The Uloliwe by Hennie Heymans, Nongqai Publications

THE ULOLIWE SOUTH AFRICA – SUID-AFRIKA A monthly railway historical and research publication ‘n Maandelikse spoorweg historiese en navorsing publikasie Vol 3 No 10 Un-official / Nie Amptelik - Gratis Everything to do with the former SA Railways: i.e. lighthouses, harbours, staff, photos, books, RMT, stations, tugs, SAR Police, SAA, catering, pipelines, stamps, models, rolling stock, armoured trains, diagrams, etc

Hennie Heymans, Pretoria, ZA heymanshb@gmail.com Octobeer 2012

Cambridge (East London) – Nico van der Westhuis

Contents Welcome .............................................................................................................................................................8 Front Cover – Voorblad:...................................................................................................................................8 Editorial – Redaksioneel...................................................................................................................................8 Fuel crisis (petrol & diesel) ......................................................................................................................9 Wepener’s Perambulations and … Railway History ...................................................................................9 New Line Vierfontein Orkney .....................................................................................................................9 Sightings .......................................................................................................................................................14 Friedesheim timber shunt ......................................................................................................................14 Articles from our readers ...............................................................................................................................15 Les Pivic............................................................................................................................................................15 Van Reenen’s 7 new Tunnels: Les Pivnic.....................................................................................................15 Van Reenen: Brian Conyngham ....................................................................................................................17 Bloemfontein: 31st of May 1960: 50 years of Union ...................................................................................19 Garratts: Richard Clatworthy ........................................................................................................................19 Locomotive types: Garratt, Six-coupled, 4’ 9” wheels, 3’ 6” gauge .....................................................19 Nico van der Westhuis ...................................................................................................................................21 E7010 from Cape Town entering East London station 25-08-2012.......................................................21 Slurry - Richard Clatworthy ..........................................................................................................................22 The “FC” Train-bridge – Lourens Sturgeon ................................................................................................25 Railway History of South Africa –HBH .......................................................................................................27 CGR: 3rd Class: Wynberg Tender No’s 12 - 17.........................................................................................27 NGR: Altered Dubbs “A” ..........................................................................................................................28 NGR: Altered Dubbs “A” (Enlarged diagram) .......................................................................................28 2

Cape Town Station - What has happened to Blackie? ...............................................................................29 OVS Staatspoorwegen (OVSS) ......................................................................................................................29 The Oorlogsmuseum in Bloemfontein has no information on Pres Steyn’s saloon. They only have information on Pres SJP Kruger’s saloon.....................................................................................................29 OVS Staatspoorwegen (OVSS) ......................................................................................................................29 Crest and Button .........................................................................................................................................29 NZASM.............................................................................................................................................................32 Anglo Boer War ...............................................................................................................................................32 Anglo Boer War? Leon (Div) de Villiers .................................................................................................32 Anglo Boer War – Brian Conyngham and Rory Reynolds ...................................................................38 We are marching to Pretoria..................................................................................................................38 Princess Alice Ambulance Train ...............................................................................................................42 Sister Jones ...................................................................................................................................................46 NGR: Stations ..............................................................................................................................................47 Railway Stations: .............................................................................................................................................48 “Old” Newcastle - Johannes Botha .......................................................................................................48 “New” Newcastle....................................................................................................................................49 Irene ..........................................................................................................................................................49 Alexandra – Anton van Schalkwyk ......................................................................................................50 SAR: Photo – 1932 Johannesburg municipal buss ......................................................................................53 SAR: World War 1 ...........................................................................................................................................53 SAR in GSWA ..............................................................................................................................................53 SAR: World War 2 ...........................................................................................................................................53 SAR Traction and Rolling Stock ....................................................................................................................54 3

14859: Nico van der Westhuis ...................................................................................................................54 Transnet ............................................................................................................................................................54 Chinese locos for SA – J Wepener .............................................................................................................54 SA Metro Rail...................................................................................................................................................55 33-505 with Metro at Fort Jackson 24-09-2012: Nico van der Westhuis .........................................55 Gautrain ....................................................................................................................................................56 Photo reports ...................................................................................................................................................56 Robert Maidment-Wilson ..........................................................................................................................56 Something different from Robert Maidment-Wilson.............................................................................58 Natal Midlands - Jacobus Marais..............................................................................................................60 The Blue Train: Francois Mattheüs (Cape Town) ...................................................................................61 A Mixed Bag – Lourens Sturgeon .............................................................................................................62 Noel Welch: E7175 Transnet Swartkops Diesel Depot. jpg ..................................................................64 32-042 Outeniqua Tjoe Choo: Robert Adams ..........................................................................................65 Green F15 – Adrian Hill .............................................................................................................................67 Bloemfontein by an Obderver .......................................................................................................................68 Namibia ............................................................................................................................................................78 Railway People – Spoorwegmense ...............................................................................................................78 Nico van der Westhuis ...............................................................................................................................78 Nico van der Westhuis ...........................................................................................................................79 Kyk Spoorwegman, ek skryf en bid vir jou! – Koot Swanepoel ...........................................................80 Water Police .....................................................................................................................................................80 Previous issues of Uloliwe .............................................................................................................................80 4

Rail Humour ....................................................................................................................................................80 Book Shelf.........................................................................................................................................................80 FOTR Calendar – Nathan Berelowitz.......................................................................................................80 Bruno Martin ...............................................................................................................................................81 Garratts and Kalaharis of the Welsh Highland Railway - David Payling ..........................................82 Road Motor Transport Service [RMT]..........................................................................................................85 South African Airways: New Boeing 797 J Botha.......................................................................................85 SAA History .....................................................................................................................................................85 Historical Aircraft: South African Airways: De Havilland DH104 Dove - Johan Jacobs.................85 Harbours...........................................................................................................................................................92 East London Grain Elevator - Nico van der Westhuis..............................................................................92 Catering Division: Dinner R1-25 ...................................................................................................................93 Railway Police – The Demise – Question by Charlie Lewis .....................................................................94 Reply to Charlie Lewis ...............................................................................................................................94 Railways: Tourism, Steam, Preservation, Societies & Clubs.....................................................................97 Rovos Rail.....................................................................................................................................................97 Rovos.........................................................................................................................................................98 RRL Grindrod: John Batwell......................................................................................................................98 RRL Grindrod tracks through Africa: John Batwell reports on a visit to thisBEE railwaycompany in Pretoria…….. .........................................................................................................................................100 Atlantic Rail Cape Town .............................................................................................................................102 Cape Town - Simonstown: Adrian Hill .............................................................................................103 Rhodesia Railways, National Railways of Zimbabwe – J Batwell .....................................................104 Memories: Bosveld Train Safaris – HBH ...............................................................................................107 5

Railway Society of Southern Africa Natal – A Peter ............................................................................107 Reefsteamers:– Lee Gates .............................................................................................................................108 Shunting out the no.1 road ......................................................................................................................108 15F Cab Scenes...........................................................................................................................................113 Lights for coach No.25073: (‘Dusty’ the SEMUMA coach.) ................................................................114 Around the depot ......................................................................................................................................117 Contact details ...........................................................................................................................................121 Umgeni Steam Railway: GMAM 4074 ...................................................................................................122 Paton’s Country Railway .........................................................................................................................123 Patons Country Railway: Annual Aloe Train Trips .........................................................................123 Umgeni Steam Railway - Ashley Peter ..................................................................................................123 Friends of the Rail .....................................................................................................................................123 FOTR Calendar – Nathan Berelowitz.....................................................................................................124 Enquiries Friends of the Rail ...................................................................................................................125 Sandstone ...................................................................................................................................................125 JB Tours: Treintoere in Suider Afrika .........................................................................................................125 Railwayana.....................................................................................................................................................126 South African Models ...................................................................................................................................126 Scalecraft: - Adrian Hill ............................................................................................................................126 Contact Scalecraft ..................................................................................................................................130 Scalecraft news ..........................................................................................................................................131 Shaun and Rinke’s contact information is as follows ......................................................................131 Scalecraft product information ..............................................................................................................131 6

Dream Trains – Wynand Vermeulen .....................................................................................................132 Hopefield: Terry Rowe ............................................................................................................................132 Railway Modellers’ Information Group: Contact Details ...................................................................135 From the Press ...............................................................................................................................................135 Zambia ends railway deal with SA investor .........................................................................................135 Mangaantrein slaag sy ‘langste toets’ ....................................................................................................138 Trein ry 2 swanger vroue dood ...............................................................................................................140 SA RAILWAY RELATED INTERNET GROUPS......................................................................................141 •

Suid-Afrikaaanse Spoorweë / SA Railways / Ulolwe (sic) ......................................................141

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Yahoo: SAR-Miniatures – Adrian Hill .......................................................................................141

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Facebook: ‘RHODESIA RAILWAY’ Group - John Batwell ....................................................141

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Website for Reefsteamers: Lee Gates ..........................................................................................141

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Well worth a look ..........................................................................................................................142

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Andre Kritzinger ...........................................................................................................................142

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Adrian Hill says:............................................................................................................................142

Angola: Nostalgia Old CFB Coaches (part 1) - Anton van Schalkwyk .................................................142 Map: Bruno Martin ...............................................................................................................................142 CFM: Lourenco Marques or Maputo..........................................................................................................149 Tanzam-line ...................................................................................................................................................150 Tanzam Map by Bruno Martin................................................................................................................150 Pandora’s Box ................................................................................................................................................150 Mail Bag ..........................................................................................................................................................150 Stop Press .......................................................................................................................................................150 7

Disclaimer ......................................................................................................................................................150

Welcome We have a very varied readership and anything is possible in this railway magazine! Once again sit back, relax and enjoy. So have a cup of coffee ready at your side! Let’s enjoy what we see and read here!

Front Cover – Voorblad:

Locomotives @ Cambridge (East London) locomotive depot 30/09/2012 - Nico van der Westhuis 7E 7039 Spoornet Blue 7E 7032 Spoornet Blue 33-017, 33-505, 33-032, 33-509, 33-487 SAR Gulf red (Leased to Metro/Prasa) 7E2 7197 Spoornet orange 7E2 7215 SAR Gulf red 34-062 & 34-064 Spoornet orange (to replace 7E's)

Editorial – Redaksioneel It’s once again an honour to welcome you on this electronic magazine for “old men”. It’s more looking at railway pictures than reading the fine print! The editor is not a professional journalist or editor – just an “Old Chappie” interested in trains, especially from a national security point of view.

During late 1992I was transferred from the uniformed police to the HQ of Internal Stability Unit. We had a large reserve force called Unit 19 in Prewtoria which was deployed country wide. I came up through the ranks and I knew how we suffered during the 1960’s and 1970’s. (No beds, no food, no hot water! (Did you think this is a hotel!!?) I remember once during 1974 we left Maleoskop at 19:00. I was a lieutenant and had to sit in a troop carrier / prisoner’s van on a steel seat with perpex windows rattling all the way to Welkom. I was bitterly cold when we arrived. We were tired, cold and hungry. Some of us had to work immediately while others did day shift. We slept in the police gymnasium on little portable camp beds. Even at that time the demise of the old SAR was visible and I suggested to my General that we acquire some rolling stock from the SAR or SATS. My idea was to put a few trains together to be staged in Pretoria: First class and second class sleepers, dining cars, kitchen cars, shower coaches, post / specie wagons, a few containers with materiel on flat trucks and railway trucks capable of transporting our vehicles and armoured personel carriers. My idea was that our men could be transported in ease with these “police trains” from Pretoria to hotspots or at leat to the the nearest station to a hotspot. Men would then arrive there warm, well fed and not tired. The General used the idea to hire trains for the men to sleep in at the Bisho-disturbances. I have seen SAPS now have a few special SAPS coaches; painted white in the SAP’s corporate colours.

Fuel crisis (petrol & diesel) Once more the feul price is increasing! This has a nasty effect on almost anything we eat or use! We must wake up and revive the railways, open branch lines!

Wepener’s Perambulations and … Railway History New Line Vierfontein Orkney Hi guys.The first train to cross over the Vaal River from the Free State into the Transvaal since the line has been closed! (IMG 00059). The line must be finished by the end of September, don't think they are going to make it... Cheers.

Sightings Friedesheim timber shunt

34 067 is at Friedesheim, shunting the timber siding

SAR: All photos by J & J Wepener carry their copyright. 14

Articles from our readers Les Pivic Patron Our patron is Les Pivnic. He is a renowned railway photographer and author. His book on SAR Dining Cars is a classic book and by now Africana. He was assistant- curator at the old SAR museum in Johannesburg. He is one of the experts on the SA Railways as he has a lifelong interest in railways.

Van Reenenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 7 new Tunnels: Les Pivnic

Van Reenen: Brian Conyngham

Bloemfontein: 31st of May 1960: 50 years of Union

Garratts: Richard Clatworthy Locomotive types: Garratt, Six-coupled, 4’ 9” wheels, 3’ 6” gauge 1. South African Railways Class GG (1925): 2-6-2, 2-cylinder units, TE* 39900 lb, one loco.

Largest of SAR first generation Garratts, for assessment as fast passenger loco but unsteady at speed, superseded by 4-8-2s from Baldwin and Alco (classes 15C, 15CA) with same coupled wheels, superior T.E. (42,440 lb), steadier and “Straight” so the GG was not repeated. 2. New Zealand Government Railways Class G (1928): 4-6-2, 3-cyl. units, TE 51580lb, two locos

plus one delivered as spares, not assembled. Middle cylinder worked by Gresley’s

conjugated valve gear with the problems associated with the system.

Excessively

powerful, capable of hauling trains too long for crossing sidings. To me, with the wisdom of hindsight, the logical solution would be to blank off the middle cylinders, rotate the wheels on the axles to 90 degrees instead of 120, with replacement of the crank axles with plain ones, to give adequately powered, straightforward maintenance 4-cylinder locomotives. However they chose to use the frames to build, with appropriately-sized boilers, six Straight Pacifics , retaining the problems of the Gresley gear. Consequently they were early candidates for withdrawal. 3. Sudan Railways (1936-7): 4-6-4, 2-cyl units, T.E. 38400 lb, ten locos. For light (50 lb/yd) track, maximum carrying wheels for maximum water capacity.

Worked alright but on

unballasted track the passage of the front unit caused sand to be blown into the air, to cause excessive wear in the rear unit. In 1949 they were sold to Rhodesia Railways, who owned a growing fleet of similar locomotives derived from them. However they did not take kindly to the change from oil to coal firing and in 1964 they were passed on to the Camino de Ferro de Mozambique (CFM) for use on the Beira-Umtali line, where they survived until the civil war. 4. Rhodesia Railways 15th class (1940, 1947,1949-52): 4-6-4, 2-cyl. Units, T.E. 37720/41908 lb. (180/200 psi boiler pressure), 74 locos. Intended as passenger locos for the MafekingBulawayo line through Bechuanaland (Botswana), owned by RR but operated by SAR with RR locos. It was laid with 60lb/yd rail and neither railway was pepared to invest in heavier track. (For their internal main line, RR planned a 4-8-2 similar to the SAR 15CA.) The use of Garratts on the Bechuanaland line was conditional on certain bridges being strengthened and the outbreak of war prevented this, so the four Garratts worked in Southern Rhodesia and so impressed the authorities with their performance that after the war ten more were 20

ordered and then 60 more followed. The later orders had higher boiler pressure and were classified as 15A but as boilers were swapped round with maintenance the distinction was meaningless (and later abandoned). The class worked the mainline throughout Southern and Northern Rhodesia (infrequently east of Salisbury but they did occasionally work to Umtali) and in 1966 onto the Botswana line, reaching Mafeking at last! (RR now worked the line themselves.) As they became displaced by diesels on the main line they moved onto certain branches, though they were less effective there than double-2-8-2s with 4’0” wheels. About 8 went to Zambia at the split-up.

In 1978-80 30 were refurbished with

roller bearings. Several ran up over 2 million miles by the time that they were displaced by diesels. A few were returned from storage and now work tourist trains as well as shunting while others may be restorable, as one hopes 398 will be in New Zealand. On seeing 398 and learning of the service rendered by the class, New Zealanders, aware of the precipitate abandonment of their own two similar locos, can only say “If only . . .” * All Tractive Efforts @ 75% bp.

Nico van der Westhuis E7010 from Cape Town entering East London station 25-08-2012

Slurry - Richard Clatworthy The following is one of many stories told to me by a railwayman, now deceased, whom I knew in the Bulawayo Railway Circle. To the best of my knowledge no-one is writing his biography, which is a pity as he had a remarkable three-stage career, on the footplate, in the guardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s van, and finally, after incapacitation, clerical. I feel I owe it to others to record as many of his stories as I can, so here is one. Slurry means a fluid suspension of a solid in a liquid, with applications in the farmyard, in ore processing and industrial use. Somehow it became the name of a place in the western Transvaal, near the Cape Province border, on the railway line between Johannesburg and Mafeking (I am using names applicable at the time, c. 1970). Here I presume there are limestone deposits and it became, and no doubt still is, the site of a large cement factory. The cement was largely transported in tank cars of special design, the halves of the tank sloping down to the centre to assist discharge. At the time new tankers had just been 22

introduced without frames, the tank being mounted directly on the bogies. There were steps and a platform at each end but only one end had a handbrake wheel. Having roller bearings, the cars were free-running, and Slurry is higher than Mafeking with nearly constant downgrade in between. So it came about that one day one of these tankers, loaded, started to roll downhill in Slurry yard. The train’s guard pursued it and mounted the nearer platform - but it was the platform without the handbrake!

By now the tanker was moving too fast for safe

disembarkation and it burst onto the main line and sped away westwards with its involuntary passenger. For whatever reason the Slurry stationmaster did not advise Mafeking of the approaching runaway, but reported the fact to Headquarters in Johannesburg. They in turn notified Mafeking, to be told “We know - it’s been through.” The tanker had burst in at the southern end of the station, fortuitously on an unoccupied track, with the guard hanging on and blowing his whistle desperately. The car had run the length of the station and disappeared northward toward the Botswana border. Amongst those who witnessed its passage was a Rhodesia Railways employee who was all too well aware that there was at the time an RR train inbound from Ramathlabama on the said border. He therefore dashed to his car and set off along the dirt road that paralleled the railway.

He overtook the now slowing tanker and carried on until he saw the

oncoming train. He stopped, tumbled out and dived through the barbed wire fence and screen of thorn bushes that bounded the servitude, and emerged dishevelled, scratched and - too late! The DE2 locomotive had gone past without the crew seeing him.* In the meantime the tanker, on undulating track, had rolled into a depression, failed to surmount the far side, rolled back and rocked to a standstill in the bottom. The mightily 23

relieved guard stepped down to the ground. Now there arises for me an interesting psychological question: had the car come to rest on South African Railways-controlled track instead of “foreign” (under RR control), would the SAR-employed guard have retained sufficient sense of duty to walk forward and attempt to protect the scene? In the event he started to walk back towards Mafeking, and who can blame him? The DE2 surmounted a crest and the crew saw the tanker ahead, hopelessly inside minimum braking distance. A collision occurred with extensive damage, no fatality but some injuries to the relief crew taken unawares in the caboose behind the locomotive. At that time, as stated, the Mafeking-Ramathlabama section was operated, along with the continuation through Botswana and Rhodesia to Bulawayo, by Rhodesia Railways. Since that time, along with RR’s name change to National Railways of Zimbabwe, the section within Botswana has been taken over by Botswana Railways and the track between Mafikeng (another name change) and Ramathlabama is under the control of the successor company to SAR (though I believe BR have running rights into Mafikeng). Slurry is no longer on a boundary, being within North Western Province, and I hope the cement factory is still producing – and that the yard’s western exit is protected by trap points! * Apoint has subsequently occurred to me – and it may actually have been unsuccessfully attempted, but there is no way of finding out now – if he had gathered up rocks from the edge of the ballast and bombarded the guard’s van as it went past he might have attracted the guard’s attention and been able to give a stop signal as the guard looked back. The guard could then have opened the vacuum brake valve in the van. Of course the warning would have come from the left side of the train while the guard would probably have been looking out on the right. Thanks Richard Clatworthy! More from Richard next month! 24

The “FC” Train-bridge – Lourens Sturgeon The frame of FC No 2310 was used for a pedestrian bridge at Poet's Corner station on the Rossburgh - Pinetown line.1

FC No 2310

Thank you Ashley Peter - HBH

Railway History of South Africa –HBH CGR: 3rd Class: Wynberg Tender No’s 12 - 17

Enlarged diagram

NGR: Altered Dubbs “A”

NGR: Altered Dubbs “A” (Enlarged diagram)

Cape Town Station - What has happened to Blackie? We wish a spokesperson for Transnet will inform our readers about Blackie’s future! Blackie is in “hiding”. We must keep “Blackie” on the agenda.

OVS Staatspoorwegen (OVSS) The Oorlogsmuseum in Bloemfontein has no information on Pres Steyn’s saloon. They only have information on Pres SJP Kruger’s saloon. Please keep youe eyes and ears open for more information on this historic coach! We will keep this important coach on the agenda for a while ...

OVS Staatspoorwegen (OVSS) Crest and Button

Coat of Arms of OFSR, source Souvenier Album of the OFS. Steve Sergeant alias “SA Badgeman” (ex-SAP) now from Scotland sent the above OFSR button he found in the UK.

NZASM

Armoured train & NZASM Loco. Note horse “gangplank”

Anglo Boer War Anglo Boer War? Leon (Div) de Villiers Div wants to know whether these photos were taken during the Anglo Boer War, if so, when and where? © Leon de Villiers Goeiedag Hennie, Hiermee die foto’s vir plasing in Uloliwe, soos per F/B bespreek. Wat ek probeer vasstel is ten eerste of dit wel gedurende die Boereoorlog geneem was en enige verdere inligting wat iemand moontlik met betrekking tot die tydperk en omstandighede (ligging: is dit Boerekrygsgevangenes of slegs gekontrakteerde spoorwerkers ens.) kan gee, sal waardeer word. Die e-pos dien dan ook as toestemming om die aangehegte foto’s in Uloliwe te publiseer. By voorbaat dank, Leon (Div) de Villiers 32

Water Train

Comments by HBH Div showed us some other photo’s which were possibly taken in Ceylon while “Boers” whilst on parole were working on the railway lines. [The Boers – as I know them would not work on railway lines in South Africa – they would rather escape! You would need many Tommies for guard duty! Hired labour would be cheaper.] These photo’s were certainly taken in Southern Africa, my guess is Cape Colony or Rhodesia. My reason: See the Class 7’s. I see no Tommies gaurding the workers. Could this be aken during WW1 when the line from the Cape (via Upington) to GSWA was built in a hurry? See the Water Train. Please let us have your comments.

Anglo Boer War â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Brian Conyngham and Rory Reynolds We are marching to Pretoria

Carriages: Cape Government Railways

We are marching to Tshwane! Agh! I mean Pretoria!

Princess Alice Ambulance Train

Sister Jones

NGR: Stations -

Railway Stations: “Old” Newcastle - Johannes Botha

“New” Newcastle

Not a car in sight!

Irene

“Irene” is the goddess of peace. The farm Irene belonged to Nelmapius and general Smuts bought the farm from him. This Irene railway station has an interesting link with General “Oubaas” Smuts. Communication was limited in the old days and genl Smuts one tasked 49

Lt-Col Trew of the South African Police with a covert action. The first report he had to send to the station master rat Irene who had to inform the Oubaas. The second part of the covert operation he had to send a “wire” to the Station Master at Matjesfontein. When Smuts and the cabinet were on their way to Parliament in to Cape Town, the train stopped at Matjesfontein. Here the SM informed Smuts of the success of the operation. One gathers that the SAR, like the police, also performed non-departemental duties.

Alexandra – Anton van Schalkwyk

SAR: Photo â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1932 Johannesburg municipal buss

SAR: World War 1 SAR in GSWA

SAR: World War 2 -

SAR Traction and Rolling Stock 14859: Nico van der Westhuis

Transnet Chinese locos for SA – J Wepener Breaking news.... SOUTH AFRICA: CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive has won a 2⋅54bn yuan contract to supply dual-voltage electric freight locomotives to Transnet from late 2013, beating eight other domestic and international bidders. The four-axle 3⋅1 MW general freight locomotives will have a top speed of 100 km/h, equipped to work under 3 kV DC and 25 kV 50 Hz electrification. CSR Zhuzhou said the deal announced on September 11 is its first contract to supply electric locomotives to Africa, and one of the largest locomotive export orders to be won by 54

a Chinese firm. The company sees Africa as an important market, especially South Africa where more than 55% of Transnetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2 100 electric locomotives are over 35 years old. The Transnet contract includes local production requirements, with the first locomotives to have 60% South African content. CSR Zhuzhou has invested in the development of 1 067 mm gauge bogies and dual-voltage technology, and sees South Africa as a possible base for supplying customers across southern Africa. It is also seeking to enter the electric multipleunit market.

SA Metro Rail

33-505 with Metro at Fort Jackson 24-09-2012: Nico van der Westhuis

Gautrain

Both sides of the Gautrain Card.

Photo reports Robert Maidment-Wilson

Gea 4016 At Canfer: October 1971. ÂŠ RS Maidment-Wilson

NG 15 No 136 Humewood Rd: August 1981 - © RS Maidment-Wilson

GMA 4072 Franschoek-line nr Groot Drakenstein: May 1989 - © RS Maidment-Wilson

A Class 24 and a 19D on the Barberton line c 1991 - ÂŠ RS Maidment-Wilson

Something different from Robert Maidment-Wilson

14xx tank no 1450 - ÂŠ RS Maidment-Wilson

GWR Auto coach 278 - © RS Maidment-Wilson

Dean Forrest Railway - © RS Maidment-Wilson

1450: 1 Sept 2012 - ÂŠ RS Maidment-Wilson

Natal Midlands - Jacobus Marais -

The Blue Train: Francois Mattheüs (Cape Town)

Francois Mattheüs © Francois Mattheüs - I do believe that all of them have been repainted. They do however each have to go back again for the gold and white stripe to be painted What

beautiful

sight! Wish we were all inside having a KWV and Coke and Ice!![My old General always warned me not to drink KWV & Coke on their Cape farm! They drink it with ice. But I love the

Coke

“Things

because better

with Coke!” [Pic F Mattheüs] © 61

A Mixed Bag â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Lourens Sturgeon

Adrian Hill â&#x20AC;&#x201C; here is another model to make!

Trans-Rail and white SAPS Coach (Travelling charge office & holding cells?)

Noel Welch: E7175 Transnet Swartkops Diesel Depot. jpg

32-042 Outeniqua Tjoe Choo: Robert Adams Hello Mr Heymans, Herewith my pictures of the very last Outeniqua Tjoe Choo arriving from Mossel Bay on the 17th September 2010. As you can see it was hauled by diesel 32-042, and as I stood waiting for it's arrival in George, I was expecting a few more photographers and maybe even a small "farewell" ceremony. But there was nothing like that. The train pulled into the Museum, the passengers disembarked, the loco uncoupled, came back to the sheds, entered the gates, turned off and the crew went home.... That (as they say) was that. I am at least grateful that I have seen what I did on the lines of the Garden Route albeit only for the last 7 years or so, much like many before me I believed I would be able to witness these things for a long time to come. Much like them, I was absolutely wrong. Regards Bob

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Excellent! Thanks!

Green F15 – Adrian Hill Adrian is buiding 15F’ and is looking a Green 15F.

• Please send us your pics of green 15F’s so that we could get the correct green colour! - HBH

Bloemfontein by an Obderver Gents During my visit to the old depot at Bloemfontein I saw a grave yard and total destruction off history As you will see the hammer also went for the yards south to Bloemfontein and for the hump yards..lines ripped up and broken up and what left of a mighty depot that I loved in steam days...trains only go to the West yard and the south departure and hump are non operational and gone...all these lines was next to Bloemfontein loco Kind Regards

Namibia -

Railway People – Spoorwegmense Nico van der Westhuis

Nico with his son Lionel Scott-Andrew (6) – At least they are dressed for the occasion!

Lionel Scott-Andrew at the controls of 7E 7010

Nico van der Westhuis Kom uit ‘n familie wat die spoorweg administasie gedien het: Oor-oupa-grootjie: Johannes Pieter arbeider met bou van hooflyn; later gestasioneer te Kabusie Stasie (CGR); Oupagrootjie: Johannes Frederick; voorman laaimeester O.L. Hawe (CGR – SAS&H); Oupa: Pieter Berend voorman laaimeester O.L. Hawe; Pa: Lionel treindrywer. Gebore te Oos-Londen 1979 Verlaat skool in 1996 te Grens Hoerskool Begin werk by Efekto in 2004 Diploma in Volhoubare Landbou 2009 2012 aangestel as hoof-tegniese beampte – navorsing en ontwikkeling 79

Versameling en bewaring van spoorweg memorabilia Getroud met Valery en ons het twee kinders Lionel Scott-Andrew 6 jaar oud Nico Lionel Jr. 2 jaar oud English synopsis: He says he has steam, coal, fire and grease in his veins. He hails from a family of railwaymen going back to the Cape Government Railways and apparently he is a Shark!

Kyk Spoorwegman, ek skryf en bid vir jou! – Koot Swanepoel

U kan Koot direk kontak by: J.C. Swanepoel koots@telkomsa.net of by 082 041 9123

Water Police -

Previous issues of Uloliwe Here is the link to the July issue of Uloliwe: http://issuu.com/hennieheymans/docs/3_no_7_uloliwe It had 345 “readers” last month. Here is the link to the Aug issue of Uloliwe: http://issuu.com/hennieheymans/docs/3_no_8_uloliwe For previous all previous issues of Uloliwe click on: http://issuu.com/hennieheymans/docs

Rail Humour Book Shelf FOTR Calendar – Nathan Berelowitz Hi Hennie, if you can open this could you publish the calendar advert in the next issue.

I will also

post you a complimentary copy if you send me your postal address please.

Cheers, Nathan

Bruno Martin Greetings Hennie I’ve attached some information and a scan of the cover of a new book that has just been published in Britain titled “Garratts and Kalaharis of the Welsh Highland Railway” by David Payling. If you have a space in the next edition of Uloliwe it could perhaps go under the “new books” section. Attached are also 2 images my son Michael emailed recently when he was in North Wales and had a ride on the Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon to Beddgelert with exSAR NG/G16 #143 in charge. The Welsh Highland Railway owns 2 NG 15s (#133 awaiting overhaul & 134 under 81

restoration) and 4 NG/G16s (87, 138, & 143 in service and 140 awaiting overhaul). I’ll be away for a week at the end of this month – I’m off on another long distance train trip with QR travelling from Brisbane to Longreach in Central Queensland (1310km one way), leaving on the 29 Sep (Sat) on the ‘Spirit of the Outback’, and coming back on Friday, 5 Oct. If maps are needed for the next edition of Uloliwe, please let me know before the end of this week. Groete van huis tot huis. Bruno

Garratts and Kalaharis of the Welsh Highland Railway - David Payling The book describes the history and career in service of each of the eight Garratts and Kalahari NG15 locomotives on the Welsh Highland Railway. It also includes an account of working on the footplate on the Garratts on the Welsh Highland, plus the ongoing efforts of the WHRS Group to restore and make one of the two NG15 engines ready for service on the railway. There are few accounts available of the design origins of these locomotives, built in Britain and Europe for service on railways in the Southern hemisphere. The book draws on the extensive research undertaken at Boston Lodge since the mid-1990s in connection with the making of these engines ready to take their place in the intensive services planned on the Welsh Highland Railway. It therefore traces their origins of their design. It also records their development from early beginnings and includes the work of the individual engines now in North Wales. With Railway Modellers in mind there are also fold-out scale drawings of the locomotives, including the special features carried only on the first batch of NG15s in 1931. The search for information to guide the work of the engineers and fitters at Boston Lodge has led to contact with many in Southern Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom. Profusely illustrated, the book draws on photographic collections of these friends to show the locomotives in action in both the Southern hemisphere and in North Wales. The author, a life-long volunteer on the F&WHR, is part of the team at Boston Lodge working over the last 15 years to assemble the drawings and information to allow the restoration of these locomotives. 82

The book, produced in support of the restoration of NG 15 No.134, is published by The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, Harbour Station, Porthmadog, LL49 9NF, Tel: 01766516034, Web: www.festshop.co.uk, 132pp, 100+ colour and b/w illustrations, hardback, 282mm x 215mm, ISBN 978 0 901848 10 9, ÂŁ25.00 plus p&p.

Road Motor Transport Service [RMT]

South African Airways: New Boeing 797 J Botha

SAA History Historical Aircraft: South African Airways: De Havilland DH104 Dove Johan Jacobs The de Havilland DH 104 Dove was one of a few historical aircraft over the world and the only one in South Africa that was restored and is now magnificently displayed in the South 85

African Airways Museum Societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s display area at Rand Airport in Germiston. SAA was given the opportunity to buy the scrapped aircraft and it was restored by the SAA Apprentice School. The de Havilland DH 104 Dove was de Havillandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first post-war production aircraft and was developed to replace the de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide. Development began in 1944 and the aircraft was of all metal construction with a semi-monocoque fuselage structure covered with a stressed aluminium skin. It was the first British transport aircraft with tricycle landing gear. Two supercharged 330 hp de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70-3 engines with three blade, DH Hydromantic fully feathering and reversible propellers were mounted on the low-set, metal covered cantilever wings. Seating was initially provided for eight passengers. Two cockpit crew sat in the distinctly de Havilland raised cockpit. The prototype (G-AGPJ) made its first flight at Hatfield airfield, Hertfordshire on September 25, 1945. Technical data for de Havilland Dove 1 Wingspan Length Height Weight empty Weight loaded Maximum speed Cruise speed Ceiling Range Engines

Crew Passengers

17.37 metres / 57 ft 12 metres / 39 ft 3 in 4.08 metres / 13 ft 4 in 2,562 kg / 5,650 lbs 3,855 kg / 8,500 lbs 340 kph / 201 mph 265 kph / 165 mph 6,960 metres / 20,000 feet 1,609 km / 1,000 miles 2 x de Havilland Gipsy Queen 70-3, inverted 6 cylinder, aircooled in-line producing 246 KW 330 HP driving de Havilland Hydromantic 3 bladed reversible pitch propellers. 2 8

Production of the Dove, including the RAF version known as the Devon and the Royal Navy aircraft as the Sea Devon, totalled 544 aircraft, including the two prototypes, and 86

continued until 1967, the last delivered as late as 1970. By this time the aircraft was a product of Hawker Siddeley. The type saw widespread service, examples being sold to over 15 countries for both civil and military use. After World War 2, the sole responsibility of providing air transportation in South Africa was vested in SA Airways. The Minister of Transport at the time, F.C. Sturrock, instructed that SA Airways evaluate all available aircraft types for use on feeder or secondary routes. After much consideration, the DH Dove was found to be the type best suited to the airline’s needs. South African Airways purchased two of these eight-seat British-built aircraft for use on the proposed feeder services in South Africa. Two aircraft ZS-BCB ‘Naval Hill’ (04009) and ZS-BCC ‘Katberg’ (04079) were acquired in November 1946 and December 1947 respectively.

ZS-BCC ‘Katberg’ ZS-BCC was originally ordered by Skyways Ltd. as G-AJOU on 17 April 1947, but was subsequently sold to SA Airways for £18352. After a test flight on 25 November 1947, it was handed over on the 28th. The aircraft left London on 5 December 1947, and during the 87

extended delivery flight, called at Paris. Dijon, Geneva, Rome, Malta, Tripoli, El Adam, Wadi Halfa,’ Khartoum, Juba, Kisumu, Tabora, Ndola and Salisbury en route to Palmietfontein, where it arrived on 14 December 1947. It operated its first service from Palmietfontein on 8 March 1948, to Windhoek, via Kimberley, Upington, Karasburg and Keetmanshoop. Former Chief Executive Jim Adam remembers that the aircraft was also used on VIP flights, transporting the then Chief Airways Manager, General Venter, and other senior officers, as well as for urgent missions. Utilisation was, however, very low and when ZS-BCC operated its last service from Lourenço Marques to Palmietfontein on 30 October 1951, it had only 307 hours ‘on the clock’. It was sold for £18000 to Northern Rhodesia Air Services on 31 January 1952, and departed on 18 March 1952, it was registered VP-RCL. The registration was later changed to VP-YLX while still with NRAS. Although some sources show that the aircraft also belonged to Anglo-American and the South African DCA (Department of Civil Aviation) at one time. It was again sold and became 9J-RHX on 15 February 1968, with Mines Air Services. After a brief stay with MAS the Dove was exported to Fairey Surveys at White Waltham west of London and registered G-AWFM on 24 April 1968. The Dove was sold to Fairflight, a charter airline operating out of Biggin Hill, and was used as a source of spares. With the help of the late Alan Bell, Hawker Siddeley made a donation of £500 for the purchase of the remains of the Dove. On 27 March 1968, it was acquired by Fairey Surveys as G-AWFM (7145 hours), and modified for use in photographic surveys. There is a large camera hatch in the aft cabin and the cockpit top is also non-standard. The aircraft flew with SA Airways as a series 1 but was subsequently modified through a series 2 to a series 6, the main changes being increased weights and higher speeds. During its time with Fairey’s, G-AWFM’s logbook shows such destinations as Ajaccio, Tripoli and Jeddah, whilst its home base was White Waltham airfield near Maidenhead, Berkshire. The aircraft was bought by Fairflight Charters in June 1975, and ferried to Biggin Mill on 11 June. This was to be its last flight, having completed 9518 total airframe hours. The availability of the aircraft came to notice at this time, and enquiries were made regarding possible purchase. The expected price of £3000 was clearly too high, and gradually the aircraft was stripped of usable parts. In January 1976 it was finally withdrawn from service and parked in the open.

ZS-BCC as G-AWFM at Biggin Hill on 15th August 1977. Photo: Chris England The aircraft was then offered to SA Airways, and it was acquired as mentioned earlier. Hawker Siddeley Aviation’s involvement stems from the fact that de Havilland Aircraft, the aircraft’s original manufacturer, became part of Hawker Siddeley during the 1960s. Transportation to South Africa was the next hurdle to be overcome. Shipment by sea was the obvious solution but preparation and crating charges proved prohibitive. Shipment by air was next looked at but approaches to Tradewinds (CL-44 swing tail freighter) and Lufthansa (B747F) were unfortunately unsuccessful. The only alternative was the dismantling of the Dove for it to be accommodated in ‘conventional’ aircraft. Preparations were made, manuals consulted and every conceivable item of tooling that would be required, collected. On 12 February 1979, the first sections (or at least parts of it) arrived back in South Africa, in the cargo hold of an SAA B747 some 27 years after leaving these shores. Restoration was started by the SAA apprentice school. The de Havilland Dove aircraft (G-AWFM) which saw service with South African Airways as ZS-BCC, was brought back to Johannesburg with the help of generous donations by Hawker Siddeley Aviation (now part of British Aerospace), Dunlop and Goodyear.

At 02h00 on Monday, 16 October 1978, Johann Prozesky, Koos Coetzee, Roger Overton and Joe Schlebusch arrived at Heathrow after a not uneventful flight by British Airways. Upon arrival at Biggin Hill, it was found that G-AWFM had literally and figuratively been put to pasture, with deflated main wheel tyres and weighted low down with concrete blocks. To everybody’s surprise these tyres inflated easily after 30 months in the open, and the Dove was pulled onto hardstand. The aircraft had suffered considerable damage, apparently at the hands of youngsters attending the annual Biggin Hill Air Fair. As the nose wheel was missing, the aircraft would have to be towed tail first, and the rudder and horizontal stabilizer were removed. The first objective was to separate the cockpit and fuselage at a production join forward of the main plane, and this was achieved by Tuesday lunchtime. Initially the recovery team was very conscious of the obvious amusement it was affording the Biggin locals, but as time went by and work progressed, this feeling changed to one of admiration. The occasional visitor also stopped by to enquire about the project. The tail section presented no real problem except for a sizeable rodent’s nest that had to be removed. The separation of the port main plane initially had everybody guessing, until it was realised that G-AWFM differed from the manual, in that the wing bolt and washer were integral instead of separate. Thereafter progress was steady, and the remainder of Wednesday was spent in removing as many unwanted bits and pieces as possible (to reduce mass). Two other Doves are lying derelict at Biggin Hill, and permission was obtained for the recovery of items required for ‘AWFM’. On Thursday afternoon, a 40-foot container truck arrived, and within an hour, everything was on board, this had to be done manually. The route took them through London to Salisbury Hall. This stately house was used during the Second World War for the design and construction of the prototype Mosquito, Salisbury Hall is off the A6 road between Barnet and London. Here the bits and pieces of the Dove were stored, whilst deliberations were underway to find the most convenient way of shipping it by air. SA Airways’ scheduled cargo service only goes as far as Paris and ground transportation would be costly. Luxavia were thinking of having maintenance work done on LX-LGT (ex ZS-SAF) in Johannesburg, but later changed their minds, and Lufthansa initially thought that they would have spare freight capacity on their new 747 SCDs over the Christmas period, but for various reasons allpassenger aircraft were used, and that was that.

South African Airways freight man in London, Barry Soper, had been convinced that he could move everything bit by bit on a space available basis, provided they were positioned closer to Heathrow. On 9 February 1979, Dave Ackerman, Carel Gronum John Ikking and Johann Prozesky arrived at Salisbury Hall to separate the outer wing sections from the inner and to split the centre fuselage section into two. Working in the open under freezing and windy conditions was decidedly unpleasant, but being invited for tea in the 500 year old house (surrounded by a moat dating back to Norman times), proved to be ample compensation. Even now John Ikking finds it hard to believe that the ducks and the solitary swan managed to walk on the frozen areas of the moat, ‘barefoot’! The various bits and pieces were again manhandled into a truck, and G-AWFM then set off on its penultimate journey, to Heathrow by road. By 14h00 on Saturday 10 February 1979, it was stored at British Airways’ Heathrow Cargo Centre having been off-loaded in record time (with the help of two fork-lift units).The redelivery flight was on B747 ZS-SAM, with stops at Paris and Lisbon, and was re-assembled in the apprentice training hangar by a new generation of Airways personnel, the majority of who were born after the aircraft had left South Africa on being sold by SA Airways. The Dove was expertly restored and moved to the SAA Museum Society at Rand Airport for static display.

James Engels left and Keith Lennard with rotten control surfaces. Photo: Des Pinard

Busy with restoration. Photo: Des Pinard

Des Pinard tackles a stubborn propeller. Photo: Des Pinard

Photo: SAA Museum Society

The aircraft is now part of the SAA Museum Society collection at Rand Airport and wears post war livery. References: â&#x20AC;˘ SAA Museum Society â&#x20AC;˘ Wikepidia

Harbours East London Grain Elevator - Nico van der Westhuis

Catering Division: Dinner R1-25

Railway Police – The Demise – Question by Charlie Lewis

Thanks Hennie, /.........../ I really look forward to hearing your take on the demise of the railway police. For me that was a pivotal turning point in the fortunes of our railway - it led directly to the abandonment of wagonload traffic. Regards, Charlie Lewis

Reply to Charlie Lewis If I had to appear before a firing squad about this matter, I would not say: “Should a write or type it?” I will say: “Here is my typed version!” (Remember this is from memory!) During the 1980’s I was a SAP Staff Officer attached to the Secretariate of the State Security Council (SSSC) in the Branch: National Strategy. The work was very interesting because everything affecting our national security went past (or over?) our desks. We formulated national (and departmental) strategies and we “monitored” the progress of these strategies. We were also well informed by attending various intelligence meetings, preparing the staff work for the Work Committee (WC) of the State Security Council (SSC). They approved or amended our work and a week or two later the SSC sat in full session under chairmanship of the State President, Mr PW Botha. Here the staff work in draft form was laid before the SSC for decision.

There was a multi-directional onslaught against the policies of the National Party. The Security Forces bore the brunt of the onslaught 24 hrs a day. There were thousands of attacks on schools, busses, trains, railway property, beer halls, police stations and everything that represented the government or local government. The “Trojan Horse”-incident was the trigger of the demise of the railway police. A Railway delivery truck was attacked and SARP’s were in hiding on the back of the truck. When the SAR truck was attacked the SARP jumped up and attacked the mob of thieves and those who wanted to plunder the truck of its contents. [Milk Lorries, Beer Lorries and Bread Lorries et al suffered the same fate. All was done to make the country ungovernable.] There was a huge international outcry after the Trojan Horse-incident. SSC was afraid that our international flights and shipping could be affected if unions co-operated internationally and boycotted our ships and aircraft in foreign countries. (The role of the unfriendly media during the revolutionary onslaught was worth more than 1000’s of armed freedom fighters!) At the same time the fiscus was also in trouble! (Dr Kobus Loubscher, GM – SAR, warned PW Botha that Mozambique should not be attacked – he pointed to the Maputo harbour and its proximity to the Rand and said it was unwise to “open” a front on the East.) The SSC then decided to pre-empt the whole issue by combining the SARP with the SA Police. I remember two things: 1. I had to draw up a policy: Oom PW felt that there would only be one law enforcement agency in South Africa (I remember the policy was called:

Rasionalisasie van Wets-

toepassingsagentskappe in Suid-Afrika) and that would be the SA Police. From a licence inspector and a municipal policeman upwards, all would fall under the police.) 2. Then a decision was taken at the SSC that the SAR Police (and later the Municipal Police of the bankrupt Black municipalities) would be merged with the police. 3. I was the chappie who wrote the formal letter informing the Commissioners of the SA Police, Railways Police and the GM of the SAR that in terms of a resolution taken at the SSC the SAPR would be merged with the SA Police.

I wrote that letter against my better judgement; The SA Police do not have specific clients – only the whole of South Africa at large! The SARP were dedicated to the SAR and not only performed pure police duties but also performed various departmental duties in the interest of the SAR. The SAP would not do those duties. The other day I read an article (of that time) by a SAP General of the Inspectorate lauding the step and he said it would lead to better policing! (Which I knew was bolly at the time when it was published!) The Commissioner of the SARP did not want to move to Pretoria. He was in charge of the Branch: Transport Policing. He stayed in Johannesburg until he retired while his deputies came over to Pretoria. Slowly the old railway police functions and their police stations fell apart and e.g. in Pretoria the SARP Station was called Jacaranda. It was closed and merged with Pretoria Central SAP station. Immediately it became very dangerous to visit the area south of the station where the old NASM offices were. A rail fan was robbed on the bridge and the rot sent in. Mini-containers of e.g. Foschini’s were plundered and more and more SAR clients went over to road haulage. When the riots in Soweto went sky high: We had feuds between the taxi’s operators involving the SAR Metro and busses. We had over 500 SA policemen (not weathered old SARP men) doing duty on the trains. I found that the old SARP knew his commuters and they knew him! And he knew his beat – i.e. the trains! When the SAP came we did not have the intimate knowledge (corporate memory) of the SARP. The same applies to our airports and the harbours – in days of old we had a dual system police & railway police at harbours and airports. The result was: Even the SAP and the SADF had to start their own internal national transport service! How do you get 50 rounds of ammunition in a little packet to, say Wintersnest? How do you deliver police stores to more than 1000 stations? The Police Quartermaster could no longer used the SAR and large trucks were bought to do deliveries country wide! No more SAR and RMT service. We had a SAP address book and as far as the SAR was concerned each police station had a “passenger” and a “goods” address. You had to know how to make out a route form when a policeman had to travel officially or if stores or exhibits had to be sent by rail, what the goods address was! A last point on the police and the railways: I was also a police clerk for six months and had to make out and issue Rail Warrants, amongst my other duties. The danger was, if you 96

made an error and sent a Constable by “first class” you had to pay the difference! He had to travel 2nd Class with his own (police) blankets. He was issued with balnkets two on joining. In the 1980’s all class distinction fell away – then everybody travelled 1st Class, got bedding and meals. From my novice point of view on the SAR: Automation (signalling) did away with station masters and station foremen. Small railway stations closed and the railways pined. Keeping stations open could have made the SARP a luxury to afford. They could have made the SARP “meaner and leaner” and they could have transferred many of their “surplus” men over to the SA Police. However during the days of sabotage and terrorism we had SARP-men (Special Branch) detached to the SAP’s Special Branch – they knew the harbours, airports and railways!)

Railways: Tourism, Steam, Preservation, Societies & Clubs Rovos Rail

In reply from a question from Les Pivnic: This happened when Rovos Rail and Blue Train coaches had their wheels replaced. It was not a revenue earning trip.

Rovos

RRL Grindrod: John Batwell Having seen your Sept. issue, I am submitting this story on my visit to RRL for your October mag. If you want some alternative photos to the ones in the September issue, let me know, regards now and so glad by the way you got Richard Clatworthy on board re. Rhodesian memories. You might like to ask Richard for his detailed series on ex-CMEs of the SAR to run in the journal in time to come. John and Pam Batwell

RRL Grindrod tracks through Africa: John Batwell reports on a visit to thisBEE railwaycompany in Pretoria…….. Inthe September edition of Uloliwe, photos were carried of RRL Grindrod’s work in the African rail context as well as the company supplying interesting motive power for Rovos Rail’s Dar es Salaam trains in latter months – CFCO unit No. 1103 and also two of the Australian-acquired class 26 locomotives (ex-Nos. 2606/11). One can only describe the directors and staff of RRL Grindrod as passionate and enthusiastic about their company. RRL and Grindrod married some three years back – it is a 50% black-owned joint venture between Solethu Investments and Grindrod, the latter having previously been in bed with another private South African rail operation, Sheltam. The company, with a staff complement today of 300, started out as a parts’ business before going into the motive power business. Today, as a leasing company, RRL Grindrod has a fleet of some seventy locomotives. The RRL Grindrod label or brand, so to speak, is seen in Mozambique, the Congo Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Tanzania over and above its rail service to seven mining companies in South Africa. The business provides besides motive power leasing, rail operations, shunting, rolling stock maintenance services, rebuilding, and track maintenance through its subsidiary Racec. The company‘s loco fleet comprises a number of former Transnet Freight Rail classes of diesel units – the classes embrace 31, 33, 34, 35, 36 and re-gauged class 91 locomotives. The latest acquisitions to arrive during July at the Pretoria West plant were a combination of diesel and electric locomotives from Queensland National Railroad in Australia. Shipped out from Brisbane to Durban, these locomotives have already found new operating grounds once they have been reviewed mechanically by RRL’s staff. There are three 25kV electric locomotives earmarked for use on the nearly sixty-year-old electrified section in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Built by Comeng/Hitachi, the three locomotives look ostensibly “has-beens”, but they are mechanically sound and will see more service. They are similar in performance to Transnet Freight Rail’s class 7E. The diesel-electric units from Australia are six General Electric class 26 locos – of 2 600hp fitted with the ever-reliant 7FDL-12 power unit, this batch of units was refurbished just over a decade ago by Goninan, Townsville. They are designated C22-MMi 2000/2002. Some of these locomotives were transferred to Pretoria under their own power via the Swaziland Railway system as Transnet Freight Rail put up a barrier to diesel traction passing through tunnels on the 100

main Natal corridor (Natcor). Furthermore, the Queensland locos’ couplers are 770 mm from rail, whereas South Africa’s couplers are 855 mm. Ten class 1720 Clyde GL18C type units from Australia - which last ran in 1995 - are at RRL Grindrod and are mechanically still in good order. They will go ultimately to the DRC as well. During the visit,one of the ex-Australian class 26 locos was undergoing repainting in RRL Grindrod’s red colour scheme. Four of the class 26 imports are headed off to Mozambique to Brazilian mining giant Vale for use on the Sena line. The mining group did deploy initially some of its own motive power to the Tete coal-fields but the locos have not proven as good as had been hoped in service in Mozambique – they are too heavy. A second mining group in Mozambique, Rio Tinto, is moving coal out of the Moatize district to Beira harbour and RRL Grindrod has secured a maintenance contract in Beira for its fleet of locomotives and 200 wagons. Its 15 locos, an EMD-derivative, were supplied by the USbased National Railway Equipment Company’s (NREC) Croatian assembly plant, TZV Gredelj. RRL Grindrodchooses to specialise specifically in three power packs – General Electric, EMD and Caterpillar and can put out motive power within a 2 000 – 4 000 hp platform. A new contract in the offing is to rebuild a batch of class 64/65Henschel type diesel units for Tanzania’s state railway. The generic rebuild will be undertaken in the Pretoria West workshops and then kits will be sent out to this east African country. The building of the generic at RRL Grindrod will facilitate skills transfer to Tanzanian rail personnel. To the present builds – RRL Grindrod is euphoric at having secured a run-on order of fourteen 3 000hp diesel locomotives for Sierra Leone. The original order comprised twenty locos of type S30SCC. The background to this initial deal for motive power – Standard Bank South Africa has entered into two five-year loan deals totally $130 million, which is helping boost Sierra Leone’s economy. It has backed African Minerals Limited’s (AML) development of the first phase of the Tonkolili iron ore project to export ore to China. The first loan was to RRL Grindrod to supply 20 locomotives on lease to AML and insured by the Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC) of South Africa. The S30SCC units under assembly in Pretoria are to work on a 200km rail link from Tonkolili district to the port of Pepel. Three to four of the locomotives can be lashed together in ore haulage. Sierra Leone becomes the third African country to produce significant volumes of iron ore after South Africa and Mauritania. In building these powerful locomotives, RRL Grindrod has, under its roof, six assembly stations. The underframes are built internally. The locos’ cabs and hoods are contracted out. Atchison bogies are being fitted. Assembly is a twelve-week process in all. Besides the 101

Sierra Leone contract, the 3 000hp locos have also appealed to local mining companies and one has been built already for Assmang and a second for Kumba Iron Ore. Meanwhile, Vale in Mozambique has expressed an interest in three of these units for coal haulage. CFCO, the Congo Ocean Railways, linking Pointe Noire with Brazzaville in the Congo Republic, was about to take delivery of the last two of a batch of four single-cab locomotives which have been fitted with EMD 645 E3B engines and frames to meet an 18,5 ton axle load. Rebuilds are undertaken by the company, but these are expensive and do necessitate the right man-power. RRL Grindrod is fortunate to have on board staff who has gained this experience in other South African rail companies, but it also aware of the need to empower new people and to this end it has developed its own training programme. One of the four locomotive rebuilds for Richards Bay Coal Terminal was on site for maintenance. A CFM GECT/Alsthom-built AD26C loco was being re-engined with a 3 000hp power unit as an experiment and forerunner to looking at securing the remaining set-aside fleet in neighbouringMozambique. On the local mining front, RRL Grindrod is very excited about its prototype R7I (Integrated) shunting locomotive. With a R7m, 700hp Caterpillar-engine fitted, two of these dinky low-profile locos were seen on the assembly floor. They have three individual wheelsets opposed to bogies and can be crewed or remote controloperated. RRL Grindrod envisages a market for 400 or so of these little shunt locos. Underground locos feature too in the company’s diverse tasks. Goodman mine locos were undergoing adaptation and a micro-turbine small mine loco for Zambia’s Copperbelt was observed on the floor. As mentioned, RRL Grindrod works with Racec in track maintenance contracts. To this end the workshops took Transnet Freight Rail’s AY-wagon type, which is a ballast wagon, and designed sixteen such units of its own which can be transported to the particular maintenance site by road. All in all, RRL Grindrod represents an exciting, vibrant, home-grown rail company which is not only proving essential to rail growth and development within South Africa’s borders but is well on track with its state-of-the-art work for other rail expansion, development and progress along the length and breadth of the African continent.

Atlantic Rail Cape Town Contact Tel: (021) 556-1012 or info@atlanticrail.co.za or visit their website at www.atlanticrail.co.za

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Cape Town - Simonstown: Adrian Hill

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Rhodesia Railways, National Railways of Zimbabwe – J Batwell

  Early morning departure Down Line to Dete from Thomson – class 15 No. 400 works hard with its coal drag, winter 1992. Photo: J M Batwell Photo: J M Batwell ction with empties for Hwange Colliery, 1990. Photo: J M Batwell

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 The north side of the country’s only tunnel – class 15 No. 410 rolls Up Line towards Thomson Junction with empties for Hwange Colliery, 1990. Photo: J M Batwell

105

ď&#x201A;ˇ Diesel traction twenty years apart â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on the left an English Electric DE 3 of 1962 vintage and on the right one of the GM DE 10A units delivered from 1982; Thomson Junction, 1991. Photo: J M Batwell

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Zim - South Line 1992

 Emerging from behind the rocks – a class 15 heads a goods train southbound out of Leighwoods bound for Plumtree, winter 1992 – Photo: J M Batwell

RR Memorial: Bulawayo

Memories: Bosveld Train Safaris – HBH Railway Society of Southern Africa Natal – A Peter RAILWAY SOCIETY OF SOUTHERN AFRICA NATAL

Founded 1960

P. O. BOX/POSBUS 33202, MONTCLAIR, 4061

SPOORWEGVERENIGING VAN SUIDELIKE AFRIKA NATAL

Dear Ashley Peter – thanks for the Natal Newsletter - HBH 107

Reefsteamers:– Lee Gates Shunting out the no.1 road

S01 – When the magical melody of the dual tea horns blow, a really smart shunting driver parks his kettle closest as to where the other kettle happens to be, in this case, opposite the cloak rooms more or less in line with No.3046’s cab.

S02 – Here’s the view of the big coal-fired kettle waiting outside the windowed domain of the small gas-fired kettle. This cloak room area is going to be opened up soon, when we start disposing of derelict and unused storage lockers.

S03 – 15F ‘J9’ falls foul of that unwritten Reefsteamers law, that tea breaks are not finished until the rusks are down to the crumbs and orphaned bits of muesli. She is still regal here, but as you can see, is starting to get a tab impatient!

S04 – 15F No.3046 pulls out a rake of coaches. Although most of the load is moving upgrade, the loco is actually starting a mild downer. Note that she isn’t in full reverse gear, according to the position of the canted radius rod. 108

S05 – Viewed in the space between the Shedman’s Office and the Forge House, 15F No.3046 pushes into the crossover and into the running shed’s bypass track. The plate leaning on the press is a coach’s battery bay cover.

S06 – The coach with acne is the ‘Sandstone Sleeper’, and the white-heads are paint applied over the recently welded patches. Once the No.1 road is cleared out and its tracks serviced, the body work will recommence on this coach.

S07 – A rather shabby looking 15F No.3135, the so called ‘Springs F,’ is out in daylight (Albeit cloudy) while the coaches retreat. At the moment, ‘Shunt’ the Smudger is a bit distracted by an car train passing by on the high irons.

S08 – Nothing quite like a ride in the tender during a shunt! Fireman Victor is doing OK with 1100kPa on the dial and glasses at ¾. Note the surviving diesel supply pipes on the columns, as well as the hexagonal 4kph speed limit sign.

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S09 – Another tender shot chugging downhill and having safely ducked the water tower’s spout and the soggy sock. Note that the ‘Hangin’ Tree’ has already started to busily bud out, in firm be-leaf that summer is finally on the way.

S10 – Salt n’ Pepper commin’ right at ya! Two vertical boilers for the steam cranes head in for some welcome cover. This is Rnng. Shed Road No.2, one of the 2 tracks assigned to diesels, and you can clearly see how the rails were raised to provide clearance under traction motors.

S11 – Poor old 15F No.3016 ‘Gerda’ is pulled out. She has No.2914’s firebox problem twice over. She is unlikely to run again until we get Hott-Nutt’s 15F 2914 and Dave Shepherd’s 15F 3052 ‘Avril’ running again. Then we’d rather get the 12AR, then 15CA, then 12R back in steam.

S12 – Shunter Smudge is watching for the rear bogie to clear the points blades without having the train go too far down the eastern grade. Fireman Victor did NOT have the injector on with the water rising in the glasses with the downhill cant – that’s just the steam leaking on a cool day. 110

S13 – Just to freak out our overseas friends with their boring 4ft 8½ inch gauge sledgeirons, how’s this for a classic Cape Gauge overhang shot? Notice the point blade stretchers are painted white. The theory is that it makes it easy to see if they have broken or have been removed.

S14 – Class 15F No.3016 ‘Gerda’ trundles gloomily back to bed after a brief sojourn under a grey sky. This locomotive was deliberately stripped by us. Many of her parts were used to get No.3046 ‘Janine’ going, and the leftovers were systematically removed and locked away from theft.

S15 – Putting 15F No.3016, the PepperPotted DZ and Uncle Wilfred’s water bottle away would be the last move. Everyone had had enough. The fellows in the background checked the tracks, scotches, handbrakes and the like.

S16 – Although looking pretty knackered, 15F No.3135 is known to have a fairly good boiler and could be a candidate for future restoration, once we get some smaller engines running. We were using the coaches as handles to reach into those sidings and spread the weight out a bit, rather than have two heavy locomotives 111

coupled together

S17 – Right, we’re done. Time to roll the cracked old anvil off the yard rails and put her away for the week. Bit of an improvement over the previous picture, don’t you think?

S18 – Wearing a crown of leaves, like the Roman Senators of old, Class No.3046 ’Janine’ undergoes a still-early fire dumping. The unblown and Victorized fire was only gust a little thick from a whole day on the shunt, but it was basically just lots of ash with just a bit of kibble.

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15F Cab Scenes

C01 – Hott-Nutts Hoddi sees to it that the Depot Joker gets ‘punked.’ The heat rising from Oom Attie de Hekke’s cranium is being used to dry out some used cotton waste. Attie is drawing ‘release’ vacuum to get the brakes off.

C02 – Oom Attie passes James Thomson (To be precise, ‘Thomson’ without a ‘p’, as in Venezuela), who is just about to start blowing sarcastic kisses at the cab. The two hack playfully at each other all the time, but they are good mates.

C03 – For training and coal economy, the Mini-Mienie was restricted to hand firing, which he thoroughly enjoyed. But he didn’t bother to trim the coal down for easier reaching. I took pity on him and trimmed some coal after this photo.

C04 – We have two preteen youngsters as regular visitors but both are notoriosly camera shy. I successfully caught Gabriel Blore (Step-son of Smudge) in an unguarded moment and also not sending messages on his cell phone! 113

C05 – A more general view of a rather sooty 15F cab. You can see the effects of a blowerless ‘opsteek’ in two sooty updraft streaks on the regulator cross-shaft, the blackened stoker jet gauge and a nicely blackened lubricator.

C06 – A new charge of coal has taken up nicely, visible through the inspection ports on the spreader table’s atrium. There is often a bolt placed in one of these to temporarily change the spread without having to adjust the steam jets.

Lights for coach No.25073: (‘Dusty’ the SEMUMA coach.) All pictures in this section were by Aidan McCarthy.

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L01 – Something to do on a cold, rainy, totally miz day – get under cover with some friends and work together to fix up some passenger coach lights. The coach gang roped in extra volunteers and eventually a production line was set up to do the entire coach in one session.

L02 – Here are the new lights hooked up and all glowing with pride on a test run. They do, admittedly, look rather bare here, but the trapezoid intermediate channels (that hold the translucent diffusers and originally hid the ballasts) are not yet in place.

L03 – This project involved a removal and

L04 – A close up of one of the fittings. The 115

total strip-down of all the old luminary bases and mounting of entirely new fittings, connectors and hardware. Alan and Gordon had to electrically trace the original wires and in classic Union Carriage and Wagon fashion, the wires were all the same colour! (Yellow) Some of those base plates have rusted and need to either be buffed up or painted to provide decent reflectors. Seen in the photo from left to right, Josh Wood, Jeremy Wood,. Alan Lawton, Johan Breydenbach and Robert Cousins. New member, Lucas, was not in the picture.

14W flourescents run with integrated inverters and thus do not require external starters and ballasts. We have found that even the inherently more rugged 220V ballasts and starting gear fitted to the other coaches tend to be a bit unreliable in the rigours of railway service. The original 110V gear running from DC-AC inverter sets, is even worse after several decades of use. (We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use them anymore.) These tubes are fitted on an experimental basis and were organized by Cousin Rob. If they prove reliable, or easy to swap out, when â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dustyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is in revenue-earning work, we will gradually start converting the other coach light fittings to this technology when they come in for their service.

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Around the depot

T01 – You can slap our mothers and kick our puppies, and get away with it – but don’t you DARE stop us from having tea! A substation cable that was hacked in an attempted theft meant we had to have our tea fired by gas today.

T02 – Oom Attie supervises Coenie as he makes tea with individual baggies instead of using the pot! It is traditionally the younger greasers and stokers who get the tea duty, but yours truly, as the camera man, often gets ‘bagged’ as well.

T03 – Three portly gentlemen pose in the forge. A remarkable thing about being active in steam preservation is that it brings people together from all different walks of life – such as these friendly fellows who each have very different lifestyles, challenges, memories and skill-sets.

T04 – A classic Reefsteamers gravel-hound piccie. This scrofulous mutt is snoozing away quite happily in spite of a nearby generator van roaring away, and shunting going on in the yard. Notice, as an added touch and totally unposed, the large chunk of coal parked right in front of the sniffer. 117

M05 – Some of the money collected from the recent Open Day is being put to good work. This is just a part of the extensive trench work that has just been dug to insert a new, underground and properly specified water main! By the time you read this, pipework will have been installed.

M06 – Never mind the shunting, what about the herd of wild toolboxes a-roaming free on the range? The guilty parties were Lawton, Bennett and McCarthy. The fourth toolbox was found with ‘liberated’ RS tools which were set out for pick-up at the fence, presumably by a former staff member.

T07 – Taking after his Granddad le Roux, young Victor settles down, lights up his ‘twak’ and sneaks a few puffs on his pipe after tea. Little did the poor little sod know then that would be his last smoke break for the day and he would later have to be content with coal fumes.

T08 – And this is the reason why! A certain ‘ou stoute’ of a ‘spoorie’ decided to shred some squished tea bags and add some Ceylon Herb to Victor’s tobacco to make for a unique smoke! I was wondering if I could read Attie’s future in those leaves, or does that only work in the bottom of a cup? 118

T09 – The tea trolley and a pair of coasters. These are surprisingly useful around the yard. The middle coaster is actually a manpowered pump wagon sans the lever and ratchet. However, it still has the reduction and axle gears.

T10 – A pair of newly-revealed coupling rod knuckles – dumped aside and long-hidden on the normally occupied siding. Note the sharp profile between the pin boss and the tongue – not great engineering but seems to have worked!

T11 – The same components on 15F No.3135 – hangin’ a bit loose without the bronze bushings. A loco being shunted like this makes a metallic gritty hissing sound. This coupling rod was still attached to the other wheels though, so no danger of it dropping off from the shunt!

T12 – No matter how many times you look, there is always something new to notice on our Big Bessies. Check out the conical finial capping the mounting bolt for the RHS Sellar’s valve on 15F No.3046. The scruffy braided ‘hose’ in the front is the signal cable for the speedometer

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T13 – The axle packing project of a few weeks ago, now seen in daylight. There is still a fourth axle (and two front bogie axles) on a service track within the Running Shed. The area behind is the old sand bunker, although we draw our traction sand from a pile of white builder’s sand stored and kept dry within the covered Forge House.

T14 – Quite an amazing vintage bogie suspension with a pair of opposing semielliptic leaf springs as a rather bouncy secondary and (hidden) coil springs as a primary suspension on the bolsters. The guys are collecting coach stats on FaceBook and this is a Type E13 2nd Class mainline coach built in 1936.

T15 – Gormet or Gourmands? An early evening braai before an evening slide slow. (Slow, as the slides weren’t working!) A freshly scrubbed and changed Mini-Mienie is now a fireman of a different kind, opening up the LPG gas.

T16 – Whoa! Ease up on the stoking there dude! Actually, this braai was more of a meat warmer. We achieved more cooking on the fat-flares than we did on the gas jets! But the braai is usually quite cooperative in the expert hands of Johann Coetzee! 120

T17 – The Staff and Baggage van, type GD-1 and one of only 20 made and the only one currently serving in preservation, stands duty in the coal dock as a stand-by generator for the 15M shops.

T18 – Nestled amongst the coal. The main electrical cable turned out to have been hacked with a pick axe and not actually stolen. It has since been replaced and encased in concrete. So, the lights are back on again!

This Depot Report was compiled by Mr. Lee D. Gates on behalf of Reefsteamers Association NPC. For observations, corrections and suggestions – email me at documenter@reefsteamers.com

Contact details Postal Address : P.O. Box 1736, Germiston 1400 Depot Phone = 4363

(011) 025-

MOTIVATION : The Reefsteamers Depot Reports and associated Photo Essays COPYRIGHT : This document may be freely distributed as it is. The contact details and copyright notice must remain intact. This document is not to be sold. This document is not to be included in whole or in part in any other media, 121

Depot Mobile = 083 651 5424 (Attie de Necker) Enquiries = chairman@reefsteamers.com

whether optical, laser disk, flash, magnetic, printed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including forums, websites and newsletters, without the prior permission of the Author or that of the Board of Directors of Reefsteamers Association NPC. INFORMAL PUBLICATION CONDITIONS :

Bookings and Marketing : Bookings : bookings@reefsteamers.com Marketing : marketing@reefsteamers.com

As I have a full time job, as well as being active at the Reefsteamers Depot, I cannot and will not make promises concerning the timing of releases. Reefsteamers Association NPC will not accept accountability for regular releases and website updates of this material.

Reefsteamers Web Master : webmaster@reefsteamers.com Reefsteamers Web Site : www.reefsteamers.com Reefsteamer Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/grou ps/reefsteamers/

Owners of locomotive(s), rolling stock, equipment and machinery will be given material for reports and photographs by me upon request and not necessarily through a Depot Report or a Photo Essay. DISCLAIMER : The views and comments contained herein are my own views and observations, and are not necessarily those held by Reefsteamers Association NPC. Due to the nature of this type of work, Reefsteamers Association NPC will not accept responsibility for loss, damage or misinformation due to the contents of Depot Reports, Photo Essays or other related Articles. Information included here is verified on a best-effort basis.

Umgeni Steam Railway: GMAM 4074 Contact Mr. Rob McGregor at Tel: 031-303 3003; 082-353 6003 or 087-808 7715 or robbie@umgenisteamrailway.co.za or visit their website at www.umgenisteamrailway.co.za

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Paton’s Country Railway Patons Country Railway: Annual Aloe Train Trips -

Umgeni Steam Railway - Ashley Peter -

Friends of the Rail Tegnap Tony, Nathan és én végül megkaptuk a gőzmozdonyok vezető diplomákat...:) Yesterday Tony, Nathan and I finally received our steam locomotives driver's diplomas ...:) Photo by Chris Janisch— with Tony Attwell and Nathan Berelowitz. Tegnap Tony

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Having just passed their steam drivers practical exam on a Friends Of The Rail train to Cullinan, we see Gabor Kovacs and Tony Attwell in the cab of 19D number 2650 as she stands

their

return

Hermanstad.

Well

done

and

congratulations.

August 11, 2012 — with Gabor Kovacs and Tony Attwell – Pic: Natahan Berelowitz

FOTR Calendar – Nathan Berelowitz Hi Hennie, if you can open this could you publish the calendar advert in the next issue.

I will also

post you a complimentary copy if you send me your postal address please. Cheers, Nathan Nathan trainman@friendsoftherail.com

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Enquiries Friends of the Rail Contact Mr. Arno Victor at Tel: 082 293 4616 or sales@friendsoftherail.com or visit their website at www.friendsoftherail.com

Sandstone -

JB Tours: Treintoere in Suider Afrika JB Tours issue a lovely program with beautiful pictures. Unfortunately I cannot copy and save it as a word.doc/x . Please subscribe to their annual program! for full 2012 year programme here is the email adres: info@jbtours.co.za ; www.jbtours.co.za ; Tel 011 913 2442; 086 152 8687; Fax: 086 687 7344; 011 913 0552 125

Railwayana

Note spelling of “fietse”

South African Models Scalecraft: - Adrian Hill

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Contact Scalecraft www.scalecraft.co.za http://www.facebook.com/Scalecraft info@scalecraft.co.za 021 592 72 69 +2721 592 7269 130

Scalecraft news Locomotives, locomotives, locomotives…that is our war cry for the foreseeable future. Our model of the iconic Class 15F has become highly sought after. The model runs well and blends in nicely with our range of rolling stock. So where to from here, well, we have the Class 23, Class 16E, 6E, 6E1, 5E, 5E1 & 18E on the drawing board. The 23 and the 6E will be available shortly with the rest following shortly thereafter. Our steam locomotives are built around Mehano running gear and the electric locomotives are built on Bachmann. We install either constant current lighting or DCC depending on user preference. Keep in mind that the models are designed and assembled in such a way that DCC can be fitted later on if not factory fitted. Our aim is to provide the avid modeler with products of the highest quality that are an asset to their collection. We have decided to appoint two official agents with this in mind. Our agents will ensure that your SAR modeling needs are met. Scalecraft products are only available via three channels, namely; ourselves (of course), Mr. Shaun Le Roux of Cape Model Trains and Mr. Rinke Blok of The Model Train Shop. Shaun and Rinke’s businesses are the ONLY two official Scalecraft representatives so please feel free to speak to me, Adrian, Shaun or Rinke should you be interested in our products.

Shaun and Rinke’s contact information is as follows Shaun le roux Cape model trains 081 475 4786 Shauncarl.leroux@capetown.gov.za Rinke Blok Model Train Shop Tel: 011 795-3270 info@modeltrainshop.co.za www.modeltrainshop.co.za

Scalecraft product information Scalecraft product information is available in the following publications: • The Uloliwe • RMIG (Railway Modeller’s Information Group Newsletter) 131

Dream Trains – Wynand Vermeulen 16 Besembos Avenue, Pellissier, 9301 Bloemfontein, South Africa PO Box 32882, Fichardtpark, 9317

www.dreamtrains.co.za

Hopefield: Terry Rowe Hi Hennie Here is a short piece on Hopefield with some photos of Hopefield and my models. I'm about to rearrange my study and the layout will built on top of my book shelves. I will send photo's of progress. 011-Station building 015-small goods shed 003-large goods shed 087- fence post made from CGR rail2 031- Station name boards 023-small goods shed 005- 5door 3rd Class CGR Coach CGRT1 and 2 Season Ticket I trust you are well on the road to recovery, all the best. Regards

The photo is not properly focussed – I can’t publish it.

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Railway Modellers’ Information Group: Contact Details

From the Press Zambia ends railway deal with SA investor Mandy Rossouw State seizes control of national railway system from company in which Nedbank, Sanlam and Old Mutual have significant stakes

South African companies Nedbank, Sanlam and Old Mutual suffered a blow this week when a company with a railway freight and passenger concession in Zambia – in which they hold significant stakes – was nationalised by the Zambian government. On Monday a letter was delivered to the offices of New Limpopo Bridge Projects Investment Limited saying the concessions of the company had been repossessed by the government with immediate effect. According to New Limpopo spokesperson Tom Plaistowe, the company was taken by surprise. “There have been regular engagements with the government in which the company convinced the government every time that all obligations were met.” New Limpopo tried unsuccessfully to convene a meeting with the Zambian government this week. 135

Zambian Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda announced what was in effect a nationalisation of the railways, citing mismanagement of the Railway Systems of Zambia Limited, owned by New Limpopo. It is unclear what implications this move may have on other South African businesses in Zambia. Companies such as Shoprite, Truworths, Woolworths and Spur have outlets in Zambia. In a television address, Chikwanda added that the rolling stock used by New Limpopo led to the railway system’s deterioration. Zambian President Michael Sata was a proponent of nationalisation during his election campaign and, since he was elected last year, the government has reversed the sale of two banks that were sold under the previous administration led by Levy Mwanawasa, who died in office in 2008. In May this year, Sata said: “We are not nationalising anything, but anything which was privatised with corruption, like Zamtel, we will move in.” Zamtel is a major telecoms company that was sold to a Libyan company. This sale was reversed by Sata. Shortly after his election in September 2011, Sata reversed the sale of Finance Bank, which was due to be sold to South Africa’s FNB. Government officials and civil society claimed at the time that corruption had played a role in the initial sale. Sata also hinted at nationalising another Zambian bank, Zanaco, but this has not been confirmed. The concession to operate the railways was won by New Limpopo Bridge Projects Investment Limited, a holding company based in Mauritius, in 2003 after a tender process that was overseen by the World Bank. The company was given the right to run railway services for 20 years, with the option of an extension for a further 10 years.

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Zambia Railways is one of the biggest railway networks in southern Africa and comprises 900km of main-line railways and 300km of branch lines. The Zambian government said the railways had had too many derailments and fatalities – necessitating this move for the state to take control. According to Chikwanda, New Limpopo underinvested in the railways and passenger service is not up to scratch. He said freight services on the lines connecting mines had also been stopped. Plaistowe said New Limpopo had invested more than double of the required investment into the railways. He said freight services on the lines that connected mines were stopped because it was more cost effective to transport freight between mines by road. “Those were short-haul routes and mines preferred the road because it was cheaper.” The railway network operated by New Limpopo stretched for 1 200km from Sakania, on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. It included Zambia’s Copper Belt, which was a crucial source of income for the country. The World Bank released a report in 2010 that states that the investment made by New Limpopo was in accordance with its concession contract. The Zambian government has made no investment in the railways since the concession agreement was signed on Valentine’s Day in 2003. The government took over the operations of the company, including offices and railway stations in Kabwe and other areas, while the government said it intended to search the New Limpopo head office in Lusaka, Plaistowe said. Former finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane told The Post that the cancellation of the pact would result in the government being dragged to court by the South African investors. Nedbank confirmed the takeover. “Nedbank, as shareholder in New Limpopo Bridge Projects Limited Investments, which is the holding company of Railway Systems of Zambia Limited, confirms that the company has received notice of the repossession of its freight and passenger concession by the government of Zambia. 137

“(New Limpopo) is actively seeking a meeting with the relevant authorities in this regard.” Sanlam said it would respond in due course and Old Mutual did not respond by the time of going to the press. New Limpopo would not disclose its shareholding breakdown, claiming the information was confidential. Zambian rail network to get $120 million revamp Zambia will invest $120 million (R990 million) to revamp a railway line linking Africa’s top copper producer with South Africa to move transport from road to rail, its finance minister said on Friday. Zambia exports the bulk of its copper through the port of Durban in South Africa, but most mining companies transport the metal by road because railway transport has been unreliable. Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda told a media briefing that $120 million of the $750 million Zambia raised through a debut eurobond on Thursday would be spent on the rail infrastructure. “The matter of investing in Zambia Railways is of top priority and urgency,” he said. Increasing use of rail will reduce the amount of money spent repairing roads damaged by heavy trucks, Chikwanda said. The government this week cancelled the lease of the railway line awarded to private company Railway Systems of Zambia, accusing it of mismanagement. Mining companies operating in Zambia include Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, Vedanta Resources, Glencore International and Barrick Gold. - City Press http://www.citypress.co.za/Business/News/Zambia-ends-railway-deal-with-SA-investor20120915

Mangaantrein slaag sy ‘langste toets’

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Sep 16 2012 21:43 Transnet het verlede week begin met die toets van die langste “mangaantrein” van die nuwe Tshipi Borwa-mangaanmyn by Kathu in die Noord-Kaap na die hawe van Port Elizabeth.Die trein van 18 diesellokomotiewe, 4 toetswaens en 208 vragwaens gelaai met mangaan het Donderdag van die nuwe takspoorlyn by die Tshipi-myn vertrek en het Vrydagaand in Port Elizabeth aangekom. Die trein is 2,23 km lank. Die mangaantreine het gewoonlik 104 waens en dit is die eerste keer dat treine wat so lank is op die spoorlyn van Kathu na die kus loop. Die trein sal radio-verspreide-kragtegnologie gebruik wat tans nog net op die ysterertslyn tussen Sishen en Saldanha gebruik word. Die nuwe syspoorlyn by Tshipi is uniek omdat dit ’n lang lus het wat drie treine van 122 waens elk kan huisves sonder om die hooflyn te versper. Die laaigeriewe is modern en die laaityd vinniger. Dit sal Transnet help om bedryfsdoeltreffendheid te verbeter en omdraaitye te verkort.Die 18 lokomotiewe is dieselelektriese lokomotiewe wat voor, in die middel en heel agter die 208 vragwaens geplaas is, met die krag wat deur ’n radiosein tussen die lokomotiewe versprei word. Die rit na Port Elizabeth is 1 085 km en 13 000 ton mangaanerts word vervoer. Finn Behnken, uitvoerende hoof van die Tshipi-myn, sê die nuwe syspoor is ontwerp om uiters doeltreffend te wees en sal die myn vir die verwagte leeftyd van 60 jaar dien.

Personeellede van Transnet en die Tshipi-myn voor die vertrek van die toetstrein met 13 000 ton mangaanerts wat na die Port Elizabethse hawe vervoer is. Foto's: Verskaf 139

Die voorpunt van die langste mangaanertstrein wat nog van Kathu na Port Elizabeth geloop het. Dit het 18 diesel-elektriese lokomotiewe gebruik om die 208 ertswaens te trek. http://www.sake24.com/Maatskappye/Nywerheid/Mangaantrein-slaag-sy-langste-toets20120916

Trein ry 2 swanger vroue dood 2012-09-07 11:57 Kaapstad – Twee swanger vroue is buite die Kuilsrivier-treinstasie in die Moederstad deur ‘n trein omgery, het ‘n koerant berig. Cape Times berig die ongeluk waarin Judith Mtumba en Sarah Njibu gesterf het, sal ondersoek word. Besonderhede oor die gebeure is nog onduidelik, maar die treindrywer sê hy het drie mense raakgery. “Ons het selfs onder die trein gekyk, maar daar was niks nie,” het Mthuthuzeli Swartz, provinsiale bestuurder van Metrorail, aan die koerant gesê. Swartz 140

het ‘n gebreekte heining uitgewys en gesê mense het dikwels kortpaaie oor die treinspoor geneem. http://afrikaans.news24.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Trein-ry-2-swanger-vroue-dood-20120907

SA RAILWAY RELATED INTERNET GROUPS • Suid-Afrikaaanse Spoorweë / SA Railways / Ulolwe (sic) Visit our website: http://www.facebook.com/groups/74709226744/ It is an “open group” on the railways in South Africa. Keep abreast with the latest developments of the railways in South Africa. It was started by Hennie Heymans some years ago. Johannes Marais is co-administrator. No politics or no language questions. Keep it simple: only one thing on the agenda: Railways in Southern Africa. 641 Members

• Yahoo: SAR-Miniatures – Adrian Hill Please join us on our mailing list http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sar-miniatures/join We not only talk about modelling SAR but also about modelling in general. The list is free of politics and bickering and our aim is not only to advance SAR modelling but also to exchange ideas and techniques.

• Facebook: ‘RHODESIA RAILWAY’ Group - John Batwell A recent innovation on Facebook has been the start and rapid development of a RHODESIA RAILWAYS site. Started by former railway employee Eddie Roussot, the site has grown in leaps and bounds and has over 260 members already and a plethora of photographs which depict the historical milestones and development of the small country’s railway since those pioneering days back in 1897. Besides photos of stations, sidings, locomotives of all types of traction, there are a number of photos posted too depicting the human resources of the railway. The facility has enabled so many folk spread far and wide across the world to reunite electronically and share their nostalgic and contemporary photographic records and short comments of another time and age working on one of Southern Africa’s most efficient rail systems. The facility also enables technical questions to be shared and responses offered, new publications to be marketed, as well as a catch-up time with old friends and work colleagues of yesteryear.

• Website for Reefsteamers: Lee Gates You can find the latest information (albeit a bit scattered) on the 15F 2914 on our Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/387773301244867/ 141

• Well worth a look Reefsteamers Website is : www.reefsteamers.com Reefsteamers Page is : www.facebook.com/groups/reefsteamers/ Reefsteamers Locomotive Restoration Project Page (15F 2914) is: www.facebook.com/groups/387773301244867/

• Andre Kritzinger André Kritzinger, Cape Town, Website: http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/grela/chessie01.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Locomotives_of_South_Africa http://grela.rrpicturearchives.net/ http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=12115 •

Adrian Hill says:

“Take a look at my website www.scalecraft.co.za “ Railway Groups not mentioned above: You are welcome to ad your group’s particulars here ...

Angola: Nostalgia Old CFB Coaches (part 1) - Anton van Schalkwyk Map: Bruno Martin

You can't imagine the wonderful memories I had taking photos of the insides of these old coaches and the smells that I was so very much used to more than 40 years ago. This was really special to experience. There is a great need in Angola for restoration of some of these coaches. The guy who made this possible had a father who was the CFB GM for 40 years. 142

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CFM: Lourenco Marques or Maputo -

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Tanzam-line Tanzam Map by Bruno Martin

Pandora’s Box Anything can come out of Pandora’s Box; here are some pictures we received this month:

Mail Bag -

Stop Press -

Disclaimer We don’t like legalise, but it has to be there, so read the small print ….

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Readers and/or Viewers may use content from The Uloliwe for non-commercial purposes on condition that such material is attributed to The Uloliwe and appropriate acknowledgement is given to the author and source. Where it is clear that any material and/or comment is not made by The Uloliwe, this must be clearly stated. The Uloliwe makes every reasonable attempt to screen or edit content in The Uloliwe by third parties, but does not accept any liability for illegal, defamatory or obscene content. Readers and/or Viewers are encouraged to inform The Uloliwe of any content that may be offensive or illegal. Save where the views expressed are clearly those of The Uloliwe, no responsibility is accepted for the view of other contributors. The Uloliwe does not accept any liability, nor will it be responsible for any damages howsoever arising when this information is obtained and/or utilised in an unauthorised and/or illegal manner. All advertisements are placed in the interest of our Readers and/or Viewers. Such advertisements are placed free of charge at the discretion of The Uloliwe. The Uloliwe does not accept any liability nor will The Uloliwe be responsible for any damages howsoever arising from such advertisements. The main purpose of adverts is to be of an informative nature.

Goodbye from – J & J Wepener

The next issue of “The Ulolwe” will be Vol 3 No 10 and will be published, DV, sometime during October 2012. Please send in your comments, anecdotes and photographs. Take care! Issue / Volgende Uitgawe Stuur solank u stories, herinneringe en eie foto’s aan heymanshb@gmail.com in jpg-formaat Hennie Heymans – Pretoria, ZA

2012

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