to the good spirits of the people on board our train– it was great to see the crew and the passengers naturally mixing it up.

So, if it is stories of bad times and drama that you’re looking for, I’m afraid you will find this report, as long and as detailed as it is, to be somewhat dull reading and you won’t have any stores top tell around the braai (BBQ) fire..  But otherwise, read on and see how a transprovincial steam tour can be successful at unavoidably short marketing and booking notice, read of the functioning of a tightly knit steam-team, and at how a beautiful old machine relived some of her golden days, taking herself and the people on board back in time, sprinting enthusiastically along the high iron.

9^th April – Wed – Last prep and short haul to Boksburg East Station :

The departure day of our trip dawned mostly clear skied and cool – with dry rails and no problems loading coaches.  The weather would show off the freshly cleaned engine to advantage, particularly the newly polished valve gear and coupling rods.  One had to be careful of walking around though as the soil around the depot has been disturbed by the current track sleeper upgrade project, and a distracted Reefsteamer could easily stumble or twist an ankle on the liberally scattered ridges, humps and hollows.  The Depot Day started with everyone busy within the Top Shed, which we generally use as our running shed (Pic W01 below), the engine quietly building up steam and submitting to the last minute preparations.  For, no matter how thorough one is in the pre-trip preparations of the previous weeks, there always seems to be about a hundred more jobs to be done.

Some of the work that had been done on this locomotive over the last 4 months includes :

(In Summary form)

1).      Replacement of Stoker Jet Manifold Valve with shop assembled rebuilt unit.

2).      Replacement of Stoker Feed and Stoker Jet  Gauges with brand new units.

3).      Re-plumbing of Stoker related gauges and of the stoker jets themselves..

4).      Removal of obsolete Steam Heat Gauge and associated piping.

5).      Repair of ash-grate peg and custom fitting to grate shaker lever. 

6).      Replacement of worn and loose driver’s seat.

7).      Painting of entire frames, all wheels, buffers and the front end.

8).      Locomotive brake slack adjuster rods repaired – one was seized and one was stripped.

9).      Full undercarriage, suspension and brake gear lubrication.

10).    Axle keeps and bogie bolster pins serviced and lubricated.

11).    Turbo-Generator’s governer adjusted and generator lubricated.

12).    Tender coal-space corner braces completely re-fabricated and welded.

13).    Rear tender deck weather-sealed in poly-urethane paint.

14).    Temporary cab number plates and wing heralds sourced and fitted.

15).    Commemorative plaques custom made and fitted.

16).    The reverser’s lock cylinder’s rear chevron seals replaced.

17).    Brake Ejector totally overhauled.

18).    Cylinder cocks cleaned and linkages serviced.

19).    Several rotted cab floor boards replaced.

17).    Failed grate shaker repaired.

18).    Grate shaker condensate valves stripped and cleaned.

19).    New access hatch fabricated for tender stoker gearbox and drive shaft access covers.

20).    New mechanical stoker trough slides fabricated and fitted.

21).    Entire tender coal-space interior rust proofed.

22).    Rusted and holed tender rear scuttle plate patched.

23).    Tender water chute lids repaired.  (broken hinges)

24).    Turret valve packings serviced.

25).    The Sellers’ valves serviced and seats ground on RHS.

26).    Bell Coupling fitted for water transfer to rear of tender.

27).    Missing oil pipes fitted to Bissel Bearing Pads.  All oil boxes fitted with new trimmings.  (Wicks)

28).    Newly black-painted Smoke Deflectors were re-painted grey upon request.

29).    Newly black-painted tender frames and bogies re-painted grey upon request.

30).    Rusted holed train brake pipe replaced behind wind deflectors.

31).    New latch fabricated and fitted for the firebox doors.

32).    Brass heralds mounted on cylinder covers.

So yeah, I’d say that we’ve done a bit of work on this loco…

The cleaning of a steam locomotive can be easily written off as a waste of time, because they get dirty again so quickly.  This is especially true of the coupling rods, valve motion and wheels after one or two service stops with the inevitable grease and drips, and airbourne oil condensate from the cylinders.  But it’s a matter of pride for a depot to present a clean locomotive for her first foray out on the main irons.  ‘Shorty’ and Fielies were on the job of cleaning and painting the front end.  (Pic W02 above)  The wind deflector plates, front steps and the brake pipe stand were freshly repainted and the coupling rods and valve motion had been painstakingly polished with fine grit sandpaper. 

The management coach, ol’ No.42, occupied the crossover track, to be able to utilize ‘ground power’ for the on-board electrical system – especially for the refrigerators.  (Pic W03 above)  This coach was repainted back in 2006.  However, the sub-zero (-6 deg Celsius) temperatures experienced during the 2007 Dave Rogers tour caused the sheet metal work to contract and the embrittled, thick coated paint cracked and lifted off in slabs.  The exposed metal underneath then began to rust.  This old coach was repainted last week, fixing damaged areas on both the ‘Gulf Red’ and ‘French Grey’ sides, as well as the application of polyurethane paint onto the roof.  Because the existing paint from last year has just begun to fade, you can see the fresh patches – but the coach looks a whole lot more presentable now.

Shaun ‘Smudge’ Ackerman got into his element, duck-walking amongst the cool greasy, gritty undersides of a locomotive.  He was seemingly just pottering around with an oil can – but was actually giving the engine a very thorough road worthy inspection and a simultaneous light-lube job of the undercarriage.  (Pic W04 below)  As we were only taking one loco with us, there would be no backup in case of a breakdown or simple lack of steam.  No problems were found apart from some slightly loose bolts and a couple of split pins that needed replacement.

During this work, the coaling dock was busy with Sakkie Kekana filling up the 40 ton capacity DLJ type gondola which we would be using as a coal wagon.  We were at a premium concerning the costs and the weight of the train.  But the approx R26000 charge requested for hauling coal down to Ficksburg by articulated truck was just too much.  We’d pay less on the YQ, and burn up less fuel money, hauling our own coal with us, right behind the usual auxiliary water tanker – a steam locomotive equivalent of a lunch pack.  Shaun was anxious right through the planning and beginning stages of the trip concerning how much coal we’d use and how tight the supply would be.  But the genteel old iron lady doesn’t eat that much – we came back with about a third of the gondola’s coal load still unburnt.  Of course, if we had been allowed to do a proper steam hauled run all the way from Boksburg East to Bethlehem, the coal consumption would have been much higher.  Maybe next year…

While the locomotive was being prepared and checked, the guest footplate crews were being put through their paces in the club house.  (Pic W05 above)  Vice chairman Coen Pretorius handles the training and safety related issues as our vice chairman, and although he looks like a friendly barefooted old softy, he holds to high standards.  He was ready with the paperwork for four additional crew members.

The kitchen crew arrived in the mid day and the all-important food was gradually loaded (Pic W06 above) – and nothing got broken, although one bag of mince did get dropped in transit.  I washed it off and no one would know any better – the bag didn’t split anyway.  Some food was stored in the kitchen of the Management Coach No.42, especially the meats in the chest freezer, and the club house refrigerator was moved in as well to expand the cooled storage space.  It sounds a simple exercise but the refrigerator had to be loaded via the gangway doors as the side doors are too narrow.

In the midst of all this activity, with the Reefsteamers quite literally forming foot trails through the soft inter-track dust like worker ants carrying their seeds, the locomotive was rolled out to the Reception Track for improved lighting, ventilation and a good blow down later on.  (Pic W07 below)  A harried looking Patrick Ackerman suddenly came in bearing a pair of gifts, like a somewhat pressurized wise man seeking the holy abode.  The gifts were the seriously nifty custom made CNC engraved aluminum commemorative plates which credit Dave Shepherd with handing over the locomotive to Sandstone Estates for use for Steam in Action.  They are beautifully made and were mounted almost immediately.  Shaun and Patrick had designed, commissioned and paid for those plates themselves. 

Patrick Ackerman then disappeared again in a roiling cloud of dust and centripedic gravel, leaving the plaques to be mounted on the locomotive’s cab sides.  (Pic W08 below)  The mounting holes had been carefully marked centrally and pre-drilled in the cab sides symmetrically under the oval name plates.  But the catch came in that the pairs of pre-drilled mounting holes are actually drilled through UNDER the wooden floor board levels of the raised platforms upon which the fireman and driver’s seats are fitted.  Shaun Ackerman had the task of lifting those floorboards without damaging them – undoing shallow screw heads with the slots long filled in with compressed ground coal.  It’s an awkward job with the seat still in place and it took over an hour and some gritted teeth just to get the plaques mounted.

The cab-side holes had been predrilled to dimensions separately given to the plaque maker – but the two sets of dimensions matched up.  The plaques mounted with a minimum of wriggling.  The freshly mounted plates look great, although you can see the text just about fitted in the allocated space on the fourth line.  (Pic W09 below.)  They were made to fit within the width of the oval SAR number plate and it was a close fit.  We were concerned about the effect of lineside thorn bushes on those plates – as we often end our trips with long lines of scrapes and scratches on the coaches.  But because the plaques are so difficult to remove and then remount, we decided to leave them on the cab sides, at least until they would be ‘unveiled’ on Friday.  As it turned out, they only got slightly scratched during the trip.  We plan to remove them at leisure and remount them in a higher and more recessed, protected location.

The 4-wheeled 150HP Hunslet Shunter was then started up and the waiting train put back together with quite a convoluted series of shunting moves.  We were to take ten coaches in total.  The train was standing in two halves.  And the management coach and a sleeper coach allocated for the crew were standing in the crossover track.  These two coaches were hauled out alongside ad past the old forge house and then placed on a running shed track, but not yet coupled.  After a hard move, the two extra coaches started rolling into the shed on their own and Sakkie Kekana had to run alongside to apply the handbrake while on the move.  The resulting hard coupling was unlikely to have hurt the coaches themselves, but we still had people on board in the catering car and the dining car.  Sakkie stopped his coaches successfully.  Then the little diesel shunter konked out, with the exhaust clapper just flopping shut and it dismally rolled to a halt.  The fuel tank was found to be sucking the bubbles from the bottom.  So the steam powered cavalry was called in to the rescue and Class 15F No.3052 ‘Avril’ underwent the indignity of shunting her own train … when a princess like her should be able to wait in the shed, roll out majestically and couple onto the waiting train in a royal garland of wafting steam.

This resulted in a very mixed train at the west end of the old running sheds.  (Pic W10 below)  Apart from the fact that the coal wagon and the water tank needed to be attached, the shunters had brought out the ‘tea trolley’, a clapped out but still useful short-wheelbase plain-bearing flat wagon.  So that ended up in the mix too.  There were no further incidents in the shunting and finally the entire train was in one piece.  The brake pipes and the electrical connections were hooked up from both ends simulatenously.

We were planning to leave the depot at 2pm but only ended up boarding the train at about 3:30pm.  There’s nothing quite like setting up your compartment for a coming trip.  Because of the double crewing for the non-existent double locomotive combo, we ended up with more crew than passengers.  The crew compartments were generally assigned to four people each – which can be tricky when each of those four people have brought extra luggage for anticipated cold weather as well as sleeping bags and such.  Bedding was actually supplied by Reefsteamers for the crews, and that took up even more space.  Normally, of the triple set of bunks on each wall, the center bunk is used as a luggage shelf, as there is insufficient space between the lowest bunk and the floor.  That’s all well and good, but then one has the critical decision of selecting an easily accessible lower bunk – but sleeping in claustrophobic conditions and barely able to turn over without your shoulders catching the base of the center bunk ;  or one can select the relative open space and higher headroom at the top bunk – but having to climb up and down to get there.  The top bunks are effectively longer as they are on the same level as the overhead storage – so the taller guys of 6ft and above generally go high anyway.

I’m a top-bunk fellow.

There was a delay in getting the train out.  One of the weak points in our depot equipment is the lack of a vacuum pump, or a vacuum brake equipped diesel locomotive.  This means that vacuum brake related work cannot be tested properly, unless one of the steam locomotives happen to be in-steam at the time.  Right at the back of the train, the water tanker’s brakes were not applying and there was an ugly ululating squealing whine of air being sucked through a small gap – like someone stretching the vibrating neck of a deflating balloon.  The sound alerted us to the problem even before the mandatory brake test could be done.

Yes, even we Reefsteamers don’t always get it right.  The team that replaced the tanker’s vacuum cylinder the previous week has made some subtle mistakes in the assembly.  The brake release valve attaches to its mounting pad with two vertical studs.  One of the studs was so long as to foul with the cylindrical body of the valve when the nuts were screwed home.  (Pic W13 above)  And the protruding blank stud shank of the same stud prevented the nuts from going all the way home.  So the flanges wouldn’t seal.  And there were no washers fitted – as the original valve hadn’t any washers.  Visually, it looked okay but the true test was when vacuum was applied.  The problem was solved with a hacksaw to cut the offending stud down.  A nut was run up and then the stud was cut off shorter – and the nut re-cut and straightened its own threads upon removal.  Washers were found from the power van to allow the nut to tighten up on threads.  It was a dicey job, working at full arm’s length over an inspection pit, which would make retrieval of any dropped fasteners and hardware a yogic proposition.  The power van was at the other end of the train so several of us got some exercise fetching tools and looking for parts.  The train passed the first brake test after this minor repair with ease!  (Especially with the in-house Reefsteamers overhauled brake ejector.)

The heavy-ish train pulled off for Boksburg East in fine style, albeit with some delay in the zig-zag to get onto the mains, and the locomotive was running tender first as there are no turning facilities at Boksburg East.  We took an easy run as because we were running 2 hours late, we’d be mixing it up with the Wednesday Afternoon Metrorail traffic anyway.  So why rush?  The passengers on board the train didn’t have time to get impatient with the few stops, but busied themselves with packing their compartments and finishing up the packing in the kitchen. 

We arrived in Boksburg East at about 5pm, rolling in much to the fascination of the afternoon commuters.  (Pic W15 above)  They got an eyeful of some steam action as the tender first engine was run around the train and placed at the head end and facing the right way for the outbound trip on the morrow.  Unfortunately, photographic opportunities were seriously spoilt by a rail maintenance train parked between ‘our’ siding and the commuter passenger platforms.  Piet Steenkamp took the opportunity to get some more hard grease into the coupling rod bearings while they were still warm, even though we’d only done a short run.  (Pic W16 below)  The engine would have a long way to go the next day and one can never have too much grease in those vulnerable points.  (Except maybe the sealed return crank bearing … but you get my drift.)  Andrew King, as Chief Engineer, has been hammering the drivers on regular lubrication and this practice was followed throughout the entire tour. 

Les and Sandy Smith had already set up a reception desk on the bare platform of the old Boksburg East Goods Shed.  (Pic W17 below)  Reception was open until late - an excellent idea as many of our guests had driven a long way and some had flown up to be with us.  It eliminated the risk of guests missing the train due to unavoidable transit delays and we did, in fact, have guests arriving at night.  It also meant that people could unpack at their leisure and stroll around a bit after a long journey.  Les was causing some amusement by handing out the first of the daily day-glo yellow ‘smiley face’ stickers, insisting that these are reminders that this is to be a ‘happy train.’  He’s had enough experiences of rail tours and steam engines to know that tempers can flare up some times.  The canting evening light was mellow and the semi derelict goods shed took on a life of its own.  Our ‘Sparky’, Fred Sewell, temporarily hooked up the power car to the goods shed’s lights, so we had some lighting on the platform for the evening.  And as a bonus, the usually dangerous open drain pits that were in a row on the platform have all been neatly concreted in – so we no longer had to stand guard lest an unwary visitor trip and hurt an ankle.

A major reason why we use Boksburg East as a departure point is the intact fencing and controllable entrances.  Reefsteamers had made arrangements for four days worth of security, including a dog patrol.  (Pic W18 below)

The locomotive needed watering before the next shift and fireman Sakkie Kekana set to manfully even though he wasn’t actually on the crew roster for those evening hours.  (Pic W19 below)  The nearest working fire hydrant is inconveniently over by the derelict offices and it took three fire hoses connected end to end to reach the locomotive’s water tanker.  Furthermore, the clearances to the right of the locomotive were obstructed by a concrete containment dyke and much shrubbery.  The shrubbery had been hacked away with machetes (‘Panga’s) but there wasn’t much we could do about the concrete.  (Pic W20 below)  On the plus size, we had a properly fitting key handle for the hydrant and the water pressure was quite decent.

Meanwhile, within the coaches (Pic W21 above) some semblance of order was settling in and the open cash bar was already doing a brisk business.  The kitchen was finally packed and stocked.  But no cooking was required on our first night of our tour, as pre-made boxes of snack foods had been brought.  We had originally planned to have a platform braai (BBQ) but we didn’t want late coming passengers to miss out.  But with the serving of cold pre-made food laid out as a buffet, the kitchen remained tidy and the ladies enjoyed a last night ‘off’ before the endless catering work really started.  (Pic W22 below)

I, Lee Gates, got the first night shift of stopping the engine from blowing up, dieing on us or collapsing the crown sheet … aka, ‘Loco Minding’.  Actually, the 14 wheeled gal was an absolute sweetie pie all through the night, the boiler pressure never dropping below 1000kPA, and that’s without a heavy fire, with the turbo generator running non-stop through the night and no use of the blower at all.  (It raises the temperature of the fire but encourages formation of clinkers.)  The locomotive is such a free steamer that I didn’t even bother to shut off the various turret valves, with the unusual exception of the driver’s side injector steam valve, as a side-of-the-eye view of the wavering condensing steam plume kept looking eerily like someone standing next to the cab steps.

It was a pleasant night for loco minding, and a pleasant cab in which to do it in.  Dinner arrived courtesy of Johann Breydenbach.  And set to the steady muttering of the boiler, and the snap-crackle-pop of fresh coal still in primary combustion, the time-killer Dean Koontz horror story book had some real atmosphere – especially when the Boksburg East station platform lights all suddenly went out at about 11pm!.  By the time Johann had arrived with the nibbles, two people and a service dog had been killed in the company town of Moonlight Cove and I hadn’t even read past the first 100 pages!  I never sleep off the footplate during loco minding although advised to by others – for I’m too deaf to hear if something does go wrong.  But I have started a tradition of buying a new book to read during the long midnight hours – check out the accidentally rather appropriate title in Pic W24 above.

Actually, the night went by very quickly.  A general meeting of the Reefsteamer crews was called at about 8:45pm.  There was a brief but stern talk on safety, especially while shunting.  Then some encouragement about teamwork and a prayer in English.  (Most of the Afrikaans people can speak reasonable, if heavily accented English, but we have some English speakers who can barely speak Afrikaans.)  Then the jobs were allocated, as well as an updated footplate crew roster to allow for the changed schedule for Friday seeing that we’d be no longer hauling the two rescued Class 25NC locomotives from Bethlehem to Ficksburg.

Then the train settled down for the night, the loco minder up front tinkering with the lubricator and the electrician catching up on repairs in the power car, and the bookings team making sure of final arrangements.  The locomotive was handed over to the running crew at about 2am, with the banked fire being slightly too small to cover the entire firebox area.  The only issue during the night was the fact that the turbo dynamo was running a little too enthusiastically and would tend to over-drive the 32V cab ceiling bulbs if the headlamp or tail lights weren’t turned on to provide a load on the dynamo.  It wasn’t that lonely a job as a number of people popped up into the cab through the night to explore and to chat about locomotives in general. 

There wasn’t much fire prep necessary as the locomotive would be hauled by electrics the following morning and we just needed enough steam pressure to couple up to and pull the train forward so the toasters could couple up and still remain under their cantenerary.

The Ficksburg Explorer was under way!

10^th April – Thurs – Electric Haul to Bethlehem :

The Free State Explorer started first thing in the morning with most of the people on board still sleeping off the rigours of road or air travel.  Lee Gates stayed on duty with the starting loco crew, Mike Thiel (off-duty Trainee fireman) and Attie de Necker (Train Manager) also came out to help get thing going.  The locomotive didn’t need to be piping hot and in steam as we’d be electrically hauled – so Driver Chris Saayman and Fireman Johann Breydenbach had an easy time of it…  The night’s water intake had to be topped up in the tanker \ tender combo as soon as possible, and then the fire hoses had to be packed up and stowed away.  The electric locomotives came arrived at the arranged time of about 3am.  They were unable to couple up to our train though, as our goods shed siding had been de-electrified and the overhead wires long since taken down.  So Class 15F No.3052 ‘Avril’ had to be moved before coupling.  I have no photos of this action as I was busy, and then took off for a shower and then off to imitate a fabric covered speed bump in the compartment.  Being deaf has its advantages as I couldn’t hear if any of my three bunk mates (Rob McGregor, Andy Anderson and Brendon Anderson) from Umgeni Steam Railway were snoring and grunting through the night.  And no one had ‘stepped on a duck’ either, unlike some other compartments that I’ve smelt on other trips.

The morning haul was uneventful.  The two ‘Transnet orange’ ‘Draad Karre’ (Wire Cars) No.E1219 and No.E1165 were running well within their hauling capabilities and we were trundled smoothly through the Johannesburg metro region and beyond.  I missed the exiting urgent steam-beat throbbing through the draft gear of a steam haul, especially as our crew coach was at the locomotive end of the train and we would have really felt that insistent beat.  Unlike the insane early morning hours of a photo tour, the crew members were able to wake up and wander into the communal coaches at our leisure – good news for someone who’s worked a late night shift.  We were already bowling through the gently undulant countryside by the time breakfast was being served.  (Pic T01 below.)  There’s nothing quite like eating on board a moving train, especially when a crisp new day is waking up right outside your windows – it impressed even me, who is one of those non-morning persons who’s cerebral turbines take about 2 hours to spool up to running speed. 

Every day’s breakfast was a variance on the English Breakfast theme – with an open buffet table (Pic T02 above) of bread and toast equipment, yoghurt, two fruit juices, three cereals and various bread spreads.  The man courses were served fresh and hot from the kitchen.  Tea and coffee were available from the water urn in the adjoining bar car and for anyone uncivilized enough to want some booze or a fizzy drink during an English breakfast, the cash bar was always open in the adjoining bar car.

I include some general pictures of the communal coaches as they give you an idea of the atmosphere within our Train.  You don’t get space like this on an airliner or our nearest competitors, the luxury road coach.  (Pic T04 below)  The bar car (Pic T05 below) was the social center of the train, never empty and always productive to drop into to listen to or to join in a new conversation. 

Our morning train stopped briefly at Vereeniging, where Avril’s knuckles and knee caps were greased.  There wasn’t much to see concerning track work and rolling stock.  (Pic T06 above.)  We did pass the site of a derailment (Pic T07 below), followed closely by an extensive road gang replacing the concrete sleepers.  (Pic T08 below)  Because of the presence of the right-of-way crew, we had to run under a speed restriction, which allowed us to check out the sleeper work from the coach windows.  It was a little odd to see as these concrete sleepers seem to be ever lasting – but the ones removed bore clear evidence of grooving and serious chipping on their ends.  It looks as if that derailed train took some time to stop and the wheels dug into and damaged the concrete.  There’s going to be plenty of new recycled concrete sleeper fences going up in this area soon…

We made a second service stop in Kroonstad (Crown’s Town – named after a horse!)  .  Even though Class 15F No.3052 ‘Avril’ wasn’t providing any tractive effort to the train, those myriad joints in the coupling rods and valve gear still needed greasing.  The Pilot Crew changed over at Kroonstad too and Frans van Dyk (Driver) + Sakkie Kekana (Fireman) took over as the ‘Pilot Crew.’  We made one more service stop at Arlington but the crew didn’t get to bounce off the footplate.  The arrival at Bethlehem was a bit of a shock, as the multiple track shunting yard has been stripped out and the overhead cantenerary’s conductors had been removed – more evidence of a steadily contracting national railway system.  It’s always a jolt to see the stripped frames of overhead cantenerary – the most modern form of traction going the same way as the old steam locomotives did – at least on the non serviced lines.  What was a bit weird about the severely pruned Bethlehem goods yard was that all the sleepers were gone, and the ballast had been carefully raked smooth but the valuable rails (scrap metal) were still lying alongside their original courses.  (Pic T09 below)

The pair of orange toasters were immediately unhooked from our train and run out past the platform end and onto a siding, out of the way of the main.  Meanwhile Class 15F No.3052 ‘Avril’ was already ‘bursting with excitement’ and the safety valves had inconveniently popped-off under the western footbridge.  (Pic T10 below)  The distant rear cab end of the parked trailing electric locomotive was clearly visible through the centenary and reminded me of a child sent to bed early during a very interesting conversation amongst the adults.  The double-ended box cabs will never be as aesthetically as exiting to look at and to work on as a steam locomotive, but they do have their own kind of fascination and sounds.  They did highlight one of the fundamental weak spots of the steam locomotive though – the fluctuating power output and the hammer blow on the tracks.  Many people commented on how smooth (if slightly lack-lusture) the ride was.

A bit of a quirk that I spotted at the change-over was that the trailing toaster, No.E1219 was clearly badged as a 6E1, but was running on older 6E bogies.  As the characteristic diagonal links and the bolster equipment was missing, I wondered if this electric locomotive had been de-rated in terms of expected tractive effort. 

As the Bean Boiler No.3052 was already in good steam, the Reefsteamers uncoupled her from the train and trundled off down the curved yard entry tracks to the Bethlehem Diesel Depot.  This move caught your favourite photographer flat footed and I had to rapidly hoof it through to the diesel depot.  I rarely run – but that hobble-kneed canter was as close to a run as Reefsteamers will ever get out of me!  It was a calculated risk, as I knew they’d be turning the locomotive around, but not how long the servicing would take.  The risk was compounded by the fact that Transnet crew were on duty in the yard service tracks and so I blended right in with them as I was wearing my mandatory high-vis vest just as they were.  With visions of the steamer coming blasting the opposite way on a totally wrong track and leaving me stranded in the bustling metropolis of Bethlehem, I took a diagonal path to see through the depot.  I was reassured by the sight of the top third of a Class 15F boiler slowly moving through grass n’ weeds, like a steam-powered submarine running half submerged through an algae green sea.  The locomotive was turned before servicing and I managed to walk up in a dignified fashion and catch Avril leaving the triangle in Pic T11 below.  The depot was still quite green.  The torched remains of the recently scrapped engines had been mainly cleared away.  Even the cylinder castings, the tasteless hard toffees of steam locomotive scrap, had been taken away.  What was remarkable was that the TRACKS upon which all those destroyed locomotives stood and were cut up in place, had been lifted too.  Talk about thorough tidying up.

What was a little unusual about the turning maneuver was that the coal wagon and the water tank were turned with the engine.  The water tanker was connected through a depot-made coupler fabricated from two brake pipes and a pair of bell couplings.  (Pic T12 above)  It did the job great with hardly a drop of water spilt.  The brass gate valve, as installed by Sandstone Heritage Trust didn’t leak either.  Andrew, Johann B and myself handled the water – being another long stretch with the fire hoses.  It’s quite easy to tear a hole in a heavy rubberized canvas hose when dragging it across a yard with tracks and sharp edges, and the occasional protruding sharp edged torched off bolt where some fixture was removed.  We did some damage to our hoses in the 2007 tour – and were more careful this time.  Dawie ‘Swak-Hart’ Viljoen had a bit of a tough time cleaning the fire as the homogeneous copiously ashy waste packed up in the ash chute.  Even though the fire hadn’t run hot, it still took much finagling with the hooked fire iron to clear the chute.  (Pic T13 below) 

The engine was treated to a stiff Ackerman grease job in the warm bearings and a brief general inspection.  Meanwhile, Piet Steenkamp, as the next fireman, was preparing the fire for the steam hauled section of the run, and running the injectors.  (They had to be run anyway, to operate the ash pan coolers.)  Reefsteamers could do with reconditioning the grease pumps as they tend to blow past their own plungers.  You can see such a pump in action in Pic T14 below.  Classic brown hard grease sticks was used, which we call ‘skaap worsies’ (Sheep Sausage).  It is a hard wearing grease that stays within the working surfaces, but requires much force to get it into the joint clearances.  It has the advantage of being a clean feeding grease though – not needing constant lubrication with warm water as the similar softer but stickier black grease sticks do.

Because we were all busy and running a tight schedule, none of us took the time to walk around and check out the two Class 25NC’s that we were originally hoping to haul out on the following day.  (Friday)  (Pic T15 Above)  Even I just gave them a casual glance when I walked in past those locomotives when returning from the turning triangle lead.  It was with mixed emotions that we heard that the rescue steam haul was to be cancelled and Transnet would haul the locomotives, by diesel traction, at their leisure.  It made the crews’ life a little easier, and gave some of our staff an extra day at the Sandstone Estates - but the locomotive rescue was an adventure and a challenge to which most of us were looking forward.

After the greasing, and rolling fire hoses uphill, (with one man to do the rolling and the other to run ahead, lift the hose and get the weighty residual water out), we got our asses into gear and prepared to pull out the depot on time (about 3pm) after a short wait for Piet Terblanche, the Section Manager and pilot for the day.  The rearmost brake pipe on the coal wagon wouldn’t suck-up and clamp itself against its dummy when the brakes were taken off.  (Pic T16 below)  It required someone to jog to the back of the short train and manually push the pipe on before the brakes would come off.  We eventually tied it down with some soft baling wire to get out the yard with the brake shoes out away from the wheels.

We only had to wait a few minutes for clearance, after our pilot had scrambled on board with two hands and a full coke can.  (Pic T17 below).  The service crew bailed out, with Andrew King and Johann Breydenbach riding on top of the coal pile.  The train was coupled up without much incident – and with a careful brake test and running inspection by Safety Officer Clifford Mathee.  (Pic T18 below)  He’d completed all his paper work of the crew and traction change.  Oh … that wired up brake pipe did have one last fling and held the brakes on – but as soon as the train pipe was coupled on, that was one little gremlin that we could flick off the train with contemptuous ease.  It wasn’t hard to shepherd the passengers back on board as this would be the best part of the outbound trip – a beautiful, powerful steam main-line locomotive hauling us through the increasingly more dramatic and beautiful eastern Free State scenery. 

It was lunchtime on the train by the time we headed out into the scenery.  It was pie n’ chips with salad.  I caught these two gentlemen killing their pies after the main munch-hour.  (Pic T19 below)   They deserve mention as they were assigned the thankless and unglamorous task of mopping and sweeping out the entire train of coaches.  The coaches were done (cheerfully) at least twice a day – one of those jobs that you don’t notice it until it ISN’T done, and every footstep in the coaches has a gritty feel to it, and the cinders and smuts get everywhere.

The trip outbound was settling into a good rhythm, the scenery become ever more interesting and we were all enchanted by the steady vigorous beat of the magnificent machine up front.  Suddenly there was some yelling, something you never want to hear on a train.  FIRE!  (Pic 20 below)  Then Attie de Necker, as the Train Manager, backed the train up by radio instructions.  Andre van Dyk had spotted a smudge of smoke – we had caused a trackside fire.  We take these incendric events seriously, as not only did we not want to be the cause of the loss of the entire mielie (corn) field bordering the burn ;  accidental line-side fires are one of the arguments leveled for the banning of steam power on Transnet Lines.  Mielie (Corn) field fires are disastrous and usually unstoppable, as the tassels and leaves that wrap around the head of corn ignite and separate, and then float up into in the air, riding on the hot updraft.  These act as burning parachutes, delicate wafting airborne fire bombs, and they spread the fire as they come down to ground again once they pass into cooler stable air.

The backing train overshot the fire which meant the Reefsteamers had some jogging to do.  But it was a deliberate overshoot as the water tanker coupled up front, with the pump and fire hose, had to be lined up in easy reach.  The footplate crew partially opened the left hand blow down valve too, to help block progress of the fire along the line.  (Pic T21 below)  The pump started like a champ and after some poor strategic hose positioning, it was later put onto the leading edge.  Meanwhile about 9 crew members were attacking the flames with a mixture of purpose-made fire flappers, shovels and otherwise just stomping on the flames with their thick soled safety boots.  (Pic T23 below)  It gives a new definition to the traditional South African gum-boot dance.  There was a short sharp dispute about pressure settings at the pump, which caused the pump’s engine to stall several times – but apart from human interference, the infrequently used (but frequently tested) fire fighting equipment worked as designed.

It seems like I’ve broken my own rule about talking about negative things with so many photos of the one line-side fire incident.  But I’ve tried to give an indication of how Reefsteamers are well aware of the built-in steam locomotive risk of causing lineside fires – and are equipped to deal with them.  The entire burnt area was wetted down once again once the visible flames were put out.  (Pic T22 above.)  The smoking tussocks were either beaten or buried in sand. 

We relaxed with much relief after that smoky drama (Pic T25 below) with most of the passengers not really understanding what was at stake.  The weather was beginning to turn a little chilly and overcast, but the scenery was as beautiful as ever for the final run into Ficksburg.

We could tell we were getting close as we were starting to attract the flies again.  (Pic T26 above)  Well, actually, the lineside train chasers or ‘foamers’ as they are often called.  We halted briefly at the Vailima Station, which is where the Sandstone Estates 2ft narrow gauge line interchanges with the Cape Gauge 3ft6 irons.  (Pic T27 above)  The military train was standing at ‘parade rest’ under the water column.  Many people took the opportunity to take pictures of the Cape Gauge and Narrow Gauge trains sitting side-by-side, but we didn’t stay for too long.

We arrived at Ficksburg at about 4:45pm and immediately began some shunting while the engine was still hot.  The first move was to get the coal wagon safely out of the way along the full height goods platform, to be accessible by front end loader on the following day.  (Pic T28 below)  The wonky brake pipe behaved itself this time.  The Ficksburg yard has no head shunt at this end, and with one or two vehicles behind the engine, a shunting train encroaches upon the road level crossing at that end.  So, there was much melodious whistling, with equally melodious echoes from the rocky kranse (cliffs) all around.  Sweet music…

The water tanker was pushed backwards alongside the train and parked under the still functional two-track overhead water gantry.  The locomotive was then uncoupled and run out and back alongside the platform for fire cleaning and service.  Meanwhile, the ‘nose bags’ were fitted and wired onto the toilet drop pipes as not to have piles of poo building up alongside the platform.  (This humble job entrusted to Shorty and Johann ‘Blou Bull’ van Vuuren.)  The assigned water tank person hadn’t filled up the coach tanks, so Train Manager Attie de Necker got onto the job (Pic T29 above), which would have to be done every morning and evening.

Coen Pretorius, as the appointed Shed Man, did the greasing, with a traditional twist.  An old oil can, with a twisted length of trimming fed through the spout, makes a roman style oil lamp – which is what we call a ‘Flare Lamp.’  (Pic T30 above)  Fireman Andre van Dyk busied himself with cleaning the fire and getting it banked ready for this evening’s locomotive minder.  (Sakkie ‘Sakana’ Kekana)

While Coen Pretorius was communing with the grease gun, Dawie ‘Swak Hart’ Viljoen got up on top of the tanker and opened the gantry water valve.  Unfortunately, the jet of water comes out skew and so it was missing most of the tanker’s water hatch, even through the tanker was properly positioned.  The locomotive was already being serviced – so the fellows were stuck with a valve that they could only partially open.  The stars had come out by the time the tanker was full (Pic T31 above) and after Dawie’s lower trouser legs were sopping wet with water spray.  Then the locomotive was ready to be moved, and after bunting the tanker out the way, she was lined up to take in water through the tender’s water hopper – the classic and proper way for a steam locomotive o take on water.  This time, the guys were able to compensate for the offset water flow and managed to turn the gantry’s valve fully.  Dawie still managed to flood and overflow the tender in classic Spoornet style - but at least that helped to clean off my lovely polyurethane gray paint job on the tender deck.

The beautiful stone fronted Ficksburg station building is still intact although the signal room has been carefully stripped, and the track diagrams and signal frames removed.  So that’s a pity.  But the removal work looks neat so it’s likely the contents were taken away carefully and not just destroyed.  The station is now occupied by Jehovah’s Witnesses!  (Pic T29 above)  The poor slobs were trying to have a quiet Thursday Night bible study and suddenly a noisy steam train come rolling in out of no where, does some noisy shunting, with much radio chatter, several extended whistles for the crossing, the generator van running non-stop and the platform full of sociable noisy people walking up and down. 

They must have thought we’d been sent by the Devil to distract them.  But as far as I know, our locomotives run on coal, not brimstone.  (Although, with some coal we’ve had in the past, with high sulphur content, you wonder….)

While the passengers were relaxing after their curry and rice dinner, Shaun, Andrew and Lee took a pleasant night time walk up the yard to throw over and lock the points.  (Pic T30 above)  This was done obviously to protect our train and also to prevent meddling hands messing around with occupied tracks.  On the way back they put the end marker on the train. 

Yeah – so we were finally at Ficksburg, 460km away from home. 

11^th April – Friday – Commuter run to Vailima :

Friday dawned clear and crisp, promising to be another beautiful day.  It was a bit too cold for the more elderly members of the passengers and crew, but most of us enjoyed the brisk morning.  The Friday sunrise saw the Class 15F locomotive coupled onto the train and undergoing final prep for the day’s run.  (Pic F01 below)  The morning run out would be under guest hands as Brendon Anderson, from the Umgeni Steam railway, would have his paws on the regulator.  Chris ‘5M’ Saayman was to fire this round with ‘Swak Hart’ Viljoen as the trainee fireman, gauge polisher and stoker slide yanker.

People were still adjusting to waking up on a train far away from home and the breakfast was up to its usual high standard.  Robbie Macgregor showed the ingenuity and proactiveness that is common to many steam people.  Sleeping on the coaches has one disadvantage, you can hear all the spring loaded doors slamming.  And even worse, there’s the usual hollow-boned chalk-board screech and a thump as the sliding doors are opened for the compartments.  Because it was a crew coach, there were people moving in and out all the time – catering staff, the security guards, the engine crew, night shift crew and the house keepers.  Robbie Macgregor, of Umgeni Steam Railway, undertook to lubricate those 8 sliding doors the best he could with a can of silicone spray lubricant and it made a dramatic improvement.  In Pic F02 below, he looks especially self-satisfied as he paid special attention to our own compartment B door. 

Coach duties including the inevitable refill of the cylindrical water tanks under the coaches, and removal of the toilet flop bags before we ended up fertilizing the line-side weeds for the next 15 miles.  (Pic F03 above)  The previous night’s curry, lubricated by the sweet banana salad, had its effect and those bags were pretty full.  One a similar topic, we discovered overnight that there was a generous scattering of large animal droppings scattered on the platform.  While it was reasonably visible along the length of the train at night, the area around the front of the train and the loco was poorly lit.  In my morning rounds, I was amused to see how many of the putty-mines had been triggered in the dark.  I hoped none of our guests were wearing sandals… And a lot of people were amused at me for always carrying my oversized torch down that end, but at least I didn’t have to scrape MY boots off against the coach steps!

We ended up leaving later than planned as the pilot hadn’t pitched up.  During the wait, Cliffie Mathee suddenly clicked that we hadn’t put the train water tank hose away – so that resulted in a frantic scramble and hose rolling session.  (Pic F04 below.)  It’s a beautiful intact heavy duty hose that runs the full length of a 15 coach train – so its loss (via ‘Affirmative Shopping’) would be felt when the sinks run dry.  See all those tools in the photo?  The acetylene torch set, the frame and bogie jacks, fire extinguisher and tool boxes.  I’m pleased to say that none of them were needed for the trip.

John ‘Dunnottar’’ Rennie was looking for trouble around the guard’s van, and found it in the form of Piet ‘Buffels’ Steenkamp.  (Pic F05 below)  They ended up in a playful argument over aspects of train operation.  Two strong and vocal personalities coming together in a clash reminiscent of the Boer War.  It was Bristol vs. Pofadderfontien.  My home town, Coventry, is closer to Bristol than it is to Pofadderfontien, so I silently sided with the Brit. 

We were soon off, after the locomotive was re-stoked a bit to cover the delay.  (Pic F06 above)  To compensate for the loss of the run to fetch the two allocated Class 25NC locomotives at Bethlehem, we had scheduled an early morning trip (Pic F07 below) through to Fouriesburg and back again, with stops at the Vailima Halt for anyone who wanted to get on board the Sandstone choo-choo.  People were still wandering in from breakfast as we were rolling, and enjoying the still-green late summer farm land and the dramatic rock formations of the area.  (Pic F08 below)  The floor cleaning gang got on with their chore of cleaning the floor after departure.  (Pic F09 below) 

In amongst the sleeper coaches, the management car and the communal cars, we had two day sitter coaches.  These were provided for day-time guests staying locally to come onboard and take a ride, but also for the convenience of our passengers, many of whom could not convert their 6-bunk compartments to the sitting formation with four bunks in use, and the center bunks permanently extended as luggage shelves.  These two coaches gradually filled up on the run out.  I was amazed by the antics of these boys though (Pic F10 below) – playing computer games on board a steam train rolling through beautiful scenery.  Oh well.

It was a great run – cool country-scented air streaming in the coaches.  As a huntsman will tell you, cool moist air is the best medium for the hounds to scent the fox, with naturally wet rhinariums.  (The black part of a dog’s nose.)  You could smell the passing grass, wild cosmos and assorted weeds all mingling with a pleasant herbal scent – and then the tantalizing whisps of coal smoke reminding you of just what exactly is up front.  The crew went a little faster than necessary concerning the timings (but not speeding), giving the engine a good workout.  The light cool cinders were flying, and I was catching many of them even in my sparsely haired arms.  (Pic F11 below) 

The Sandstone Heritage Trust Garrett NG16 No.153 was waiting patiently with two open air coaches (Pic F12 below) and a scattering of passengers filming us rolling in past the 19D shed.  (An isolated shed where 3 Class 19D locomotives are stored under a roof and awaiting restoration.)  Most of our guests disembarked and swapped trains, as well as a small number of our crew members.  We would have dropped the guests off along the way had we gone to fetch the two 25NC’s, but they would have had to come back by vintage bus as it is not permitted to carry passengers when moving dead locomotives.  So thier schedules didn’t change much.  But for the Reefsteamers climbing off, it was a bonus extra few hours at the Steam and Cosmos festival.

I had my first sighting of the AEC Regal Bus that was laid on by the Sandstone Heritage Trust to take passengers home by road.  (Pic F13 below)  Why do older vehicles have heaps more character than modern ones?  I loved the gracefully out-swept sill panels along the skirts, the stately old vertical radiator grill, the slightly cockeyed pod headlamp and the half cab arrangement.  It reminded me of a field of heavy vehicles that had been literally put out to pasture close to the scrap yard where my dad used to get parts for his salary extender vehicle rebuilds.  (The constantly rained on British vehicles of the 50-70’s era used to rust out before they wore out and 2^nd hand spares were quite viable.)  Some of those old busses were of similar village to the Sandstone AEC Regal – I remember the Bristols and early Leyland Tigers as well as a single AEC Regent – a precursor to the classic RT Routemaster London bus.  It used to be grand fun poking around the seats and climbing up and down those stairs, and sitting in the drivers seats, those old fashioned steering wheels feeling as big as dustbin lids  – great fun for a loner 5-8 year old boy with no real friends.  Busses and a few trucks settling down slowly amongst the dandelions and butter cups.  (And the occasional cow.)  Of course, with the ever increasing environmental restrictions on the traditional scrap-yard, and the growing trend of destroying (for materials recycling), rather than dismantling End-of-Life vehicles, those grassy playgrounds full of derelict hulks of all sizes are long gone.  What a treasure those busses would be today and would any have survived to be restored?

I actually had no contact with trains of any kind as a kid in England.  So the sight of a steam train awakes no childhood memories in me like it does for so many other Reefsteamers.  But that Sandstone Bus, which wasn’t even so much as idling, effortlessly took me back down a 32 year time warp.  (The first trains I ever had contact with, (at 10 years of age) were the 5E’s that were servicing the Kelvin Power Station (Kempton Park ) with coal trucks in the late 70’s )

The Ficksburg Stop and runaround went without issues and I was a little surprised that we didn’t have much of an audience.  Normally the local African folk, especially the children, watch our every move with fascination – and wave and cheer enthusiastically at the moving train.  The Fouriesburg Station area is derelict, but still easily accessible by road and has several operational sidings.  Coen Pretorius took over as driver with Andre van Dyk as fireman.  We took a leisurely run back to our home base for the weekend, with another stop at the Vailima siding.  (Pic F15 below)

On the way back, a casual management meeting was taking place in the Management Coach No.42, with the cream of Reefsteamers society < cough! > being present.  (Pic F16 below)  They didn’t look too productive and it became obvious they were waiting for refreshment.  I caught Andrew King arriving with the tea tray.  He’s not bad looking as a 56yr old male engineer, but he is honestly the ugliest looking waitress that I have ever seen.  (Pic F17 below.)  Good at his job though, I didn’t see a single drop of spilt tea on the tray, even with the train rollicking along her super-elevated path, and he hadn’t sampled the box of biscuits either.  Good man.

On the way back, we did another passenger swap at Vailima and this time, a lot more of the Reefsteamers got off to enjoy a few hours at the festival.  By this time, the sky was hazing over.  The AEC Regal had gone, and would reappear at Ficksburg in the evening to drop the passengers off.  (Many of them stayed on right though to the evening braai and came home on the third night time drop off.) 

We shook out the security guards (Pic F18 above) as by now the train was nearly empty and vulnerable to theft.  We had a few ugly incidents last year where some personal staff belongings were stolen right off the train.  As an added precaution, we locked all the doors at the platform edge, except the guard’s compartment of the power van.  Anyone leaving or entering the train had to do it track side in full view of the crews at work – we’d see if it was someone unknown was mooching around.

The crew got to work immediately to get the engine re-coaled, as we had been running on one load of the ‘sugar bin’ so far.  Those experienced with the ways of the Reefsteamers will notice that we did not bring our unique hydraulic coal grab wagon with us.  We’d made arrangements to have a front end loader run from Sandstone Estates to do some coaling for us, transferring directly from the drop-sides of the gondola to the tender.  The locomotive was uncoupled from the train, run around to the opposite end and then shunted onto the goods platform siding.  (Pic F19 below) 

But first, some inspection.  There had been problems with the cylinder cocks and one of them wouldn’t close properly.  The rodds wasn’t achieving full travel either, and the joint was binding.  When you remember that these components are operated by a non-power assisted lever way back in the cab, smooth operation and complete travel becomes essential.  Andrew completed the repair with the massive tool collection of a ball peen hammer, one adjustable wrench and a pair of pliers – and two new split pins thrown in for free.