:: Sandstone Steam Railroad - The Narrow Gauge Railway ::


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Sandstone Steam Railroad - The Narrow Gauge Railway

More than 100,000 railway wagons of various types have been cut up by scrap dealers over the past few years in South Africa. Thousands of kilometres of rail have been abandoned and in many cases lifted and sold for scrap. Sandstone Estates is heavily involved in rail in two areas. Firstly, virtually all the company's primary commodities ship out by rail and the company is critically dependent on a viable 3'6" mainline rail network to take its commodities to market.

This scrapping programme has limited the availability of DZ and FZ trucks, which are often in short supply. In addition, the company has had to suspend the construction of its 2-ft narrow gauge rail line which connects the silos at Hoekfontein to its mainline loading and offloading depot at Vailima, which is one of the agricultural sidings on the Bloemfontein / Bethlehem line.

We appeal to the authorities to stop cutting up wagons and railway line and to arrest the deterioration in the rail infrastructure in South Africa. We appeal to them to recognise that a well-managed rail network is a vital component in the healthy growth and development of an agricultural and industrial economy such as South Africa's.