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Welcome Welcome to this issue focussing on the work Mr. Les Pivnic currently living in Australia. All photographs in this issue are by courtesy of Les Pivnic, former Assistant Curator, SA Railways Museum, Johannesburg railway station.
Contact Details This magazine is published by Hennie Heymans, Rietondale, Pretoria, 0084. Contact details: heymanshb@gmail.com Telephone: 012-329-4229
Copyright The copy right of all the photographs in this issue lie with Mr HL “Les� pivnic. Contents Welcome ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Contact Details ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Copyright ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Western Transvaal ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Natal ............................................................................................................................................................... 8 Cape Eastern System .................................................................................................................................. 14 Cape Midlands System ................................................................................................................................ 22 Cape Northern System ................................................................................................................................. 32 Orange Free State System ........................................................................................................................... 41 Timfontein .................................................................................................................................................... 47 Timfontein Mark 1: Les Pivnic ................................................................................................................... 47 Timfontein: Rolling Stock .............................................................................................................................. 50 Timfontein Mark 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 52 Bronpoort .............................................................................................................................................. 57 Thanks ......................................................................................................................................................... 59 Greetings ...................................................................................................................................................... 59
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Western Transvaal
15.12.1989: 15F 3135 (on loan from Springs Loco) worked the Trans Karoo from Johannesburg to Klerksdorp. Here she is near Maizelands en route to Potchefstroom. She put up a very fine performance!
Date 26.1.1990: 25NC 3476 working the Trans Karoo to Klerksdorp from Johannesburg. Here is the station master ready with the tablet for the Trans Karoo is at Boskop Station. 3
Date 4.8.1991: I photographed the “Brush with Steam” special near Frederickstad being hauled by this double-header – 15E 2878 and 15F 3016.
Date 13.7.1991: 25NCs 3404 & 3422 were photographed leaving Welverdiend with the Trans Karoo for Johannesburg. 4
Date 26.6.1960: I found class 61.003 on duty in the north passenger yard still in its original livery. They were later repainted in the new standard Gulf Red.
On the same day – 26.6.1960, my camera took a portrait of class 5E no.331 in Braamfontein Yard. The green livery stood up well to the Transvaal weather. 5
Walking through the Braamfontein ERS on 2.7.1960, I found the class DS1 no. 514 staged out of service. To the best of my knowledge, she never worked again. She was one of two pioneering diesels on the SAR – the second unit being the Bo-Bo diesel which was larger than this machine.
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11.9.1960: Braamfontein Loco with a class 16CR and a GM Garratt in the photo. By this time, Braamfontein Loco was near to moving out to Krugersdorp. The main line engines had already been transferred away leaving the engines used on the shunt and the Garratts which were still in use on the Zeerust section.
In this scene taken near the old Catering Department on 19.11.1960, we see private saloon no. 42 aptly named “Voorentoe� recently out-shopped and smart and ready for her next duty. She had originally formed part of the 1947 Royal Train as coach no.R13 for the use by the SA Minister when travelling with the train. 7
Also photographed on 19.11.1960, a couple of GM Garratts are prominent in this photo taken in the Loco. They would soon move out to Krugersdorp. Natal
Greyville Circa 1960: A class 14R pauses at the station before heading on to Durban with a local passenger train. The Loco Depot is just seen on the left. 8
Pietermaritzburg Station 27.12.1960: This classic NGR building as seen from the car-park.
Pietermaritzburg North Signal Cabin 27.12.1960: Two class 1E nos.117 & 178 pass the cabin having dropped their load in the Yard. 9
Congella 28.12.1960: A class 1E no.189 is working a local train from Pinetown.
Durban Station 28.12.1960: Class 5E1 no.451 is seen departing for Wests with a local passenger train. 10
Gardener Street c/r West Street 10.1.1961: The building at the far end of Gardener Street is the old NGR HQ which was at that time, still in use by the SAR. A Brill luxury coach can be seen outside the building.
Durban Station’s platform 11 – also known as the “Milk Platform”. Secondary main line trains would pull into this platform and unload all sorts of goods ranging from milk cans to live chickens and goats amongst a myriad other items. The old Mechanical Workshops can be seen on the right – these Shops were eventually moved out to Bayhead.
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Durban 10.1.1961: A 14R simmers quietly on the left while GF no. 2408 departs with a train for Stanger on the North Coast. The original NGR station canopy that was imported for use in Durban as seen from Soldiers Way. The stepped roof of the old canopy led to a story circulating that this structure was originally intended for Canada where snow would be inclined to fall off the roof due to the stepped panels. There was no concern over snow in Durban!
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This is what the old NGR canopy looked like from the platforms underneath. This part of the station was used exclusively for local passenger trains in later SAR days.
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Cape Eastern System
Ocean View near East London 19.1.1960: A class 12AR no.1530 is seen working the Johannesburg mail – train no. 434 en route to Queenstown. The engine is carrying the special Centenary Crest on her smokebox door. Throughout 1960, all locomotives working top-link main line passenger trains carried a crest to celebrate 100 years of railways in South Africa.
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Lady Grey on the Barkly East branch 28.5.1960: Class GB no.2165 is stopped at the water tank for servicing en route to Barkly East.
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Vincent near East London 8.1.1970: Class 14CRB no.1888 is seen working a local train to Kingwilliamstown.
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Chiselhurst 8.1.1970: Two class 33 diesels nos. 33.052 & 33.046 were photographed working train 28/29 ex Port Elizabeth.
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East London Loco 9.1.1961: Class MJ no.1674 was photographed near the coal stage – she had just come off shunting duty at Cambridge. These Mallet engines were near the end of their working lives and unfortunately, were scrapped before one could be saved for preservation. East London Station 9.1.1961: A class 15AR no.2022 is seen on the relief line after bringing in a local passenger train.
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East London Station 9.1.1961: This is the original station building dating back to the days of the Cape Government Railways. Note the inscription near the clock – “E L – Q R” – East London – Queenstown Railway. The Centenary crest from the previous year is also still in place above the main entrance to the building.
Aliwal North 8.4.1966: A class 19A no.702 is leaving the engine shed to work a train to Barkly East. 19
Aliwal North 8.4.1966: A class 8B no.1146 arrives off the Barkly East branch with a goods train. At this time the Barkly East branch saw several classes of engine working that section – classes 8B, GB and 19A.
En route to Lady Grey 9.4.1966: Class GB 2161 is working a goods train to Barkly East. Those formidable mountains facing our train would be crossed using eight reversing stations. 20
Fourth Reverse 9.4.1966: GB no.2161 is ready to depart for 5th Reverse. If you look closely, you should see the tunnel mouth that was never used – it is visible vertically above the engine’s leading tank on the mountainside. The intention was to bridge the gap from the tunnel across the gorge but this never happened. Stories of the bridge being lost at sea have never been confirmed.
Here is the picturesque scene taken from 5th Reverse – the line in the middle of the photo going down to 4 th Reverse and on the left – the line climbing to 6th Reverse where the other end of the tunnel can be seen. 21
Cape Midlands System
Port Elizabeth 21.1.1960: A class 24 no.3667 leaves the City with a mixed train for Alexandria.
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Port Elizabeth 21.1.1960: Class 10BR no. 760 “Uitenhage the Garden Town� leaves the City with a local passenger train for Uitenhage.
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Sydenham Loco 21.1.1960: Here is one of two original class 10B’s that were never re-boilered. Originally, a classic CSAR express passenger locomotive.
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Sherborne near Noupoort 9.7.1967: A class 15F no. 3063 with a heavy goods load waits for a crossing with a south-bound train before heading on to Noupoort. The 15Fs on the Cape Midlands main line were fitted with additional smoke cowls over their chimneys due to a number of tunnels encountered on the re-graded main line.
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Noupoort 3.1.1968: Class 15F 3093 is proceeding through the station to double-head a passenger train to De Aar. Note the DZ wagons filled with iron ore heading south to Port Elizabeth.
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Rosmead 3.1.1968: Two 19B’s no’s.1413 & 1408 with train 1300 ex Mossel Bay en route to Johannesburg.
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Just north of Rosmead, 15F no. 2936 departs with train 1300 for Noupoort.
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3.1.1968: Class 33.036 comes down grade into Rosmead from Noupoort with a load of coal.
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At Wilderness on the George – Knysna branch. Class 24 no. 3670 departs with a mixed train for Knysna.
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18.3.1975: I was travelling with the System Civil Engineer Crombie in this motor trolley. We stopped at Springmount near Alexandria to have a braai – lekker wors en tjops – the best braai that I have ever had!
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Cape Northern System
Kimberley 1957: Class 16E no. 859 “City of Bloemfontein” is ready to depart with the Orange Express for Bloemfontein and Durban. The C-34 1st class steel saloons behind the engine were still in the Imperial brown livery – they would be painted in Orange Express colours later when they passed through Shops for overhaul.
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Kimberley 1958: Class 16DA no. 878 with a Pegasus horse on her cylinders waits for the Orange Express – she was booked to work the Express to Bloemfontein – her home shed. Note the ornamental fan on her smokebox door.
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Klerksdorp 12.10.1959: Class 3E no. 205 arrives from Johannesburg with the Blue Train. This was the end of the electrification in those days – a class 25NC would take over for the run to Kimberley.
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Klerksdorp 12.10.1959: Another shot in colour of 3E no. 205 just after she had cut-off from the Blue Train.
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Klerksdorp 12.10.1959: As already mentioned, the train was worked on to Kimberley by 25NC no.3440. Here she is accelerating away from the station.
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Klerksdorp 5.9.1960: A class 19D (unidentified) arrives with a goods train off the Ottosdal branch.
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Kimberley 4.11.1961: Class 25NC no. 3432 departs with the Orange Express for De Aar and Cape Town.
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Klerksdorp July 1962: A class 19D comes in off the Ottosdal branch with a goods load. The 19D is one of the earlier batches that was supplied without front footplate handrails.
Klerksdorp November 1962: A general scene of the Loco Depot with a class 15BR ready for shunting duty with an additional tank car for extra water. When 15Fs were transferred to the Cape Midland System, many 15BRs were released for duties elsewhere – some of them came to Klerksdorp for shunting.
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Kimberley 1.6.1963: A class 25 no.3483 is seen departing with a mixed train for Sishen.
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Orange Free State System
Petrusburg Circa 1955: I was a passenger on train 291 from Bloemfontein to Kimberley and at Petrusburg I got off to photograph our engine – class 16E no.854 “Harrismith”.
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Bloemfontein Showgrounds 6.1.1969: A class 16DA no.844 was seen working a local passenger packet to Kloofeind. Here she is leaning into the curve near the Showgrounds.
Hersteloord near Bloemfontein 7.1.1969: A class 23 no.3214 is seen in action, coming from Kimberley with the Durban-bound Orange Express. At this time not all the coaches had been replaced by Union Carriage saloons – hence the mixed roof line. 42
Annandale near Bethlehem 6.1.1969: Class 15E no.2897 is seen with train 81 for Harrismith, Ladysmith and Durban. The 15Es were much better suited to the days when they raced between De Aar and Beaufort West!
Melorane 17.12.61: I took a New Zealand visitor on a local trip out of Bloemfontein to Melorane and return. Here is our 16DA running around the train for the return trip. The Station Foreman is grabbing a lift on his bicycle from the 16DA. Why push the pedals when the engine can pull me along? 43
Shannon near Bloemfontein 17.1.66: Class 16DA no.870 working a local train to Lynchfield.
Near Zastron 1.4.1974: I was travelling on train 177 on an official SA Railway Museum inspection trip and I photographed our 19D 3349 rounding a curve near Zastron. 44
Wepener 1.4.1974: A stop was made at Wepener to allow our engine to slake its thirst. While waiting for her, the opposing train 178 came through – you can see it passing our 19D at the water column. Those days people travelled by train – not in crowded taxis!
Rifle Range Halt near Hamilton 18.1.1966: A class 16E no.855 “City of Johannesburg” working a load of coal south to Springfontein is seen drifting down-grade past the CTC signal. These engines were designed for express passenger trains but by this time, they were used on goods trains as well. Next photo: Hamilton 17.12.1961: A 15F with a goods train passes through on her way to Bloemfontein.
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Timfontein Timfontein Mark 1: Les Pivnic I built two Timfontein model railways – the first version (Mark 1) proved to be difficult to operate, so I literally dismantled the whole railway and started from scratch with a new layout – Timfontein Mark 2. Both layouts were based on a typical imaginary section of the Cape Main Line making sure that all the buildings and structures were “SAR” in character. In this presentation we see the first version – Timfontein Mark 1.
I built all the structures on the model from scratch using photographs of the real buildings as a guide. Here we have the grain elevator based on the actual structure at Koster in the Western Transvaal. In front of the elevator is the livestock loading pens as typically used by the SAR. Note the farmer standing next to his black Mercedes overseeing the loading of his sheep into the kraal.
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This is a general scene looking over the engine shed and the goods platforms to the railway staff houses and RMS Depot in the background. The Blue Train is ready to depart from Timfontein heading to the Cape. A class 6J is ready to shunt at the goods platforms in the foreground. Timfontein’s main station building is in the background. This building was based on the actual building at Potchefstroom. A steamhauled suburban train is standing at the main platform while a 15F running light is proceeding to the engine shed.
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The Blue Train with a class 23 in charge is passing the mountain in the background. Note the blockhouse on the ridge protecting the bridge on the left.
A close-up of the goods platforms with a blompot checking on a car illegally parked near the stop-block.
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Another general scene of Timfontein with the Orange Express alongside the main platform. This is the later Orange Express consist using Union Carriage steel saloons.
Timfontein: Rolling Stock
One of my models of a type C-34 1st class main line saloon in Imperial brown livery. I built this coach using a Lima body as the basis for the model. The clerestory roof replaced the elliptical roof from the original coach. Further underframe and interior detail was fitted to complete the model.
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One of my type C-31A Blue Train saloons built from Eric Bekker kits. I added a lot of extra detailing to bring the model up to museum exhibition standard. I also added Commonwealth bogies which replaced the original Day bogies fitted to these saloons.
A type H-21 3rd class main line coach with passengers on board.
1st & 2nd class suburban compo-van. This was part of a complete steam-hauled suburban train that I built from kits supplied by MTE in Randburg. I added lots of detail and passengers to give it a realistic appearance.
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Another one of my H-21 3rd class coaches with passengers. Behind the 3rd class coach is a TZ dairy van built by the late Dave Parsons.
My super-detailed model of dining car 227 Keiskama in “Sneltrein Oranje� livery which I built from an Eric Bekker kit. I added considerable detail during construction of the kit.
Timfontein Mark 2 This is the second version of Timfontein which eliminated the operating difficulties of the first layout.
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Here is Timfontein’s main station building on the new layout. A mixture of main line coaches at platforms 1 & 3. The period is determined by the mixture of the Imperial brown and red & grey coach liveries – 1960s.
The eastern approach to Timfontein showing the goods platforms and a few railway staff houses.
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Another view of the main station showing the main and island platforms at the station. Part of the green track control panel can be seen in the foreground.
Here is the grain elevator now in place on the new layout.
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The new Timfontein layout included a platteland station named Bronpoort. This station building was also built from scratch using Three Sisters in the Karoo as the prototype station. The railway houses were also modelled on actual houses photographed at various SAR stations. A petrol train is passing through Bronpoort.
A clean 15F arrives later with the Blue Train while a grimy 15F simmers quietly in the foreground.
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A scene in the Loco Depot at Timfontein – the engines are from left to right – a class 23, 6J, 19D (tender facing camera), 5R no.781 and lastly, another 19D. Note the sand drying shelter on the extreme right. My real 15F plate no.3101 shows prominently on the wall of my train room.
I had an old fenced graveyard near the grain elevator.
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Bronpoort
A close-up of Bronpoort Station with the “stasievoorman” standing in the doorway to his signal lever frame. Note the green Van Schoor tablet machine behind the “stasievoorman”. His bicycle and a typical post office phone box can be seen on the platform.
Timfontein classes 15F and breakdown train 280
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The RMS Depot showing a typical RMS combination bus/truck with the driver talking to the Depot Foreman. The main line passes immediately in front of the Depot.
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A 15F is seen passing Bronpoort with a main line passenger train from the Cape. Note the Wickham inspection trolley in the foreground. The gum trees and the layout fencing were bought from the late Paddy O’Flaherty, who specialised in the making of scenic materials with a South African flavour. Paddy was also a master at making South African flora for model railways.
Thanks A special vote of thanks to Oom Les Pivnic for sharing these photos with our readers
Greetings We are looking forward to more photographs, articles and anecdotes from the doyen of SAR history; Mr Les Pivnic.
Hennie Heymans
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