The latest edition for 2021 of the Heritage News is now available, click here to read the latest news from Sandstone.
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Our recent article below, where our massive HET tank tractor was needed to pull our combine out of a marshy area of the mealie field, had a wonderful sequel after one large sodden area of the mealie field became a definite no go for the combine. This was no problem for the arable guys at Sandstone and all our ladies from every working area of the farm moved in to harvest the maize in that area by hand! Given Sandstone’s commitment to mechanisation this was a site to behold! To add to the olde world ambience our Oxen joined in to clear the harvest from the land. We thank you ladies!
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Some time ago we looked at the HET out to play with the Cats, The CATS come out to play! (sandstone-estates.com) . Since then the CAT 621 scraper has been given a new coat of paint while the HET has been out in the lands rescuing the John Deere combine from a particularly marshy part of the mealie fields.
Our gallery shows David spraying the CAT 621 scraper and the Combine bogged down with the HET to the rescue.
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NGG16A number 155 has undergone its first steam test at Sandstone after an 18 month restoration process that began in January 2020 with the boiler being sent to Wonder Steam in Pretoria. On the return of the boiler in June 2020, Gert Jubileus and his team at Sandstone began the restoration. Using the modified engine units donated by the owners of the other NGG16A, number 141, Phil Mortimer senior and Phil Mortimer junior the locomotive has been assembled over the last twelve months. Most parts were sourced from the spares that Sandstone has acquired over the years but with the special nature of 155, many pieces had to be made up. This was particularly difficult with the very different copper piping required for the modified 155 but on 11th June 2021, number 155 steamed for the first time in 21 years. This was a test for the integrity of the boiler tubes and stays which all passed inspection. Now the brick arch will be assembled and fitted into the firebox ready for a road test on the Sandstone Steam Railway. This is the first locomotive rebuilt at Sandstone since the closure of the Bloemfontein Works facility in 2019 and only the third locomotive rebuilt at Sandstone’s Hoekfontein Workshop since Lawley BR7 and Fowler number 14316 in April 2002 and the 30th steam locomotive restored by Sandstone. A major milestone for the Sandstone Steam Railway!
Our gallery shows the test with the locomotive now fitted with its number plates.
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This small tank locomotive is a favourite at Sandstone having been acquired from Port Shepstone in 2003 where it had been abandoned in the bush. It started its life at Port Shepstone in 1916 and then worked on the Estcourt to Weenen Branch. It ended its SAR days as yard shunter at Port Shepstone and was sold to Rustenburg Platinum Mines (RPM) It was bought back from the Mine for preservation by South African Railways when the two foot gauge sytem at RPM was closed around 1967. From then on the locomotive did an extensive tour of South Africa. It was first stored at De Aar depot and then moved to Milner Park in Johannesburg and subsequently to the District Engineers Office in Langlaagte. With the opening of the Humewood Road Narrow Gauge Museum in Port Elizabeth, number 16 was moved there as an exhibit before finally returning to its original operating line at the privately owned Alfred County Railway in Port Shepstone where it was abandoned.
Mark Ruddy, a steam driver, from Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha ) sent us this picture of the NG4 arriving at Humewood Road Depot on a 3’6”gauge DZ wagon for display at the recently opened museum in the mid-80s. Two other pictures show it in the display shed at Humewood Road and hard at work at Sandstone. Our thanks to Mark for permission to use this rare photograph of the NG4.
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Brill Buses in days gone by.
Sandstone’s ex SAR Road Transport Services Brill bus has been in the restoration queue for some time and we hope that it will be restored to its former glory in the not too distant future. In the meantime Stewart Curry who is assisting with the digitalisation of the Transnet library send us a wonderful selection of photographs of the Brill bus in days gone by in South Africa. The pictures are courtesy of the Transnet Library.
Sandstone’s Brill
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With its first steaming expected by the end of May, the return to service of NGG16A number 155 is well on track. Recently we received the various plates, including the number plates, for the locomotive which will be fitted shortly. The number plate shows Alfred County Railway as it was this operator who classified number 155 as NGG16A after its extensive modifications in 1990.
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Sandstone Heritage Trust and Sandstone Heritage Museum are proud members of the South African Museums Association (SAMA). This organisation does great work across a broad spectrum of museums in South Africa. They have recently published their January 2021, newsletter, Samantics which has some interesting information on the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on museums and also previous pandemics that have infected the world. Click here to see Samantics.
Sandstone subscribes to all the current Covid 19 protocols and is very much open to visitors. We have a new Visitor Coordinator, Mariette Palmer, who can arrange your proposed visit. You can contact her by e mail on