SAS-SAR Vol 6 No 4 by Hennie Heymans, Nongqai Publications

CONTENTS WELCOME ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Railways and the Military ............................................................................................................................................... 4 South African Railways and Harbour Police.................................................................................................................... 4 Railway Monuments ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 FRONT COVER ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Nathan Berelowitz .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 SOUL OF A RAILWAY ........................................................................................................................................................... 5 System 7: Western Transvaal ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Part 22 - Braamfontein by Les Pivnic © ...................................................................................................................... 5 SAR Class 61 diesel hydraulics .................................................................................................................................... 6 SAR 5E 331 .................................................................................................................................................................. 6 SAR 2M2...................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Filler: 7BS 1056 ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 WEPENER’S PERAMBULATIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 8 19610531 De Aar: Republic Day ..................................................................................................................................... 8 20150216 ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8 20150220 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Station Masters: John Wepener ................................................................................................................................... 18 Winburg 20150220 ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 20150307: Distressing News......................................................................................................................................... 23 RAILWAY HISTORY: THE TERRIBLE ACCIDENT AT VAKARANGA: RICHARD CLATWORTHY................................................ 27 Part One: Vakaranga by Richard Clatworthy ................................................................................................................ 28 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Vakaranga I ................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Vakaranga ll .................................................................................................................................................................. 31 Vakaranga III ................................................................................................................................................................. 32 Vakaranga IV ................................................................................................................................................................. 34 Vakaranga V .................................................................................................................................................................. 36 Vakaranga VI ................................................................................................................................................................. 38 Vakaranga VII ................................................................................................................................................................ 40 Vakaranga VIII ............................................................................................................................................................... 41 CFB: ANGOLA: ANTON VAN SCHALKWYK ......................................................................................................................... 42 Filler: SAR: In days of Old: Bellville Station ................................................................................................................... 46 RAILWAY HISTORY ............................................................................................................................................................ 47 Desalination plant Lüderitz: Piet Conradie ................................................................................................................... 47 2

THE SAR IN WAR ............................................................................................................................................................... 55 World War 2.................................................................................................................................................................. 55 The Border War and the SAR ........................................................................................................................................ 55 1983: SAR 15092 & 15093 ................................................................................................................................................ 56 2015: TRANSNET 15092 & 15093: JACO HOLTZHAUSEN .................................................................................................. 62 SAR LADISMITH BRANCHLINE ........................................................................................................................................... 63 CORRESPONDENCE RE ABOVE .......................................................................................................................................... 65 Ladismith Branch: Letter to Les Pivnic, Charlie Lewis & Bruno Martin ........................................................................ 65 Charlie Lewis ............................................................................................................................................................. 66 Bruno Martin ............................................................................................................................................................ 66 C & M Lewis .............................................................................................................................................................. 66 QUESTION TO: SOAR: LES PIVNIC, CHARLIE LEWIS: MIXED GOODS AT CAPE TOWN ................................................... 66 Les Pivnic................................................................................................................................................................... 67 C & M Lewis .............................................................................................................................................................. 67 MODEL TRAINS ................................................................................................................................................................. 68 Piet & Leonie Rossouw ................................................................................................................................................. 68 NEWS: NAMRAIL: NAMIBIA .............................................................................................................................................. 72 Lüderitz regains logistics hub status ............................................................................................................................. 72 MAP: “PATAT EXPRESS”: HERCULES TO MAGALIESBURG: BRUNO MARTIN .................................................................... 74 HISTORY: LA 15011933 ..................................................................................................................................................... 74 TRAIN SURFING ................................................................................................................................................................. 75 SAR: GUARDS VAN: K-42 ................................................................................................................................................... 75 AN OLD SAR ADVERT ........................................................................................................................................................ 76 WESTS: UNION WHALING: DURBAN HARBOUR ............................................................................................................... 77 SAR: S-1 WHALE TRUCK ................................................................................................................................................ 81 NGR 1909 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 83 DRYWER MPJ BOTHA & ANDER ........................................................................................................................................ 84 ULOLIWE: JOHAN F D BURGER ......................................................................................................................................... 84 SAR MALMESBURY: JACO HAASBROEK ............................................................................................................................ 85 BLOUTREIN: MORNE OLIVIER ........................................................................................................................................... 86 FOREIGN DIESELS: DAAN OTTO ........................................................................................................................................ 86 GOOD BYE ......................................................................................................................................................................... 88

WELCOME Welcome to this April edition of the SAS-SAR. We trust you will find it very interesting, I must confess I enjoyed compiling this issue. As a lay person regarding the SAR I have learnt such a lot about our Heritage, Railways and our Railway History and a bit of South African geography. We have so much to learn and so much to do and conserve. Friends have shared such rich, interesting material and comments with you and me. Some material and photographs are pure nostalgia other contributions reflects our illustrious railway history when the SAR was of critical national strategic importance. We thank our like-minded friends for their varied and interesting contributions. We enjoy the various liveries, the recording of events that led to an accident, a catastrophe, at Vakaranga. We look at Lüderitz, the refurbished line between Aus and Lüderitz has now been completed. We are taken back in time to the desalination plant also at Lüderitz. So Lüderitz was first under the German Colonial Railways, then under the Union Defence Force & SAR Administration from circa 1915 and then came independence to Namibia. South Africa played a leading part in the development of that territory as far as rail, RMT and harbour infra structure was concerned.

Railways and the War Project 1 Railways and the Military: I have a keen interest in the Railways and the Military. Please share your “SA Railways in war” pictures with our readers. We think of the Anglo-Boer War, the 1914 Rebellion, the First and Second World Wars, the 1922 Rebellion, the so-called “Bush War” or “Border War” in Southwest Africa and Rhodesia. I include Rhodesia because our SAR operated there as well as our police, army and air force. During September 1974 hundreds of people fled Lourenco Marques by rail. The roads were blocked by FRELIMO troops but the refugees could flee by using the railways. We can also look at the railways in Angola and Mozambique because we fought there and the Mozambique railways (CFM) cooperated with the SAR and the SAA. As far as Angola is concerned “we” (the SADF’s DMI) had converted a Class 25 – it was last staged at Kimberley – for use by Dr Jonas Savimbi in Angola. It was a secret project and Lt-Gen “Witkop” Badenhorst confirmed the fact about the Class 25 steam locomotive to me.

South African Railways and Harbour Police Project 2: The South African Railways and Harbour Police: Please help me with this ongoing project to collect photographs of the railway police doing duty on foot, by boat, by train and in the air as sky marshals. There were many antecedent railway police forces before the defunct SAR & Police was established.

Railway Monuments Project 3: Railway Monuments: Since the “Rhodes Statute debacle” at the University of Cape Town we can see that our heritage is serious under threat. Where is “Blackie” of Cape Town station? The old ZASM locomotive plinthed at Pretoria station (Platform 4) has vandalised. How long the old NZASM-houses at Salvokop will remain is a mystery. We need to build our own railway museum in cyber space. Should anybody be interested please contact me.

Please contact me at: uloliwe@gmail.com

FRONT COVER Nathan Berelowitz Left: When I saw this photograph by Nathan Berelowitz I immediately thought this is “front page” material. Photograph was taken in the Eastern Orange Free State in the days when steam reigned supreme. A stunning photo with the vast expansion and the Maluti’s in the background. Below: De Aar via Chris de Vos.

SOUL OF A RAILWAY System 7: Western Transvaal Part 22 - Braamfontein by Les Pivnic © One of my all time favourite railway sites is Soul of a Railway (SOAR). The latest section on the internet is: https://sites.google.com/site/soulorailway/home/system-7-1/part-22---braamfontein The series is written and compiled by Les Pi8vnic and Charlie Lewis. The maps are provided by Bruno Martin. With the permission of Les Pivnic we can enjoy the following: Braamfontein Yard, Loco, ERS and Old Kazerne Goods Yard Part 1 Photo: 49. The German-built class 61 diesel hydraulics became a familiar sight in Braamfontein yards after they were confined to shunting duties. Here is one of them photographed on 26 June 1960 - the 100th birthday of railways in South Africa. This blue and orange livery would soon be replaced by the new standard Gulf Red. Photo : 50. Another 100th birthday shot! Class 5E no.331 in the yard near a “smoke grey” 5M EMU set. This green livery always weathered well in the SA climate – much better than the subsequent liveries used. 59. I photographed this 2M2 3rd class motor coach on the same day as the 5M trailer in the new colours. This proved that not all Paint Shops changed livery overnight. In fact the changeover from brown to red and grey took a few years to complete.  If you want to see more nostalgic photos, visit the website on the link provided above. Please note that the site is protected by copyright. Please respect the owner’s wishes in this regard. Don’t copy and paste on Facebook. 5

SAR Class 61 diesel hydraulics

SAR 5E 331

5E 331 by HL Pivnic

SAR 2M2

2M2 3rd Class Motor Coach

Filler: 7BS 1056

WEPENERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PERAMBULATIONS 19610531 De Aar: Republic Day

20150216 Hi guys. At Friedesheim the spoorbaan have been busy with points replacements since last week. Over the weekend there was a total occupation and no trains ran. Today the line was open again with speed restrictions. The BTM is also busy. Grindrod is arriving with a load of empty hoppers for Frieddes 5 shaft. This load pushed back into the exchange yard and headed towards the shaft.

The Sebenza Weed Chem train was waiting at the facing points where work was being done. She had come from Bultfontein and was staged at Odendaalsrus for the weekend. This train pulled up to the clearance marker and waited for the 3x 34's to exit the exchange yard and leave for Kroonstad. This train was actually two trains combined from the previous week that had been staged here due to the occupation and the crews time being up. Lastly the spray train left Friedesheim. 8

Just before the Sand River bridge in Virginia a southbound load of beer trucks, hoots from the crew. Then the weed train arriving at Whites. The guy in charge of the weed killer train was furious as they were already running 48 hours late. Unfortunately this train got stuck again at Mothusi behind the empties and was delayed even further. They eventually arrived in Kroonstad where the water tanks were refilled. Then they headed to Bloemfontein. This train has a 30Km/h sped restriction. Harmony Surface Rail leaving the exchange yards at the show grounds and heading towards the gold plant. At Sheltam all there locos were in the depot. I noticed a diesel in undercoat being fixed up. This is the same type of diesel as Harmony uses. I think she is going to look good in the Sheltam livery. Cheers. J & J. Here are some photos that accompanied the report dated 16 February 2015:

20150220 Hi guys. The 2x 34's are standing at Wesselsbron. The crew were waiting for the combi to take them back to Kroonstad, this train was staged here overnight. At Daalder these southbound 10E's we stuck - catenary off, pantos down. The CTC has been down for several days and pilot working was introduced between Leeudoringstad and Makwassie. There were occupations on the line as well for track maintenance. Near Eersteling these 2x 35's were speeding along heading to Makwassie for the pick-up work. The Rail Grinding Machine headed south through Bloemhof, hoots from the crew. The ballast working was at Virginia, this train also cleared the traffic at WelgeleĂŤ silos later in the day. Just after WelgeleĂŤ, heading towards Virginia, a load of brand new ore/coal trucks, ex - BFX workshops. Theron: No use, in locking the re-lay room's door...Cheers. J & J.

Knock, knock! Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s there? But back Theron itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no use locking the door...

Station Masters: John Wepener Hi all, A rainy but hot weekend got us thinking of the old days of the SAR/SATS. We remember well the above grade; Station Masters started as a Grade II, - Grade I, - Senior Grade, - Special Grade Goods and Passenger Superintendent - Goods Superintendent - Passenger Superintendent. [Superintendent Grades were Junior and Senior]. Grade II - [1 thick, 2 thin silver braids on cuffs, epaulets and peak of cap.1 Grade I - [2 thick, 1 thin silver braids]. Senior - [3 thick, silver braids]. Special - [1 thick, 2 thin gold braids]. Jnr. Supt - [2 thick, 1 thin gold braids]. Snr. Supt - [3 thick gold braids]. Station Foremen, Station Inspectors, Signalmen and other grades had similar cuff braid and thin or thick braid on caps, according to post. Servants from various grades would receive nominations for Station Master vacancies, starting with Grade II. To qualify for these posts one had to be qualified in either: All phases of operating procedures or all phases of goods and passenger accounting systems, including all R.T.S. accounting systems. Servants with only one qualification would be sent to Esselen Park for operating or to one of the many College branches for goods and coaching plus R.T.S. training. The Station Master was an important member of society at smaller stations and towns; often becoming Mayor, also being an elected member of the Church council and various other organisations. He would also be the Station’s problem solver; be it late running trains, missing consignments, staff problems, including family quarrels, irate businessmen, farmer or Post Master complaints. Minor discipline of staff: Giving a fatherly, friendly ear to those in need of this service. Reading all correspondence received by Departmental canvas post bag or private GPO postal items. Issuing all the necessary instructions to all staff on a daily basis; daily inspection of station precincts, offices, sidings including private sidings; cleanliness station buildings, departmental houses, gardens and station yard. 2 Give training to new entrants and information to persons wanting to apply for posts country wide on the Railways. Had to be prepared to be on call at all times of day or night, for accidents, derailment and other incidents. Wife ready to pack a meal on short notice. Attending regular meetings with System Manager and his staff, worked closely with SAR Police, Post Commander. Helpful to Auditors, Revenue/Expenditure, Locomotive, RTS, Commercial, Health, Operating, District, Permanent Way, Works Inspectors, District Engineers, Signal /Telecommunications Foremen, Cartage contractors, Safety Officers, Travelling Railway Minister, plus many other visitors. With diligence he would be rewarded with promotion through the ranks and end up as a Superintendent. It was said that staff taking lots of promotions to many far flung stations, to advance their careers were: “Onnosel, met Dom kinders, ‘n moeg vrou en vlug vir probleme”. [Silly - Why move?. Dumb children - Many schools. Very tired wives – Packing / unpacking and fleeing form problems]. On the contrary the member improved his

1 2

Caps all had thick silver or gold braid on their peaks. All Police Station Commanders inspected the police station, camp and barracks every day - HBH 18

position. Children soon doing well in new schools. Wife enjoyed challenge, a new town, house and friends. As for problems promotion, normally meant more problems. Railwaymen were a special breed. With great pride in their work and served the Administration proudly. We salute all, faithful, fearless and great old “SPOORWEG MANNE” of the SAR/SAT. They did not have to contend with, load shedding. In the event of a storm cutting power off, they had trusty means of illuminating offices and signals. For offices there was the beautiful “Aladdin” chrome plated standing lamp, with its long glass chimney. Semaphore signals had “Adlake” large and small lens lamps with large metal paraffin reservoirs, brass fittings to hold the porcelain burners. Then the handy hand held paraffin tri-colour lamps for trains working staff. The footplate-manne, had their steam driven generator for head light and cab light, plus their hand held metal flare lamps. All Stations had a good supply of paraffin in 44 gallon, later 210 litre metal drums on hand at all times. The drum in use was placed on its side, on a wooden cradle allowing a tap to be inserted in the small hole, after the sealing plug had been removed. This enabled the Lamp man to decanter large amounts into his carrying container. The siphon type pump, could not supply large amounts, but was used for decanting small amounts, for use in office and hand lamps. This same supply of fuel was also used to light the open fire places in waiting rooms, during winter, plus slowcombustion stoves in many a Signal Cabin. June, 1989 we were at Springfontein, 04h00. In the Cabin to warm up, then sitting with Guard in his warm van, till it warmed up, then in the Diesels warm cab. Groete, John and Jacque. PS: John’s 1st promotion, Station Master, Keetmanshoop. Having been to SWA dozens of times on holiday, knew how hot it was. Now with hind sight, staff that went to SWA, far out shone their RSA colleagues. Promoted faster, in SWA, as RSA staff were not keen on SWA. Then RSA staff got angry when a youngster, compared to them, got a higher post in the RSA, due to having moved to SWA. Now being RSA staff senior.

Winburg 20150220 Hi guys. Some more of the track and sleepers have disappeared. The station is a bit more overgrown and vandalized and the corrugated goods shed has COMPLETELY vanished !! Sad... Cheers. J & J.

20150307: Distressing News Hi guys. Wesselsbron - another victim of the "disappearing goods shed problem" â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the corrugated iron shed is no more... At Brandfort, pointing south, staged for almost 48 hours, no crew. Oddly though the last couple of days the traffic has been non-existent and up to five crews were on standby at Kroonstad depot. The pick-ups for the branches have been cancelled almost every day, only the Viljoenskroon and Sasolburg trains ran. Even the BFX traffic was minimal. Then there are rumours that the 2x car trains and 2x container trains are to be re-routed via De Aar to the Reef. This means that if there is traffic we will be lucky to see two trains a day between Kroonstad and Bloemfontein daily - that's all. The reason for this clever idea is that if and when the manganese trains start running from Orkney to Kroonstad and onwards to Natal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there won't be enough crews... Wolwehoek has switched over to CS 90. Southbound just before Theunissen. A new arrival at Grindrod Welkom. 34 409 on ballast shunt at Virginia. Cheers. J & J.

RAILWAY HISTORY: THE TERRIBLE ACCIDENT AT VAKARANGA: RICHARD CLATWORTHY Hi Hennie, It was originally serialised in the Newsletters at a chapter a month but that would be far too long. If you can allocate the space I think dividing it in two parts would allow interest to be retained, and I would suggest: 1. Map and chapters 1-8, to page 13. Scene-setting, collision, aftermath, rescue, recovery, restoration, subsequent deaths and events of survivors. 2. Chapters 9-16 to page 26. Court proceedings: inquest, committal, trial. 1970s postscript, recent update. I would of course retain copyright if I wanted to use it anywhere else. In a recent SAR-SAS you published a page from what must be the SAR Facebook group. I noticed some posts from a Crafford who I am sure must be descended from or related to the incoming Station Master. Perhaps you could contact him and enquire. Cheers Richard Clatworthy

Part One: Vakaranga by Richard Clatworthy

Introduction I first heard about this event when I was at Plumtree School in the late 1940s. The version I heard was that the Station Master, realising he had handed up a wrong order, pursued the departing goods train on a bicycle, unsuccessfully. Twenty-plus years later, when working at Bulawayo, I decided to check out the story in newspaper archives. What I found relieved me of a misapprehension. I was fortunately put in touch with some people who had participated in subsequent actions. I wrote it all up, with my wife typing it all on a portable Olivetti, in hope of getting it published as a book, illustrated by some photos I was able to acquire. Unfortunately I did not find a publisher. A further twenty years later, knowing that the Railway Institute at Mafikeng held some artefacts from the event, I felt it would be a fitting place for my material and arranged a courier chain. In the light of future events, a mistake! In recent years I wished to revive an attempt at publication but my attempt to locate and recover the material, after a promising start, appears to have ground to a halt. I scanned the sheets of a carbon copy and found a program to render the typescript into Word, and here it is: The main narrative was written in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;70s and undated time references, e.g. â&#x20AC;&#x153;the present General Managerâ&#x20AC;? relate to that time.

Vakaranga I Vakaranga (alternatively rendered Makalanga, etc.) is the name of an African tribe, of the Shona group, and the presence of a community of these people along the south-western border of Rhodesia, sandwiched between the amaNdebele and the baTswana, led to this name being given to a siding where the railway line crosses the border into Botswana. From this point on the watershed a river rises to run southward - the Ramaquebane - and the next siding to the south carries this name. The current official names are Ramokgwebana and Bakaranga - I shall use the spellings applicable at the time of this narrative. While the railway climbs generally toward the north, in the 8 miles from Ramaquebane to Vakaranga the altitude increases from 4194 to 4529 feet, and northbound trains face the formidable ascent known as Vakaranga bank, while for southbound trains this is naturally a fast downhill run. These two sidings are unmanned crossing places, train movements being arranged by the station staffs at Tsessebe (now Tshesebe) and Plumtree. Arrangements were made verbally by phone, confirmed by telegraph, and written orders handed to the train crews. At that time this was the standard method of train operation throughout southern Africa, except for the most heavily trafficked peri-urban systems and the "one engine in steam" branch lines, and its efficacy and safety was accepted as being of a very high order. Rhodesia Railways, in particular, had one of the best passenger safety records in the world. Although the line is now operated by Rhodesia Railways, this has only been the case for the last few years. Built by the progenitor of Rhodesia Railways, the line from Vryburg through Mafeking and Bechuanaland was initially operated by the Cape Government Railways, and after Union the South African Railways carried on. Thus the operating staff was SAR employees. However the locomotives used, subsequent to a very mixed fleet of CGR types in the earliest years, were supplied by RR. Originally the 7th and 8th classes were used, supplemented from 1913 by the 10th class. The derivation of this class is worth describing in some detail. In 1909 Mr. H. M. Beatty, Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the CGR, had designed a locomotive of the 4-8-2 wheel arrangement, two specimens of which were delivered in 1911, after the creation of the South African Railway by merging the pre-existing systems. (Natal's D. A. Hendrie became Chief Mechanical Engineer and later achieved considerable fame in his field; Beatty retired). These locomotives were designated Class 4 in the SAR's new classification, and in 1913 ten more locomotives, modernised and classified 4A, were delivered. At the same time a lighter version of the same design was built for Rhodesia Railway as their 10th class - seven locomotives (98-104) were delivered in 1913 and the first three were allocated to the Mafeking line. Seven more of the class were added in 1922-3 (153-159) and a further six in 1930 (241-246). By this time the full class of 20 engines were the exclusive power on the Mafeking section. Although not possessed of a great deal of power, they steamed freely and rode easily and were popular with crews and maintenance men. The 480 miles between Mafeking and Bulawayo required caboose working, with two crews alternating, the resting crew riding a caboose immediately behind the engine. The present system of Cape and Johannesburg Mail trains running on different days is also a recent introduction. Formerly trains from the Cape and Johannesburg ran as pairs, arriving at Bulawayo in close sequence early in the morning (with RR affording daylight connections to the east and north) and departing close together around midday. Sometimes a single train might run, with Cape and Johannesburg portions uniting or separating at Mafeking. At that time the Johannesburg line entered Mafeking from the north, converging with the Rhodesian line. Thus trains between Bulawayo and Johannesburg underwent reversal at Mafeking; in the case of combined trains the Johannesburg portion led northwards while the Cape portion was in front on the southbound trip. This then was the set-up prevailing on Monday, 4th April, 1938 (incidentally your present author's third birthday.) For Mr. S., the stationmaster at Tsessebe, the day started early - being due for transfer he was up in the small hours to meet his successor, Mr. C., off the northbound Mail train and install him and his family in lodgings for the remainder of the night. S. expected to leave Tsessebe on the Wednesday, and was considerably discomfited to learn from C., when the latter appeared at 8 am, that the Administration expected him to move out on that afternoon's southbound Mail. The handing over procedure and his personal arrangements must perforce be rushed. In the meantime C. had to attend to moving in to his house and reappeared at 11 am. to set about taking over the station. The procedure was complicated by a discrepancy of 2s. 3d. which after much checking was found to have been entered twice. In addition there were parcels and mailbags to be attended to. A break was taken for lunch but S. was away from the office for only about 10 minutes, worrying over the missing 2s. 3d.

Sometime around 2 pm Mr. v. N., Stationmaster at Plumtree, phoned to enquire about the arrangement for crossing train 45, a northbound goods, with the southbound Mail. S. deferred the matter, promising to phone back when 45 had arrived at Tsessebe. The Working Time Table called for the Mail to cross 45 at Tsessebe but as the latter habitually ran ahead of schedule, the crossing was frequently at Ramaquebane or Vakaranga.

Map: Kindly furnished by Bruno Martin At 2.30pm train 45 arrived, and S. phoned v.N. to arrange its forward progress. With the engine blowing off about 25 to 50 yards from the office, he set about writing the crossing order. On completing the order he realised that he had failed to record the fact that certain other trains, which would normally have also crossed 45 in section, were not running. Possibly he could have added this in, but in the event he elected to discard the order and rewrite from scratch. The guard, Harold Botha, had come into the office, and S. handed him the completed order, apologising for the delay and telling him: "Jong, jy moet gou maak." ("Man, you must hurry up.") Botha gave his driver the rightaway and the train pulled out at 2.45 pm. C. was occupied in checking cash and books throughout all this. The handing over was completed around 3pm, and S. left to take his farewells of the ganger and pump man. He changed out of his uniform and at about 4 pm returned to the station. C. had gone up to the points to admit the Mail. At about 4.10 pm, with the train overdue, C. returned to the station building to confer with S. S. remarked that the Mail might have been delayed by the crossing. As C. was later to testify, as S. mentioned the crossing a thought appeared to strike him, and he went into the office and checked the carbon copy of the order he had handed to Botha. Within the minute C. was on the phone to Plumtree. One can but imagine the Plumtree operator's emotions on recognising the dread implications of a seemingly straightforward query: "Please repeat the crossing place arranged for train 45 and the Mail?"

Vakaranga ll The deadly answer given by v. N. at Plumtree was that the Mail had left with an order to cross 45 at Ramaquebane. The abandoned draft retrieved by S. from his waste paper basket conformed to this, as did the telegraph tape, but the carbon copy of the order handed to Botha on 45 instructed him to cross the Mail at Vakaranga. On receipt of this order, train 45 had left Tsessebe. At Ramaquebane a passenger was waiting to be picked up, the stop to accommodate this taking one minute. Botha went into the saloon - presumably a compartment within the van - to collect his fare and make out the ticket. This completed, he returned to the guard’s compartment and took his seat in the wing. The train was entering a long cutting, straight at the southern end, the sides of which rose to the full height of the locomotive. The front of the train disappeared from view around a curve . . . The Mail, a combined train with passengers for the Cape, Transvaal and Natal, left Plumtree at 3.12 pm and ran to and through Vakaranga. The driver was Mr. C. Reynecke, and also on the footplate was Locomotive Inspector Marshall of Kimberley - soon due for retirement, he had gone up front at Plumtree for a farewell taste of locomotive operation on the section. Among the 150 passengers were four of the five daughters of the Figtree stationmaster, Mr. Burger, and a non-related person of the same name, Miss Catherine Elizabeth Burger, travelling south to get married. Also on a nuptial journey was Mr. A. N. Wilson, on the staff of the Standard Bank at Bindura, travelling to King Williams Town to marry a girl coming by sea from India. He had planned to leave Salisbury on the Tuesday but had advanced his trip by two days. Miss Muriel Ensor-Smith, a nurse in her early twenties, a noted Natal swimmer, and Acting Matron of Francistown Hospital, was travelling with her fiancé, Mr. H. W. (Taffy) Bennett, Dispenser at Serowe Hospital and a widower with a child of 3 years (not travelling) - they were actually returning from a trip to Bulawayo where they had selected an Engagement ring and sent off the announcement by telegram. The wife, son and daughter of Mr. F. Barham, a director of the Rhodesian Milling Company in Bulawayo, were on the train - the daughter Margaret was 13 years old, a pupil of Eveline School and a keen Girl Guide. Sergt. C. S. Mackay from London, a member of the Permanent Staff Corps in Bulawayo, was on his way to leave and further training in Britain. Mr. Lennox McEwan, 21, worked at the Monarch Mine near Francistown and had motored as far as Plumtree where he learned that the road ahead was probably impassable as a result of a cloudburst - so he left his car there and took the train. Also boarding the train at Plumtree had been Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Weakly, former Stationmaster at Plumtree, on transfer in similar manner to, though probably not as precipitately as, S.. and a Mr. J. A. Ludich, Permanent Way Inspector on the SAR. Mr. I. Klein of Gwanda was setting off on a trip to Britain, the first stage of a journey that was to take him around the world. Wednesday's train was the normal boat train for his sailing, but he wished to spend two days in Cape Town. Travelling with him was Mr. M. Hersch of Tweespruit, O.F.S. who had been staying at the Klein’s ranch at Gwanda and was returning home via Kimberley. At lunch time they had shared a table in the dining car with Mr. Bennett and Miss Ensor-Smith — later the Engaged couple had called at the two men's compartment, the leading one in the second coach. They then left to go to their own compartment in the first coach, and the two men lay down on the bunks to read. In the Dining Car the Chief Steward, P. S. Kloppers, was sitting writing up his books when he felt a severe retardation shock, which threw a woman out of her chair. As he rose from his seat there came a second shock, not so severe, then a terrific shock which flung him against the bar door. The train having come to a halt, he stepped down, saw that the front of the train was a scene of devastation, and hurried forward. A head-on collision had occurred with a goods train - the two locomotives were interlocked, with steam and smoke issuing forth and the screams of injured men from the cab of the Mail's engine. Mr. Kloppers hurried back to the Dining Car for First Aid material, and on arrival found smoke pouring from the windows, so he set off a fire extinguisher and broached the stock of brandy, in response to a call for stimulants. The guard, Mr. J. J. van Wyk, in his van heard two short whistles followed immediately by a shock which threw him

from his seat. When he found the train stationary he emerged; saw that an accident had occurred, and set about 31

taking the prescribed measures to protect his train in rear. Mr. J. A. Ludick, the Permanent Way Inspector, was in the first coach behind the caboose. As the train entered the cutting he heard a whistle which he thought was for Mr. Isaacs, a ganger known to be working in the area. Next he experienced "engines banging and carriages cracking, and found myself on top of a piece of plank". Emerging unscathed, he helped the train guards protect the scene. Benjamin Weakly, former Stationmaster at Plumtree, was with his wife in the first compartment of this coach3, and also recorded two separate jerks, which dislodged suitcases, before the main crash. They also escaped serious injury. In another compartment of this coach a Mrs. Jacobs was lying down reading. Also in the compartment were a little girl and boy. A crash occurred and the engine splintered its way into the coach — the little girl was killed and the boy injured. Mrs. Jacobs crept out of the wreckage uninjured. In the corridor of the third coach a South African Immigration Official, Mr. J. H. van der Riet, heard the bumping of brakes being violently applied and, acting with remarkable intuition, dashed to the coach end and leaped onto the side of the cutting, as the crash occurred. Also in the corridor of this coach an 11 year old boy, Frederick Weiner, was leaning out of the window. In a remarkable eyewitness experience this boy saw the approaching goods train, shouted to his mother that a collision was imminent, and saw the two locomotives meet and plough across the metals into the bank of the cutting. The inter-coach gangway telescoped, the roof buckled and the drinking water bottle fell to the floor. Most remarkably, this lad and his mother escaped injury. Harry Moolman, an off-duty Guard, was standing on the balcony of the third coach when the crash occurred, and he was stunned for a while. On recovery he went to the locomotives and helped to remove driver Reynecke, terribly injured but still conscious, from his cab. Reynecke said (probably in Afrikaans) "God, Moolman, my vacuum brake was hard on." He also asked that a telegram be sent to his wife. Moolman gave him some brandy and splinted his arm. While Moolman was attending to fireman Esterhuysen he heard that Reynecke was dying. The driver of the goods (train 45), Bernardus Rudolph Coetzee, was wedged dead in his cab, burned beyond recognition, with his hand still on a control lever. The newspaper report here introduces a slight mystery: "I was told that the driver of the goods train engine, which had turned over on its side, though pinned under a mass of metal and crushed between firebox and tender, reached up and pulled the safety valve open, thus preventing an explosion." I am advised that the 10th class did have a cord, by which one safety valve could be voluntarily opened, but the Inquest report gave Coetzee's cause of death as "crushed skull" and I suspect - and hope - that unconsciousness came instantaneously. Such purposeful action after the collision seems unlikely - if indeed he affected this precaution in the few seconds available before the impact it shows remarkable foresight and fulfilment of duty. A coloured ganger, Jose Isaacs, was at work about one mile to the south. He heard the noise of the accident and proceeded towards it. On the way he met a fence guard who, having seen explosives vans in the consist of train 45 as it passed, suggested they might have exploded. After reaching the scene, Isaacs took Mr. Weakly to Ramaquebane by trolley, and from there the transferring Stationmaster telephoned confirmation of disaster at 4.35pm.

Vakaranga III As soon as S.'s grievous - it was not then known to be disastrous - lapse was reported over the phone, v.N. at Plumtree told C., who was now in charge at Tsessebe, to instruct S. to take a car and run out. S. did so, discovered Weakly at Ramaquebane, and carried on with him to view the devastation that he had wrought. The two locomotives were almost completely buried under the following rolling stock which had piled up over and around them. The locomotives were Nos. 153 (North British Locomotive Company no. 22796 of 1922) on the goods 3

Looking at it critically, I think “the first compartment” must have meant the first one reached from the Dining car, the rearmost one - the leading compartment must surely have been destroyed (possibly occupied by the newly-Engaged couple?) – R.C. 2015-03-24

train and 241 (NBLC 23972 of 1930) on the Mail. Both were substantially upright, in contradiction of the press report extract quoted re the safety valve release. Newspaper photos showed the smoke boxes of the two locos interlocked, the left running plate, connecting rod and Walschaerts motion of the goods engine bent outward away from the frame - obviously the cylinder (out of the picture) had sheared away. One coach stood alongside, having overshot the Mail's locomotive to the right - the side panel of another coach topped the debris on top of this engine. A view from behind the goods loco shows a bogie wagon derailed, two short wagons dipped into a V and a long SAR bogie steel van reared up into the sky over the loco - what appears to be the roof of the caboose lies alongside, only feet from the overshooting coach. Another photo shows the twisted frame and detached bogies of a coach in the foreground, the body tipped away exposing the underside of the floor. A passenger was subsequently quoted as having formed the initial impression that an over bridge had collapsed onto the line - presumably he or she was South African or from overseas as I believe such a structure was unknown in Rhodesia at that time. Both cabooses were effectively demolished, that of the Mail suffering more severely. It becomes something of an exercise to sort out the disposition of the various crew members, not specified in detail in the press reports. The working drivers and guards have been identified. Three firemen - Combrinck4, Esterhuysen and Van Rensburg - lost their lives; two of these were clearly working, as no footplate testimony was subsequently available. Guard Van der Heever is listed as a fatality, clearly in the Mail's caboose, as the relief guard of the goods is identified as Mr. A. D. Sutherland. (Moolman was not involved with the train's operation). Mr. Sutherland, who had been relieved by Botha at Tsessebe, was asleep in his caboose and awoke to find himself amidst wreckage. He extricated himself and, with Mr. Weakly, fetched wrecking tools from the van of the goods train (Botha was protecting in rear in accordance with regulations). In one caboose the African attendant was killed; that of the other disappeared and returned later having taken refuge amongst the local populace. The remaining crew members, listed as injured in the initial report, were drivers du Toit and Rausch and fireman Van Wyk. We have seen that driver Reynecke and fireman Esterhuysen were extracted from their cab and the former quickly succumbed to injuries and shock. Loco Inspector Marshall was beyond aid, trapped with only an arm exposed. The ticket examiner, Mr. C. J. Grove, had been delivering a telegram to a passenger at the rear of the train, and had been thrown right out of the carriage. He went the length of the train calling for doctors or nurses and for passengers to assist rescue operations. Mr. Weakly, the Plumtree stationmaster, had started clearing debris and quickly realised that help should be sent for most urgently. He checked the van in hopes of finding a bicycle - then ganger Isaacs appeared and afforded transportation by trolley, as previously described. This being at the south end, they ran downhill to Ramaquebane - Vakaranga was nearer but would have meant manhandling the trolley past the wreckage. A degree of confusion naturally pervaded the initial check of the passenger list but certain passengers took the lead, together with dining car staff and Immigration officials, in getting rescue operations under way. Mr. I. Klein and Mr. M. Hersch, in their first compartment of the second coach, discovered themselves on a level with the top of the cutting. They scrambled out of the wreckage of the coach and promptly set about the task of extracting the other victims. Other passengers who showed special initiative in setting about rescue operations were Rev. Pauw, Messrs. Collard, C. Mackay, Marshall, T. Smith and Mrs. Kelly. A young nurse, Miss Pickles, returning to Natal, rendered service that was to be commended, but the Acting Matron of Francistown Hospital, Miss Muriel Ensor-Smith, could offer no help — both she and her fiancé Taffy Bennett of Serowe Hospital, had been killed. The initial newspaper report stated that a man was seen to pick up a little boy and carry him to the top of the cutting but the child died in his arms. However no young boys were among the fatalities. I speculate that this was Miss Carolina Burger, daughter of the Figtree stationmaster — her three sisters were injured and one was to die later in hospital at Bulawayo. Mr. Lennox McEwan, who had left his car to ride the train, died within half an hour of this 4

After all these years the original notes are not available and the spelling could also be: “Combrincke” but the normal Afrikaans spelling is Combrinck – HBH.

transfer. Miss Margaret Barham was killed, her brother Eric had a broken arm, and their mother was injured. Another fatality was Sergt. Mackay. There were no medical practitioners among the passengers (a Dr. Sloane mentioned in the press report was a Ph.D. in another field — nonetheless he and his wife and sister-in-law rendered great assistance). The Plumtree Medical Officer, Dr. Knight, was away, but his wife came quickly to the scene accompanied by Sister Westaway of the school hospital. The latter was able to ease driver Reynecke's dying moments with a painkilling injection, but as her stature limited her mobility, Miss Pickles worked under her direction. Passengers tore up sheets and rolled the strips into bandages. A passenger's photograph published in the Chronicle shows rather indistinctly three ladies seated on a bench working on a pile of sheets, to which a Coloured attendant is adding another pack, while a small boy stands looking on. One woman went hysterical for a while and had to be calmed. A tense moment was provided by the discovery of a lavatory door in the Engaged position but when broken down it was found to be vacant. One of the first outsiders to appear on the scene was Sergeant Major L. J. Genet of the British South Africa Police (BSAP) at Plumtree, who took matters in hand. Another early arrival was Alan Redfern, Assistant Native Commissioner at Plumtree. While the train was standing at Plumtree he had chatted to Miss Ensor-Smith and admired her newly acquired Engagement ring. Now by this same ring he was to identify her battered body. Many other helpers came from Plumtree including numbers of schoolboys. As the road diverged widely from the railway, this meant a trek through the bush — a track suitable for motor vehicles was progressively cleared. As soon as the discrepant orders were brought to light, Plumtree station had sent out an alert, and relief measures wore in preparation at Bulawayo before the collision was confirmed. At 5 pm. a Bulawayo Municipal Ambulance and four members of the BSAP left by road, and half an hour later Dr. Aylmer-May, the Chief Medical Officer of RR, Dr. Casson and Dr. Hart, and four members of the Ambulance division followed them. A relief train was made up with Dr. Houff and seven Ambulance men, and the SAR System Manager at Kimberley, Mr. Agnew, who was on a visit to Bulawayo, had his Saloon attached.

Vakaranga IV Mr. Cecil Smeeton, a Rhodesia Railways employee and Member of the St. John Ambulance Brigade in Bulawayo, returned to Bulawayo on the day of the accident, having travelled up from South Africa on the same train that had brought C. to Tsessebe. Mr, Smeeton, who had worked previously on the SAR, knew C., but does not recall meeting him on this journey. The Mail train (combined Cape/Transvaal) was running in company with a Tourist special, and at Mahalapye, where and while the locomotives took on coal, and they waited for a southbound goods, Mr. Smeeton chatted to the staff of both trains. Among them was Barry Moolman, Ticket Examiner on the special — although Mr. Smeeton cannot be certain on this point, it seems a safe assumption that the special carried on to Victoria Falls with RR crew, which explains the presence of Mr. Moolman dead-heading south on the returning Mail — he was in fact sharing duty with Mr. Grove, doing the front half of the train while the other attended to the rear half. In Bulawayo Mr. Smeeton had a number of errands to attend to and returned to his home in the late afternoon to find a message requesting him to come to the station as a serious railway accident had occurred. Expecting something on the lines of a shunter’s amputated limb, he hurried to the station where the Chief Superintendent, Mr. W. E. Dawson, told him what had happened and issued instructions. The Relief train was being made up in the "north dock", the trackbed of which is now buried under the present Platform 1, which faces onto the second track of four which then occupied the bay. The train consisted of about six coaches, the rearmost of which was Mr. Agnew's private saloon. Mr. Smeeton had 60 SAR beds loaded into the train and pillaged the Catering department for provisions and utensils. 34

Mr. E. Baldock, a springwright in the workshops, was another member of the St. John Ambulance Brigade and as knocking-off time approached he was told not to go home as a serious accident had occurred. He was one of the party that left by road at 5 pm. Another St. John Ambulance Brigade man, Mr. Norman Stephen, went to the Station at about 5pm. to see his father-in-law off on the North Mail. He was promptly sent home to change and returned to join the Relief train. Mr. Bert Hunter, a Rhodesia Railways driver, and his fireman, Mr. Reg Wright-Ingle, had worked a train from Dett that morning. At about 5 pm. Mr. Hunter was summoned by the call-boy to report to the shed immediately. This was very irregular but there was no question but to comply. At the shed the Locomotive Foreman, Mr. Donald Sinclair, briefed Mr. Hunter - he and his fireman bad been called because they knew the Plumtree road, having worked cattle specials on occasion. Their regular locomotive, 12th class No. 257, had dropped its fire for a boiler washout but another 12th class, No. 206, was being prepared for the trip. Mr. Hunter backed the locomotive into the station and coupled onto the waiting train. He was joined on the platform by Mr. Wright-Ingle, who had been fetched from his bath. Another driver, Mr. Bert Mead, happened to call at the shed to ascertain his next duty. He also knew the road to Plumtree, and was promptly sent home to change - "Don't bother about any skoff" - in order to work the breakdown train. Mr. Mike Bushney, washout-man at the shed, was impressed to fire the locomotive. While Mr. Mead was away changing, Mr. George Wright, father of the present General Manager, prepared another 12th class, no. 205, for the assignment. At Plumtree, the staff of Plumtree School were among the first to know of the accident as an immediate call was made to the School Hospital. We have seen that Dr. Knight was away but Mrs. Knight and Sister Westaway proceeded to the scene. Mrs. Knight held First Aid classes at the school, and the participants were called and taken down by lorry - one of them became a casualty himself with a large splinter from the wooden body side. It was hoped that some Doctors might be flown down from Bulawayo and a car was stationed at the airstrip in readiness. Mr. Lionel Archell, who taught Maths and Chemistry, stationed himself on the road at the nearest access point to the accident scene to guide in helpers as they arrived. In the event, the first Doctor to arrive came from the other direction - Dr. A. Austin Morgan, Railway Medical Officer at Francistown, arrived at about 6.30pm just as it was getting dark. He set to work with efficiency, utilising what dressings and medicaments were available, and had the luggage etc. in the guards van disposed so as to clear the maximum floor area on which bunks from the damaged coaches were arranged to make a ward for some 30 patients. There was a southbound goods train out of Bulawayo which apparently reached Figtree at or after the time that the news of the accident broke. I am told that Stationmaster Burger, with four daughters to account for, availed himself of this transportation to Plumtree. On arrival at Plumtree, with it now known that most of the stock of the Mail remained on the rails, this locomotive was sent on to the accident scene to bring these coaches out. I am told that the driver of this train was one "Marmieâ&#x20AC;? Wayne5, another Mafeking-based SAR man. However it appears that Mr. Burger was not allowed to proceed with the locomotive. When Mr. Hunter subsequently arrived he noted Mr. Burger on the platform in a high state of agitation. It seems strange and cruel that he was not allowed to go on to the scene - possibly the Plumtree staff, assessing his mental state, saw fit to restrain him. The first party of ambulance men from Bulawayo arrived at Plumtree just before 7pm. and were guided from Plumtree to the scene. The car containing Drs. Aylmer-May, Gasson and Hart arrived at Plumtree at about 7.30pm and the doctors were confronted with a dilemma - if they went forward by road they might cross the train coming out. It was decided that Drs. Aylner-May and Hart would go on, while Dr. Gasson would stay behind as insurance against this.

Or Waine - this was the name of the driver of the armoured train on its forays from besieged Mafeking - his father? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; RC.

The Relief train had left Bulawayo at about 5.50pm behind driver Bert Hunter. Also on the footplate was the SAR agent in Bulawayo, Mr. Jim Heath, who had been instructed to take charge of the operation and who had requested to ride the locomotive. At Khami, where the tender had to be filled with water, Mr. Heath tried to telephone for information but could not get through. Mr. Hunter drove at fast as he considered prudent, and reached Plumtree sometime around 7.30pm having passed through a rainstorm on the way. With the other engine sent ahead under a Ballast order, there was now no provision compliant with regulations for any other locomotive to enter the section. Mr. Hunter was asked to proceed forward on his own responsibility - the other driver had instructions to phone from Vakaranga before coming out again - and he consented to do so. (At night, with the locomotive headlight visible, directly or indirectly, for miles, this was less risky that it would be by day I know of another potential collision which was averted by this factor). Mr. Hunter cautiously took the Relief train to Vakaranga where he placed it in the loop line and returned light engine to Plumtree. I have not been able to find anyone to describe the approach of Mr. Wayne’s locomotive to the wrecked train though this must have been quite a dramatic event as its headlight and the explosion of Guard van Wyk’s detonators heralded its arrival. About 30 injured passengers were laid on the bunks in the guards' van and presumably other passengers from the wrecked coaches were accommodated wherever they could be. The bodies of 19 passengers had already been removed by lorry for Francistown. It was at about this time that one of the engine crew, who up till then had, in spite of terrible burns, been helping bravely, took a seat in a compartment and was found, a few minutes later, to have died. This was certainly fireman Esterhuysen - other facts support this identification. Departure from the scene appears to have been at about 9.30p.m. It seems that at Vakaranga the Relief train was also picked up, and the cavalcade returned to Plumtree at about 11pm. At Plumtree the railway staff, their families and other residents had organised some refreshments. Mr. Norman Stephen was given the job of checking survivors against the passenger list. Meanwhile the Breakdown train behind Mr. Bert Mead travelled more slowly down to Plumtree, the crane being subject to a 20 m.p.h. speed limit. The locomotive was freshly out of workshops, without the customary trial run, and Mr. Bushney had to battle with a sticking fire door. At Figtree the station building was locked and deserted, so the crew broke into the office and obtained authority to proceed. They also arrived at Plumtree at about 11pm. A certain amount of shunting must have been carried out there as Mr. Agnew's saloon and some others were transferred to the Breakdown train. At about midnight the undamaged stock of the Mail, plus part of the Relief train, left Plumtree for Bulawayo behind No. 206, running tender first. With only a marker light on the tender, it was a case of running blind into a dark night. Mr. Hunter drove cautiously and there was no opportunity to charge the banks, but the rails were dry, No. 206 kept her feet and no difficulty was experienced. Bulawayo was reached at 3.45am and on the platform a fleet of ambulances and lorries waited to transport the injured to hospital. About 100 people were present, to see the doors of the Ambulance van opened. The state of the injured aroused excited comment which was silenced when a shrouded body was carried out – fireman Esterhuysen. The chatter resumed as the second door of the van was opened. By about 5a.m. the last of the injured had been taken to hospital. "Thereafter, those passengers who had been walking up and down the platform returned to their coaches to lie down. The Railway Officials had ample supplies of tea and coffee ready, and this forethought was much appreciated."

Vakaranga V "The Bulawayo Chronicle" for Tuesday April 5th 1938 carried the headline "DISASTROUS RAILWAY ACCIDENT NEAR PLUMTREE" right across the top of its main News page, which was page 7. The “Chronicle” then carried advertising on its front page, classified ads on page 2, radio programmes etc. on page 3, a Company report on page 4, Stock 36

Exchange on page 5, editorials on page 6, before the news pages. Page 3 also carried a regular column "Day by day" which normally listed, inter alia, arrivals and departures by train, and people booking into the main Hotels. In this issue arrivals were listed but no departures, four inches of column being taken up by a photo of "SIR WILLIAM WYNDHAM, who arrived recently in South Africa, takes a great interest in Empire Settlement". Very clearly a space filling substitution had been employed. On the main News page, under the umbrella headline, were five sub-heads, including "Death Roll of 23 and 13 listed as Missing" and "Rescuers hampered by Heavy Storms", the latter not being borne out by my investigations - it had previously been raining (vide Mr. Lennox McEwan’s abandonment of his car) but not at the scene after the accident. In the text the site of the accident was given as Bakaranga, thus inadvertently using the spelling which was to become official 35 years later. The actual lists were very incomplete - the known dead were drivers Coetzee and Reynecke, loco Inspector Marshall, firemen Esterhuysen and van Rensburg, Miss Margaret Barham, child Burger, Mr. Bennett, Miss Ensor (-Smith), a man who joined at Bulawayo for Palapye Road, a lady who joined at Bulawayo for Francistown and "many others not so far identified". Missing were fireman Combrinck (Combrinche), guard Van der Heever, two caboose natives and 16 passengers. Injured were drivers Du Toit and Rausch, fireman Van Wyk and 13 passengers. As is customary with such momentous events, an accompanying item listed previous major rail accidents. In the meantime, driver Mead with the breakdown train had left Plumtree at about midnight. A number of St. John Ambulance men transferred to the breakdown train to attend to the removal of bodies still trapped in the wreckage. Among them were Mr. E. Baldock and Mr. Cecil Smeeton - the latter's fluency in Afrikaans was to fulfil an important liaison function. At Vakaranga the locomotive ran round the train and propelled it, crane leading, to the accident site which was reached at about 1am. Four arc lights were rigged up and "the men settled down rapidly to clear the debris from the side of the coach immediately in front of the dining saloon. This was still on the rails, but difficulty was experienced in detaching it from the next coach which had left the rails. “With this accomplished a powerful chain was attached to the next coach and the engine began to tug on it, but the coach seemed immovable and after a while the chain snapped in a shower of sparks." Cutting with oxy-acetylene apparatus was then resorted to, the undercarriage of the coach was raised and deposited on the bank exposing the caboose beneath. Dawn broke and at 6.30 the first human remains were encountered - the leg of the Mail’s caboose attendant. The body of Loco Inspector Marshall was exposed and removed, as was that of fireman Combrinck, but that of driver Coetzee could not be extricated without risk of disintegration, so it was left for the time being. Dr. Bernard T. Squires had, at the request of Dr. Austin Morgan, come to the accident scene and he supervised the removal of these bodies. The expected body of the other caboose attendant was not discovered and this remained a mystery until the following day, when an African requested Iodine for a cut and was identified as the missing attendant. At the moment of impact he was opposite the doorway and was catapulted onto the bank of the cutting, whence he simply continued running. The previous Friday, April Fools' Day, Mr. W. K. J. Skillicorn had succeeded Sir Henry Chapman as General Manager of Rhodesia Railways, and now both men came to view the accident scene (more on this from subsequently received information later). From the South African Railways, Mr. J. D. Whyte, Chief Traffic Manager, Mr. Lindenberg, Chief Superintendent of Motive Power, and Mr. Greathead, Assistant Chief Engineer, flew in to Bulawayo and travelled down by car to conduct an enquiry. This SAR brass watched Mr. P. Buckle operating the crane, to the direction of Locomotive Foreman Donald Sinclair, and were highly impressed. Mr. Smeeton prepared sandwiches and meals from the provisions with which the breakdown van had been stocked. However Mr. Sinclair refused such sustenance, refuelling from time to time with tots of whisky. The debris was progressively removed but it was clear that a diversionary line would have to be built around the wrecked locomotives, which would entail widening out the cutting. Back in Bulawayo it was decided to send those passengers who were fit and prepared to resume their journey out on a special train to Plumtree, thence to be transported by road to Tsessebe and there entrained in a train to be sent up 37

from the south. This train left Bulawayo at 12.40 p.m. and reached Plumtree at 3.45 p.m. Considering stock logistics, the train probably consisted of the coaches of the original Mail, and I regard it as probable that it was driven by Mr. Wayne or his relief counterpart, they, no doubt, having returned with their locomotive and caboose to Bulawayo. The passengers were taken on to Tsessebe in three light lorries fitted with garden seats, there to await the connection from the south. In the event this only arrived long after dark. Departing in the heat of the day, the passengers were lightly clad, and with the luggage piled into a heap, access to warmer clothes was virtually impossible as the evening chill descended. As northbound mail trains from Johannesburg and the Cape were expected at Tsessebe the following morning, and it was not expected that the line would be clear for their further passage, I consider it probable that the original train was stabled at Plumtree overnight in readiness to receive northbound passengers in the morning. In the hospital at Bulawayo, Mr. C. R. Jenkin, a 20 year old clerk articled to a Salisbury firm of accountants (and brilliant sportsman who had toured Rhodesia with the St. Johns College, Johannesburg, rugby team) died shortly after admission; Mr. J. Birnie, Manager of the Hotel Victoria at Fort Victoria died in the afternoon, and Miss Loufia Burger, 13 year old daughter of the Figtree station master, died in the evening. During the afternoon Mr. Cecil Smeeton travelled from the accident site to Francistown to assist in identifying some of the victims. Five bodies remained unidentified and Mr. Smeeton was required to telephone descriptions through, to be broadcast by the Southern Rhodesia Broadcasting Service before its closing time of 10pm. These five bodies - two male, three female - were also described in the following day’s Bulawayo Chronicle but as the same issue also listed two men and three women as “Missing”, it was clearly a matter of attaching the correct identity to each. During the day a lorry, belonging I understand to the Rhodesian Milling Company, transported the body of Miss Margaret Barham and probably some others to Bulawayo. In the afternoon Messrs. Mead and Bushney made a trip into Plumtree with No. 205 to dispose of damaged stock, fill the tender with water, and obtain provisions. Mr. Mead carried instructions and money from Sir Henry Chapman to acquire another bottle of whisky for the breakdown crew, and this was greatly appreciated as a cold night succeeded the heat of the day. Mr. Smeeton returned to the accident scene in the small hours of Wednesday morning, to find it silent and in darkness - it had been decided to call off the work for 4 hours rest, and everyone was asleep. Thus ended the day following the disaster.

Vakaranga VI The headline across the top of the main news page of “The Bulawayo Chronicle” for Wednesday April 6th 1938 was "DEATHROLL IN RAILWAY ACCIDENT NOW TWENTYSIX", subbed "FIVE MISSING AND FIFTEEN IN HOSPITAL”. The whole of this page was given over to the report, as were all bar two columns of another page - a further page was devoted to photographs of the wreckage, with three other photos elsewhere. A full passenger list was given, and there was an 8 column-inch editorial, of which one salient point may be quoted: "The locality and nature of the accident appear to have made it extremely difficult to get word to the big centres from which help could be summoned . . . it may be that the coning investigation will make clear steps which might in future be taken to establish more rapid communication with centres from which relief can be sought . . ." Under the heading "Premonition of disaster" came a report of how Mrs. F. Scott and her daughter Eveline were travelling from Luanshya to Johannesburg, but the daughter did not wish to travel further so they broke their journey at Bulawayo. On hearing of the accident, they reported to the station, arriving at the office as the passenger lists were being checked. – “So you see, you needn't worry any more about us." With due respect, I would not regard this Waratah-like premonition as being very important in saving their lives, as, travelling to Johannesburg, they would have been in the rear portion of the train, unlikely to suffer severe damage. 38

At the site, the work of clearing the wreckage was resumed on Wednesday morning by the RR breakdown crane, which had worked unassisted all the previous day. SAR had despatched a crane which had broken down with a defective axle at Lobatsi — another had to be brought from Kimberley, and it was only at 10 o'clock that (Wednesday) morning that it reached the scene. By this time the final two bodies, had been recovered when the tender of the Mail's locomotive was dragged clear. At the moment of impact this tender must have lifted off the rails, allowing the leading end of the caboose, containing guard Van der Heever and fireman Van Rensburg, to telescope beneath it. Removal of this tender allowed the two engines, which had been partly reared up against each ether, to settle. Shifting them sideways, partly up the cutting side, and excavating the base of the opposite bank, made sufficient space for a diversionary track to be laid alongside the obstruction, thus restoring the line for the passage of trains. During the night mail trains from Johannesburg and the Cape had arrived at Tsessebe. In the morning 100 passengers, with their luggage, were loaded onto a fleet of seven lorries. One passenger subsequently reported his impressions in "The Rhodesia Herald" that he had never seen such a bad road. Jolting through dry river-beds and tilting on the boulder strewn road, from time to time a stop would be necessary to retrieve a dislodged suitcase or a hat whipped off by an overhanging thorn branch. After a three hour journey over the 23 miles they entrained at Plumtree — as already stated, I presume this was the original train-set stabled there after bringing down southbound passengers the previous afternoon. On arrival at Bulawayo there was a rush for baths. Train movements at Bulawayo are best shown by a table as follows: Arrival from Johannesburg, scheduled 7.30a.m., actual 1.40p.m. Arrival from Cape Town “ 8.50 a.m., actual 8 p.m. Departure to Cape Town “ 12.30 p.m., actual 2.35 p.m. Departure to Johannesburg “ 12.50 p.m., actual 9 p.m. From this it will be seen that the first southbound departure took place only after the arrival of the train from Plumtree already referred to (actually I think this carried both Johannesburg and Cape passengers). Presumably the original formation involved in the accident, it got away again within an hour of arrival in Bulawayo, reflecting creditable turn-round handling. The Johannesburg departure had to await the arrival from the south of a set of SAR stock - this no doubt included the luggage/parcel vans of both trains and was probably the first train over the "shoofly” past the accident. The arrival time of this southbound Johannesburg train at Francistown is recorded as 3.30 a.m., Thursday, when the body of Miss Ensor-Smith was placed on it for return to Durban. The first funerals of accident victims took place on Wednesday, in Bulawayo (two) and at Francistown where six bodies that bad not been repatriated elsewhere were interred. The latter funerals, at the cemetery overlooked by the prominent hill Inyangahwe, were conducted by the Rev. G.A. Lee of the Railway Mission. The subjects were Mr. Llewellyn Austin, Mr. H. W. Bennett, Miss Caroline Burger, Capt. Percy Jones, Mr. B. Kay and Mr. A. N. Wilson. At the last minute a telegram had been received from the family of the last-named requesting the return of his body to King Williams Town but in view of the lack of embalming it as decided to proceed with the interment. Later an application was to be filed for the exhumation of Mr. Wilson and Mr. Llewellyn Austin - this was ultimately reported as being refused. However at Francistown cemetery only three graves can now be identified: Mr. Llewellyn Austin, Miss Caroline Burger and Mr. H. W. Bennett - the unmarked plots, between may represent subsequent exhumations or simply failure to erect headstones. In Bulawayo Miss Margaret Barham and Mr. Lennox McEwan were buried - both funerals were clearly well-attended; those at that of Miss Barham included the District Guide Commissioner and a representative of the Girl Guides Association. The list of those sending wreaths, which “The Chronicle” published in those days, took up almost a full column. With the line now open to traffic, recovery operations were periodically interrupted by the need for the cranes to return to Vakaranga and Ramoquebane respectively to permit the passage of a train. Such movements were controlled by Jim Heath, SAR agent at Bulawayo, from his temporary station at Vakaranga. In the heat of the day, 39

decomposition of the portions of human tissue littering the scene - many of the bodies bad been mutilated and some were incomplete - produced a stench making the wearing of gas masks necessary. By the evening the task was essentially complete and the remaining St. John Ambulance men, including Mr. Smeeton, returned to Bulawayo during the night.

Vakaranga VII Thursday's “The Bulawayo Chronicle” carried a two column report under the heading "DEVIATION AT SCENE OF ACCIDENT" as well at reports of the funerals. A sentence in the former section stated that investigators bad found the brakes fully applied on both trains, in contradiction of earlier suggestions that there had been no time to apply brakes. I would view this physical evidence with reserve, as the rupture of the vacuum pipeline inevitable in a major collision would lead to automatic application of the brakes after the crash if not before; nonetheless on the Mail at any rate there is unarguable evidence of violent retardation preceding the impact. A separate item reported that S., the station master at Tsessebe, had been arrested on Tuesday morning on a Culpable Homicide charge, with Bail being set at £100 - however on Wednesday morning he had been released unconditionally. Clearly S. had been unable to raise the sum of £100 but the authorities had regarded his detention in custody as not only embarrassing but unnecessary - however the unconditional release of a man on such a charge is rather irregular. Possibly the proprieties could have been better observed by setting bail in a more realistic sum. The previous day's funerals in Bulawayo were also reported – “The Chronicle” then reported local funerals in some detail, with full lists of mourners and these who sent wreaths. A relevant, if flippant, commentary on the period is provided by a report elsewhere in the same issue headlined “A Lent Wedding" - one wonders whether this contains a hint of reproach? Thursday saw the final clearing of the cutting and removal of the wreckage. The goods locomotive, No. 153, was so badly damaged that it was necessary to load the boiler and the frame separately onto wagons, but the Mail's locomotive was adjudged fit to run on its own wheels. Mr. Mead recalls that the goods locomotive had the washout plug fractured away from the boiler - this would have caused the immediate escape of steam, misinterpreted as a voluntary safety valve release, and which ensured the fatal scalding of the loco crew, already mortally injured, and rendered driver Coetzee’s body fragile. No. 205, running tender first but in daylight, drew the damaged locos cautiously back to Bulawayo. An extra man rode the footplate to ensure that Mr. Mead kept awake. On arrival at Bulawayo the official in charge of the train, who shall remain nameless (not Donald Sinclair), told Mr. Mead to shunt the locomotives into a spur. Mr. Mead pointed out that the distorted bogie of the Mail’s engine, while tracking satisfactorily in one direction, was liable to derail in the other. The official persisted, making his demand an order. Mr. Mead had no option but to disclaim responsibility and comply. Sure enough, several wheels were straightaway off the rails. At this stage Messrs. Mead and Bushney were allowed to return no. 205 to the shed and book off, after 80-plus hours of continuous duty. (So I was told – with commencement at 4pm on Monday, 80 hours later would be midnight on Thursday night.) In the meantime a number of funerals took place on Thursday - there were five in Bulawayo, while in Mafeking six of the seven railwaymen killed were laid to rest. Those buried in Bulawayo were Mr. John Birnie of Fort Victoria; Miss Loufia Burger of Figtree; Sgt. C. S. Mackay; Mrs. Margaret Malcolm, the wife of a former M.P. for Umtali, and Mrs. Florence Pullin of East London, who had been returning from a visit to her daughter in Bulawayo. The greatest ceremonial attached to the funeral of Sgt. Mackay; originally with the London Scottish, he had then served with the BSA Police and three years previously he had transferred to the Permanent Staff Corps. As previously stated, be was travelling overseas on leave and for further training. With pall bearers drawn from the 2nd Battalion, Rhodesia Regiment, the coffin rode from the Drill Hall to the cemetery on a gun carriage drawn by four mules, accompanied by the Bulawayo Pipe Band and a firing party, who fired three volleys over the grave. A photo in the following day’s Chronicle showed the carriage passing the Rebellion Memorial taken from the balcony of Asbestos House with the Old Post Office building clearly recognisable. 40

At Mafeking on Thursday afternoon, Locomotive Inspector Marshall, drivers Coetzee and Reynecke, guard Van der Heever and firemen Combrinck and Esterhuysen were buried in the town’s cemetery. Fireman Van Rensburg was buried at his home town of Lichtenburg, Western Transvaal, the following day. On Thursday night Mrs. Birnie, wife of the already deceased manager of the Fort Victoria Hotel, died in the Bulawayo Hospital; she was the last victim to die in direct consequence of the accident. The following day she was laid to rest in the same grave as her husband. At this point it is pertinent to record the separation in death of some of the other victims. Of the four daughters of Mr. Burger, the Figtree Station Master, Caroline (14) was killed outright so her body was removed to Francistown and later buried there; Loufia (13) died in hospital at Bulawayo and is buried in this cemetery; the other two daughters, Angela and Joanna, recovered from their injuries. Mr Herbert William Bennett, dispenser at Serowe Hospital, was buried at Francistown, but the body of his fiancée, Miss Muriel Ensor-Smith, Acting Matron of Francistown Hospital, was returned to Durban for burial. Mr. Bennett's tombstone records the fact that his deceased wife had also been named Muriel. A poignant touch war provided by the receipt by Mrs. Ensor- Smith of a letter from her deceased daughter, describing the Engagement ring and expressing her happiness; posted in Bulawayo, it bad been contained in a mailbag actually in the guard's van of the fatal train.

Vakaranga VIII On Friday 8th April the last victims of the collision were buried; Mrs. Birnie at Bulawayo in the same grave as her husband as stated, Mrs. Rudolph at Que Que, and Mrs. Pinder at Salisbury; Mr. Pinder flew up from Bulawayo, where his son was one of the injured in hospital, for his wife's funeral. Contemporary Rhodesia and Nyasaland Airways advertisement identify the aircraft then in use as 6-seater Dragon Rapides. At Lichtenburg in the Western Transvaal, fireman Van Rensburg was buried. That morning’s "Chronicle" carried photos of the Mafeking railwaymen killed in the accident (including Loco Inspector Marshall, actually from Kimberley), and reports of the local funerals under the heading “DAY OF MOURNING IN BULAWAYO”. It was reported that a general inquest would be held in Francistown the following Monday. There were also reports of the ultimate arrival of some of the surviving passengers who had gone forward on Tuesday's "special" at their destinations. The Johannesburg portion arrived there at about 4am on Thursday, the hour that it would normally do so on scheduled days; whereas usually it arrived with drawn blinds for the passengers to sleep until a more civilised hour, on this occasion its arrival was accompanied by a fair amount of bustle. The Cape portion arrived at Kimberley at 2am on Thursday, where five passengers due to sail for England in the Llandaff Castle detrained to await the dawn; at 6 am they took off in a Junkers JU86 of South African Airways, which covered the 550 miles to Cape Town in 3 hours and 5 minutes; at noon the Llandaff Castle sailed with them. A correspondent to Salisbury’s "Rhodesia Herald" the previous day (Thursday) had drawn attention to a singular omission; "A railway disaster without parallel in the history of Rhodesia would seem to be a fitting occasion for the flying of flags at half-mast. The Salisbury Municipality set the example during the morning, which the business community (and Government offices) failed to follow." This sounded an echo of the “Scotsman" correspondent in 1915 who had protested at the flags fluttering at full mast while soldiery of the Royal Scots, killed in the Quintinshill railway catastrophe, were being buried at Leith. Thursday's papers (agency reports being common to both "Herald' and "Chronicle") reported a comment by a Vice President of General Motors, Mr. Edward Jenkins, on a visit to Johannesburg, pontificating in typical American fashion on other people's affairs. Citing the protection afforded by steel-bodied coaches, as built in the U.S.A., he could not understand why SAR used wooden construction. He was of course so right, especially in view of the published photo showing the steel-bodied bogie van reared up straight and intact over the goods loco, in striking, derisive, contrast to the shattered timbers that crowned the passenger loco. The next day’s paper carried a statement by SAR saying that steel-bodied coaches had been tried but were subject to extremes of temperature; an air-conditioned set was being built and general policy was to change over to steel. 41

Saturday’s paper quoted the comment of Sir Nigel Gresley, renowned Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER in Britain (of Flying Scotsman fame), expressing the view that steel coaches might transmit the shock throughout the train with possibly worse consequences. Sir Nigel could speak with some authority, the durability of teak having been proved at Castlecary (Scotland, not Somerset) the previous winter, but this speculation does seem rather far-fetched. Anyway we now have steel coaches and I have never heard of this gloomy prediction being borne out. Friday's papers reported that His Excellency the Governor, Sir Herbert Stanley, conveyed messages of sympathy from the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (Mr. Malcolm MacDonald) and Viscount Bledisloe. Saturday’s paper reported the arrival of the SAR Board of Enquiry in Bulawayo; Mr. Whyte had earlier defined a difficulty in that they had to deal with three administrations (SAR, RR and the Bechuanaland Protectorate). On Friday night the Arundel Castle sailed from Cape Town at 7,15 pm, over 3 hours late, having waited for passengers off the Wednesday train from Bulawayo. This will be remembered to have left Bulawayo 7 hours late, but this became 9 hours late on passing the scene of the accident; however one hour had been made up by Kimberley, and two more hours on the run thence to Cape Town. Mr. I. Klein of Gwanda was amongst these passengers. "The Sunday News" (Bulawayo) for April 10th paid editorial tribute to "the glorious manner in which members of the Railways, police, doctors, nurses and volunteers worked to relieve distress and alleviate suffering.” The Very Reverend W. L. Skey, Dean of Salisbury, referred to the crash in the Palm Sunday service broadcast from Salisbury Cathedral. Monday's “Chronicle” had nothing further to report about the accident beyond a brief bulletin on the eleven injured who were still in hospital. However the entertainments page advertised that a special newsreel film of the disaster was showing for two days at the Palace Cinema. Tuesday’s Chronicle, which, as stated then carried advertisements on its front page, had a heavy type heading "RAILWAY ACCIDENT” over an advertisement for the Railway Passengers Assurance Co. No doubt that advertisement had appeared many times before, but its prominent appearance in those circumstances seemed a bit distasteful. However the main interest in Tuesday's paper lay inside, in the report on the Francistown Inquest. (To be continued) Do any of our readers have photographs of this terrible accident?

CFB: ANGOLA: ANTON VAN SCHALKWYK Anton writes: Hi all They have really beautified the railway at the DRC/ Angola border crossing with parking for cars etc. Also attached is a photo of the new rail bridge at the Kwanza River also used by rail traffic. The photo is not new as the new road bridge has been completed since, but is still not ready for traffic. The tunnel on the CFM line can also be seen on one of the photos along the Leba Pass. The route along the track is now tarred and makes for a beautiful scenic trip all along the train route and up the mountain up to Lubango. Maybe it's time for me to visit Angola again with all the new rail developments !

Border crossing CFB Angola and DRC

Border DRC and Angola 43

Kwanza river with new railbridge

Only rail tunnel in Angola 45

Filler: SAR: In days of Old: Bellville Station

RAILWAY HISTORY Desalination plant L端deritz: Piet Conradie

00. L端deritz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - images taken by CL (Chris) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie.

01. L端deritz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie. 47

02. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 03. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie. collection Piet Conradie.

04. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 05. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie. collection Piet Conradie.

06. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 07. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie. collection Piet Conradie.

08. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 09. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie. collection Piet Conradie.

10 Luderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie

11 Luderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie

12. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 13. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie collection Piet Conradie

14. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 15. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie collection Piet Conradie

17. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction -

17. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction 49

images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie.

18. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 19. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie collection Piet Conradie

20. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 21. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie collection Piet Conradie

22. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction - 23. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie. collection Piet Conradie.

23. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant construction images taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie.

25. Lüderitz 1941 SAR desalination plant on completion image taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie.

30. Lüderitz 1941 general View (including station 70. Lüderitz - after 1941 - Edda Schroeder Collection. building) from SAR water tanks next to loco shed - image taken by CL (Jack) Schoombie (1912-1972) collection Piet Conradie.

71. Lüderitz - period 1941-1954 - note SAR desalination plant in image center - Koloniales Bildarchiv Frankfurt am Main.

72. Lüderitz - period 1941 - 1954 - note SAR desalination plant chimney to the right of this image Koloniales Bildarchiv 51

Frankfurt am Main.

73. L端deritz - after 1954 - decommissioned SAR desalination plant has lost its tall chimney - Koloniales Bildarchiv Stadt- und Universitatsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main.

74. L端deritz - about 1908 - note desalination plant (3 chimneys) at far end of railway yard - Koloniales Bildarchiv Stadt- und Universitatsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main. 52

75. L端deritz - about 1908 - desalination plant (Kondensator)- photo Hoffmann - Koloniales Bildarchiv Stadt- und Universitatsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main

76. L端deritz - about 1908 - inside desalination plant (Kondensator)- photo Hoffmann - Koloniales Bildarchiv Stadt- und Universitatsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main.

77. L端deritz - about 1908 - inside desalination plant (Kondensator)- photo Hoffmann - Koloniales Bildarchiv Stadtund Universitatsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main.jpg

78. L端deritz - about 1908 - inside desalination plant (Kondensator)- photo Hoffmann - Koloniales Bildarchiv Stadt- und Universitatsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main.

THE SAR IN WAR World War 2

The above photograph was share with me by various friends. I have received a copy of the original from Mr Gerald Prinsloo of the SANDF Doc Centre. I want urge friends to share their own “railways in war” photographs with SASSAR. Many of us flew by “Flossie” to the various operational areas, others were fortunate to travel by train to the then Southwest Africa to Walvis Bay, Grootfontein and Windhoek.

The Border War and the SAR This photo has been doing the rounds over and over on “Facebook” and is entrenched in the public domain. I saw the photo on “19 Voertsek se prente en praatjies” trying to find the owner.

1983: SAR 15092 & 15093

Ref: SASSAR Jan 1982 pp 20-21

2015: TRANSNET 15092 & 15093: JACO HOLTZHAUSEN

SAR LADISMITH BRANCHLINE

Ladysmith,Class 7 No 987departing-with-the-up-(westbound)-Makadas, May-1963

Hondewater, 984-cl-7-on-480-up, May 1969. 63

Ladismith,-1011-cl-7A-on-inspection-pit, May 1972

Ladismith-branch,-984-cl-7-on-up-(westbound), Makadas, May-1969

CORRESPONDENCE RE ABOVE Ladismith Branch: Letter to Les Pivnic, Charlie Lewis & Bruno Martin Gentlemen, Pouring over an atlas I see there is an abandoned line going S/E from Touws River for quite a distance. I can't figure out where the line went to? Do any of you perhaps know anything about this line? I am a "Johnny-come-lately". Are going to mention something about this line in SOAR? Greetings 65

Hennie Heymans Charlie Lewis

Hennie, this was the branch line from Touws River to Ladismith that was so badly damaged by the great flood of January 1980 that SAR decided to close it. Sad, it was a beautiful line. Bruno Martin

Greetings Hennie I guess you are referring to the 143.77km long Ladismith branch line, it came off the Cape Western Main Line at Latou, 2.21km south of Touws River, and was opened in three stages: LatouKareevlakte on 15 December 1924; to Plathuis on 29 June 1925 and to Ladismith on 19 October 1925. The line was severely damaged by floods on 25 January 1981 and resulted in the SAR closing the line. The last train ran on 23 January 1981. See article on page 55 in “Tracks across the Veld”. Kind regards Bruno Dear Hennie Yes, I believe it would have been shorter, but I don’t know about easier. As Boon mentions in his article the main obstacle on the 60km gap between Ladismith and Calitzdorp was the Huisrivierpas. When the SAR bought the New Cape Central Railway’s line from Worcester to Voorbaai in 1925 building a connection from Ladismith to Calitzdorp was no longer on the agenda. Kind regards Bruno Dear Hennie, When I opened my emails this morning I saw that Bruno has already provided you with a comprehensive response to your query regarding the abandoned branch to Ladismith. So all that remains for me to say is - thanks Bruno! Cheers Oom Les

C & M Lewis

PS: You can use the photos of the Ladismith branch that I sent you, if you wish, but please mention that they, along with many others, will feature in the Soul of a Railway chapter dealing with the Cape Western System's branch lines.

QUESTION TO: SOAR: LES PIVNIC, CHARLIE LEWIS: MIXED GOODS AT CAPE TOWN Gentlemen Allow me a question please? I see in your excellent SOAR, System 1, Part 3, Photo No 16 – mixed goods at Worcester towards Cape Town.

My question: Cape Town is a dead-end station. My common sense says that when the train reaches, say Bellville, the passenger section is dropped there for another train to take it to Cape Town. Or the goods are dropped there and the passengers section taken to Cape Town? Sorry to be so trouble some, but thank you in advance ... Greetings Hennie Heymans Les Pivnic

Dear Hennie, I am sure that Charlie will provide you with the answer - Cape Town is his home ground! Cheers Les C & M Lewis

Hallo Hennie, ja that is an intelligent question that only a dwindling number of us “ou ballies” can answer. Until the early 1950s “Up” mixed trains terminated at Monument station. Upon arrival the goods vehicles would be uncoupled and drawn forward (across Adderley St - this created chaos in rush hour!) and then propelled back into the goods yard, immediately on the seaward side of Monument. The coaches were then removed by a shunting loco to the carriage sidings for cleaning (the carriage sidings were squeezed between Monument and Cape Town's main-line platforms). Monument was flattened towards the end of the 1950s in preparation for Cape Town's new station but a few years before this the practice described above had come to an end. From then on, until the mixed trains (401-down/400-up) ceased to run, passengers had to disembark at Bellville and change to a suburban train. These mixed’s always conveyed high-rated expedited traffic so the whole train would then continue on to Culemborg Goods Depot where the coaches would then be removed and shunted into the new (and adjacent) carriage sidings. Thanks for reminding me about all this, Charlie Oom Charlie, Thank you! Oom Les - CFYI - very interesting reply, indeed! Greetings HBH

MODEL TRAINS Piet & Leonie Rossouw Goeie Middag Oom Hennie, Soos versoek, aangeheg, vind asseblief 'n paar foto's van verskillende treine. Baie, baie dankie vir al oom se moeite, ons waardeer dit opreg. Groete, Paul 083 339 1606

NEWS: NAMRAIL: NAMIBIA L端deritz regains logistics hub status

Jan Poolman: Thursday, November 20, 2014 - 08:00 72

Lüderitz is poised to reclaim its bygone status as a logistical, export and import hub of southern Namibia, when the train arrives at the coastal town for the first time in 15 years since the railway line between Aus and Lüderitz was degraded and closed down. The railway network runs from Seeheim-North, where it branches off from the Nakop–Keetmanshoop main line, via Aus to Luderitz, and the plan is to link it to the Port of Luderitz. “The town of Lüderitz has over the years endured the challenge of its inability to function as a logistics hub for the southern region of Namibia as it ought to due to the absence of rail transport. The re-introduction of train services will therefore, greatly change not only the economy of the town but also the face of the town as it will now open up as a logistics gate to Namibia and the rest of the world,” Lüderitz Mayor Suzan Ndjaleka said. The re-construction of this railway line over a distance of 139km was undertaken by the government from 2003. The first 73km from Aus was completed in 2006 with only the earthworks and drainage structures that continued beyond that point since then. A contract was awarded in September 2011 to Tubular Track Namibia for the completion of the track construction over the remaining 66km up to Lűderitz. Yesterday’s train arrived with wagons loaded with ballast stone to be off-loaded in the station to serve as ballast formation for the conventional railway track after which the station yard will then be completed and TransNamib can start to operate the railway line. “The return of regular train services open up tourism business opportunities for Lüderitz Waterfront as we have already set up necessary infrastructure as part of the first phase of the Waterfront was completed in 2002. Lüderitz Waterfront is ever ready to promote daily train tourism to and from nearby Kolmanskop. All departures and arrivals will take place from the Lüderitz Waterfront premises,” Fluksman Samuehl, CEO of the Waterfront development said. //Kharas Governor Bernadus Swartbooi said it is a historic day for Lüderitz to again welcome a train to the coastal town after the line was closed 15 years ago. The last part of railway line between the station and the harbour would be constructed during the first four months of next year.http://www.informante.web.na/l%C3%BCderitz-regains-logistics-hub-status.15187 [Received on 24th of February 2015 via J & J Wepener.]

MAP: “PATAT EXPRESS”: HERCULES TO MAGALIESBURG: BRUNO MARTIN

Comment: This line was built during WW2. I don’t know why the authorities don’t develop this line from Hercules to Magaliesburg? They have the servitudes and the land. This line could feed the Hercules to Pretoria and Belle Ombrelines. It could even connect with the Gautrain.

HISTORY: LA 15011933 Who can tell me more about this truck, please which stood at Bloemfontein – HBH.

TRAIN SURFING

SAR: GUARDS VAN: K-42

One of my favourite items of coaching stock – HBH. 75

AN OLD SAR ADVERT

Sadly no more! 76

WESTS: UNION WHALING: DURBAN HARBOUR

Tromp van Diggelen was known as one of SA’s strong men - HBH

As a policeman at SAP Kings’ Rest this was part of my “beat” – During the 1960’s I spent many a day here watching operations. A whale was cur up in about 10 minutes. African Constables loved “Mkomazi” (whale meat) .... 78

It was no fun when these African labourers started to fight on a Sunday afternoon!

We “Bluffites” could smell the whaling station when the wind blew from the “wrong” direction - HBH

SAR: S-1 WHALE TRUCK

I watched proceedings here many an afternoon ... HBH

Those were the days when the SAR could convey almost anything ... â&#x20AC;&#x153;from a dead policeman to a wet umbrellaâ&#x20AC;?

NGR 1909

Part of my beat and I watched proceedings here, in my time the S-2 shunters were used. Some of the whale trucks dated back to the days of the NGR - HBH

1954 Union Whaling Co – Wests, this is south of the Durban Harbour on the Indian Ocean – HBH. 83

DRYWER MPJ BOTHA & ANDER

Johannes Botha: Suid-Afrikaaanse SpoorweĂŤ / SA Railways / Ulolwe

Dit is die Stoomdrywers kursus nr 365 van Sept 1969-Des 1969. My vader Mnr M.P.J. Botha staan links in die derde ry van voor (met baadjie met embleem op die sak). Herken u dalk enige iemand op hierdie foto? You, Japie Terblanche, Pieter van Rooyen, Jaco Holtzhausen and 8 others like this.

Ina Botha Dit sal interessant wees om almal se name te kon sien.

Pieter van Rooyen Johannes Botha, was hy dalk later in Germiston op die stoom gestasie?

ULOLIWE: JOHAN F D BURGER You, Japie Terblanche, Pieter van Rooyen, Bill Deyzel and 11 others like this.

Hennie Heymans Waar is die plekkie, Johan F D Burger? 84

Johan F D Burger Net voor Ulundi,aan Vryheid kant.

Roelf Faurie Moet se dis n fris vrag. Drywer moet sy storie ken om nie buffer te breek nie.

Japie Terblanche Hierdie is n uitsonderlike foto,en dit pas so pragtig in by die web,blad

Hennie Heymans Dankie Johan F D Burger

SAR MALMESBURY: JACO HAASBROEK

BLOUTREIN: MORNE OLIVIER Die Bloutrein Op ou Tafelberg lê die miskleed breed Blou en trots staan sy gereed Om op glimmende treinspore Te kronkel deur valleie en klowe Sy gly van die een spoor na die ander Nes ŉ rustelose klipsalmander Om af en toe te rus En my dan aan die slaap te sus Iewers op die silwer stawe Kruis sy haar blou suster Met grasie en oorgawe Dit is die Bloutrein juweel Op pad na die Jakarandastad Die pad was lank maar sy was deel Geskryf deur Morne Olivier - 1988

FOREIGN DIESELS: DAAN OTTO

Daan En Christine Otto Suid-Afrikaaanse SpoorweĂŤ / SA Railways / Ulolwe In Pietersburg loco afgeneem ,oppad Afrika toe Japie Terblanche, Pieter van Rooyen, Jade Wilsonand 21 others like this.

Mel Turner Date photo taken?

Mel Turner Did you get the numbers of the other unit (s)? Other photos posted show 007 and 011, does anyone have any idea of the size of the Vale order? Can anyone ID the bogies, same as 43 Class or the lightweight Australian UGL fabricated type used on the CFM order?

David Settle is Pietersburg not in Afrika? ha ha

Daan En Christine Otto 14 February

Daan En Christine Otto 011 and 012

Danilieze Otto South Africa and Africa is two different places ...

David Settle they seem to be getting closer and more similar by the day

Danilieze Otto Haha jip can't argue with that ??

Jan Thirion The are the GE C30 ACi's... They basically the 43D with a different dash. Info recieved from ARL&T, Vale partner in SA

Jan Thirion Will try to obtain more info asap

Philmar du Plessis I was told they were built with normal controls, no DDU, joystick, etc.

Mel Turner Thanks, Can anyone ID, same as a Transnet 43, or the CFM type lightweight version? http://www.ugllimited.com/.../414_FlexiCurve_Product_WEB.pdf 15 February at 12:01 路 Like

Daan En Christine Otto The bogie is different and also the master controller is placed different wipers have nozzles for water and foggers in windows

GOOD BYE Good bye until next time. [Photo by Japie Terblanche.]

Greetings Hennie Heymans, Pretoria, ZA Email: uloliwe@gmail.com