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In 1907 Herbert William Garratt successfully patented his design for an articulated locomotive we know simply today as a “Garratt”. He died in 1913 at the early age of 49 and left very little in the way of any autobiographical information. He also saw very few locomotives of his design in service. 153, furthest from the camera, Although
built by a number of manufacturers, it was Beyer Peacock of
Manchester that marketed the design most effectively. The
Garratt was eminently suitable for all gauges and combined a
large powerful locomotive on two short (relatively speaking)
wheelbase engine units. Although used throughout the world,
it is In
South Africa which ran two gauges, the 3’6” Cape Gauge
and 2ft narrow gauge, Garratts were to become a common sight
on the, then, SAR for over 70 years. The first Garratts for
SAR were ordered in 1914 with the Class GA for 3’6”
lines and the Class NGG11 for the 2ft narrow gauge. Both
locomotives were successes but we shall concentrate on the
2ft narrow gauge and the NGG11 was followed by the NGG13
design in 1927, the NGG12 was also introduced in 1927 but
was a small unit for the branches at Upington and
NGG16 No153 at Jolivet in 1982 The
NGG13 was to become the basis of the standard narrow gauge
Garratt for the next 40 years. The class was a great success
with its 2-6-2+2-6-2 wheel arrangement and a tractive effort
of 18850lbs, making it the most powerful narrow gauge
Garratt in the world. In 1937 the design was developed into
the Class NGG16 with minor detail differences. Over the next
31 years NGG16’s were built by various manufacturers
culminating in the very last batch of Garratts built in the
world. The narrow gauge system in No
overseas manufacturer was able to fulfil the order so the
eight locos were built at Hunslet-Taylor in Germiston.
Although not locomotive manufacturers in their own right,
their The entire batch was placed in service at either Port Shepstone or the Donnybrook branch. 153 heading for Umzinto where she worked until her withdrawal in 1987. A mere 21 years in service!
No. 153 storms out of Grootdraai with a passenger train. After
having her fire dropped at Donnybrook, 153 was abandoned
along with hers sisters on the branch but by 1991 she was
resurrected together with classmate 113 (also at Sandstone)
and put to work on the fledgling Midmar Dam museum project.
The demise of this railway and the rest of the museum is
well documented as is Sandstone’s rescue project of the
locomotives and rolling stock. The rails from Midmar formed
the first tracks at Sandstone. Although
153 was in poor condition on her arrival in 1998, she was
given a mechanical upgrade, and has performed faultlessly at
Sandstone ever since. In
the early years of the Sandstone rail system, No: 153 was
the only large locomotive in service until the introduction
of classmate 113 in 2003 and was constantly in demand for
photographic days. She also worked at the Great 100 and
Great 400 Tractor events hauling hundreds of passengers. Acknowledged
as the “most powerful” of the three working Garratts at
Sandstone, number 153 was originally painted green with
“Sandstone Steam Railroad” lettering. She is now in SAR
black but went through an interim phase with a green boiler
and black tanks. In
2003 No: 153 was part of a triple headed Garratt train that
made world headlines. Today 153 is a stalwart of the
Sandstone fleet and is set to stay that way for years to
come. Already she has been at Sandstone for nearly half the
time she saw service on the SAR. No 153 leading 113 shows her interim green and black livery.
153 in full green Sandstone livery
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