Welcome to the Sandstone Estates website! Click on “About Us” to learn more about Sandstone and the Heritage collection.
Please note  we do not accept cash payments at Sandstone, only Debit Cards, Credit Cards, EFT payments & mobile application payments.

The jewel of the Sandstone 2ft Narrow gauge collection is, without doubt, the small Decauville 0-4-0T locomotive, works number 302, built in 1899 in France. Since its discovery at the Dombe Grande sugar estate in Benguela Province, Angola, in 2003 we have believed the name to be “BATHALA”. Some research by railway historian, John Middleton has unearthed the attached picture of the locomotive at the Dombe Grande Museum in 1970 where Sandstone ultimately found it some 33 years later.

As there is no official Cherry Festival in 2023 we have given our November 2023 event a new name-“The Sandstone Summer Steam Festival”. You can see full details in either English or Afrikaans by clicking on the link to the pdf below. We look forward to welcoming you at Sandstone, 17th to 19th November 2023!

Click here to read more

Ox Power!
In 2018 we inspanned 36 Oxen at Sandstone, which we believe to be a world record. As regular readers of our web site we thought you would enjoy seeing this fascinating video again which gives an excellent insight into the Oxen, managing them and the people who manage them. Enjoy the show!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C3510ZcGJc

The concept of preservation is pretty straight forward.  If it’s endangered save it, take it out of reach of people who might want to scrap it, modify it in an unacceptable way or possibly just abandon it for a long and steady decline to extinction. 

Back from the brink

We recently  brought a WW2 Canadian Military Pattern vehicle back from the brink as it was deemed unrepairable. However, we did not give up and it is now a runner as our story reveals.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6Zwh8u5p9M

One of the joys of Sandstone is when young school children visit us and see what life was like in the past. Recently 51 pupils from the Maseru Preparatory School, under the Leadership of teacher Margaret Matlole and four other teachers, visited us for a morning. The children were shown the Steam Railway depot and Road Steam shed with its trucks and buses. The highlight was a ride on an Ox wagon and the Donkey cart after which all the children and teachers settled down for a picnic before their return to Maseru. Our picture gallery tells the story. Pictures taken with permission

The cosmetic restoration has begun of NGG16A 141, which donated it’s power bogies to NGG16A 155 in 2021 so that 155 could be finally restored to working order.  Our pictures show the engine units and part of the wheelsets after cleaning and painting.

The John Deere 9400. A modern classic!

Our John Deere 9400 tractor is now 25 years old and has become part of the agricultural heritage at Sandstone,

Click on the PDF to read its story.