Preserving the best of our past for the future

Sandstone Heritage Trust is a centre of excellence in the global preservation movement. At Sandstone Estates in the Eastern Free State of South Africa there is a large steam locomotive workshop for narrow gauge railway, one of the world's most comprehensive collections of tractors and other agricultural equipment, together with a team of motivated, professional and dedicated enthusiasts to ensure restoration work is undertaken to the highest standards and skills are passed on to the next generation.

"Crocks Corners"

It's amazing what appears over the years... come and take a look! >>

Talk to Us

Since the Sandstone Heritage Trust web site has been expanded in scope and is being updated more regularly, we have had a great dialogue with preservationists throughout the world. This has resulted in a number of programmes where we have been able to develop mutual cooperation programmes. A good example is an American steam enthusiast who sent us an e-mail asking for further details of our Baldwin (4-6-2 ex SAR61 BLW22633) locomotive. We had been looking for drawings of this locomotive, and as a result of this interaction we are now well on our way to tracking a set of these drawings down.

If anything on our web site interests you or if you would like further information on a specific item please do not hesitate to e-mail us as follows: heritage@sandstone.co.za.

Templates

We will be producing a template supported by photographs and history of every item in the Sandstone Heritage Trust collection. This will be a global cooperation effort where we will require assistance from many quarters. To find an abandoned locomotive somewhere on the African continent is one thing, however to actually ascertain what it is and to discover its history requires years of careful research. We hope that our web site will enable us to build these templates to a high level of accuracy so that the true history of each item is revealed.

SANDSTONE'S 2FT NARROW GAUGE PROGRAMME CONTINUES TO CONSOLIDATE

The Sandstone Heritage Trust encompasses a wide variety of preservation activities. One of the most prominent is its 2ft narrow gauge railway in the Eastern Free State, 14kms from Ficksburg and running adjacent to the Lesotho border.

This railway originated some seven years ago when the Midmar Village was closed in Natal and, as a result of the acquisition of materials from the auction at Midmar, the basis for the line and for the rolling stock was established. In fact these items make up a very small percentage of the total railway, both in terms of track and locomotives, but nonetheless it was a start.

Over the years the Sandstone Steam Railroad has simply pursued a policy of trying to accumulate on one site as diverse a cross-section as possible of 2ft narrow gauge items. There appeared to be no single preservation centre that was focused on this activity and as a result it seemed appropriate that Sandstone should take up the mantle and take full responsibility for flying the flag for South Africa. We have always been considered as one of the top 2-ft narrow gauge destinations in the world. This is largely because the famous branch lines in Natal and the world class Avontuur line in the Eastern Cape used muscular locomotives which were way beyond the size and specification of anything that was being used elsewhere on such a narrow gauge. Many other countries around the world are blessed with a wonderful cross-section of small industrial locomotives, particularly in the Sugar Cane application, but very few countries can pride themselves on being the place that created the need for locomotives like NGG 13, NG 15 and NGG 16 in particular. They were not only designed for Southern African conditions but operated successfully for years throughout South Africa and Namibia (in those days South West Africa).

We are privileged to be able to pursue these narrow gauge objectives and we hope that men of goodwill from around the world and in South Africa itself will work with us to complete a project that has true global merit. There can be no greater form of flattery than imitation. The Welsh Highland Railway, to which the Sandstone Steam Railroad is twinned, says of its own world class operation, "It
survived to be rebuilt with the largest 2-ft gauged steam engines in the world running over it, the South African Garratts." While we applaud the work being done by the Welsh Highland Railway, it is also nice to know that the identical locos are flourishing here at home in South Africa."