Vale of Rheidol Railway News
Garratt No. 60, Drakensberg, Steams
The Vale of Rheidol Railway has completed the commissioning of Hanomag 2-62+2-6-2 Garratt NG/G13 works number 10551 built in 1927. The ex-South African Railway’s locomotive No. 60, named Drakensberg, will be available to haul VoR passenger trains in 2022 in addition to the line’s iconic 2-6-2Ts. The German-built NG/G13 ceased work in South Africa in 1973 and was purchased by Swiss enthusiasts in 1986. It returned to steam in 1998 and ran on the 60cm gauge Schinznacher Baumschulbahn line in Switzerland until changes to the track layout rendered it unable to traverse the full circuit at the site. The name Drakensberg was applied in Switzerland, a reference to the area in central Southern Africa named Drakensbergen (Dragons’ Mountains) by early Dutch settlers, now known as Drakensberge in Afrikaans. The red dragon is an iconic Welsh symbol and Vale of Rheidol Railway runs from the sea into the mountains of Mid-Wales, the name is therefore highly appropriate and will be retained. A successful conclusion to three years of negotiations by Vale of Rheidol management resulted in the locomotive being transported across Europe to Vale of Rheidol Railway where it arrived on 17 July 2017. Although in generally excellent condition and certified to operate in Switzerland, UK regulations required a fresh boiler test. The decision was made to undertake a full overhaul at VoR’s Aberystwyth workshops. This has progressed between other work, including contract overhauls for other customers, and the suspension of engineering Page 4
