South Africa 1974

I was working in Johannesburg during April and May 1974. High up in my central Jo'burg hotel room, I could make out, albeit some distance away, Germiston railway yards, a hive of steam activity. Plenty more steam was within easy reach, such as at Witbank, centre for coal traffic, and Pretoria, the SA capital.

My first weekend in SA coincided with Easter. A visit to Witbank depot on Good Friday 12 April, produced about 20 class 15CAs, five 15ARs, one 15A, three 15Fs, an S1 0-8-0 under repair and a class 11 2-8-2 in storage for possible preservation. GMA/M Garratt 4-8-2/2-8-4 4157 was active as well.

Breyten had more Garratts, plus class 24 2-8-4s. A 12AR 4-8-2 was at Kendal station. All in all, a pretty good introduction to 3' 6'' gauge South African Railways steam.

Over Easter, I ventured out on the electric suburban service to Springs, home of well-known enthusiast and world gricer A E 'Dusty' Durrant, and was able to accompany him, along with a couple of visiting Australians, in taking a few photos in the locality.

Springs shed produced more of the classes seen on Friday, plus two Pacifics shunting at the station, 16CR 835 and 16R 798.

A freight with a 15CA leaves Clewer on the Pretoria - Witbank line.

15CA and 15CB 4-8-2s, built in the USA, were powerful locos with a mighty roar when in full flight, pretty impressive.

They were seen in abundance around the Witbank area.

I remember staying in the Central Hotel, Witbank, and hearing these locos all night either shunting or departing on heavy freights.

Doubleheaded 15CAs at Panpoort hauling a fuel train to Witbank on 20 May. The locos had worked out on early morning passenger services.

A class 24 2-8-4 on a Nigel - Springs local passenger passing mine tips. A couple of years earlier the loco would have been a 16CR Pacific.

On the weekend of 20 and 21 April, I went further afield, catching the overnight train to Pietermaritzburg, 387 miles from Jo'burg.

There was plenty of Garratt activity – Mason's Mill depot housed 22 GMA/M, eight of the attractive GF Pacific Garratts and four of the smaller GCA 2-6-2/2-6-2. One of the GCAs was on shunting duties.

GMA/Ms worked passenger as well as freight, I noted the 8.0am to Franklin with one on 20 April and 4093 had the 7.50pm Kokstad passenger on 21 April.

A gloomy overcast Saturday afternoon was spent chasing doubleheaded GMA/M hauled freights on the Schroeders line. It was quite a sight to observe doubleheaded Garratts pounding along on heavy trains and see two lots at a passing loop, all taking water. The two pictures below are at Albert Falls.

After chasing Garratts, I headed for my booked hotel in Pietermaritzburg, feeling very thirsty. It was a somewhat drab place, quite old-fashioned. After checking in, I went straight to the bar and ordered a beer. But the barman said he couldn't serve me. Why not, I demanded to know, I am a resident here. 'It is because you are not wearing a tie' he replied. What, in this provincial hotel in a provincial city, I was required to wear a tie to have a beer! As I hadn't brought a tie, the barman produced one from behind the bar - I put it on very grudgingly, I have to say. At least I got my beer.

On Sunday morning, I set off for Durban, via Richmond where the small shed was quiet, no activity, with three GF Garratts present, 2401 being beautifully kept, in dark blue livery.

I moved on to the 2' gauge sheds in the area, at Ixopo, Umzinto and Umlaas Road, again nothing running, though Garratt 129 was lit up at Umzinto for a late afternoon freight. I chatted to the senior Driver at Umzinto, here for 26 years. Drivers had their own loco, he had had three in his time, the present one being Garratt 150, built in South Africa in 1967/68 incorporating parts supplied by the Hunslet Engine Co, Leeds. The sixteen locos I saw at the first two sheds were NGG16 2-6-2/2-6-2 Garratts, while the two at Umlaas Road were NGG13 2-6-2/2-6-2.

In early afternoon I was driving between Renishaw and Durban alongside the electrified South Coast line, and happened across a 14R 4-8-2 at the head of a short freight working. But 1733 was more than just another loco, it was virtually a work of art, absolutely immaculate. Shiny black livery, lined yellow, with the legend 'SAS' on one tender side and 'SAR' on the other. It had a gleaming brass dome and silvered cylinder cover ends! I managed to get some photos as 1733 coasted along the coast line, with the beautiful sunlit sparkling blue ocean in the background. 1733's superb condition may have been due to having a regular crew at Durban Greyville depot, where other locos enjoyed similar treatment over the years.

My next excursion started on 3 May 1974 with the 7.0pm overnight train to Bloemfontein, 409kms, due there at 7.15am. I had a bunk for the journey and two travelling companions in the compartment. One was an older Africaans gentlemen, who turned out to be a railway employee going home for the weekend. The other was a young Englishman, travelling light. A conversation with him soon revealed he was another railway enthusiast - but more than that, he was in SA to take up employment on the Railway. **

I had arranged to hire a car in Bloem to get steam photos from lineside and readily agreed to the enthusiast coming along as well.

The train - of 18 carriages - left Jo'burg with electric haulage as far as Kroonstad, about 200kms, during which time I fell asleep. I was in a top bunk and awoke to hear a noise on the roof. I thought at first it was heavy rain, but gradually realised it was cinders from the steam loco now thrashing through the night at the head of the train. I listened for some time before drifting back to sleep. On arrival at Bloem, the loco was seen to be a class 23 4-8-2.

Steam locos in use at Bloem were class 15F and 23 4-8-2s, and 25NC 4-8-4s. The pictures that follow were taken around Bloem; the passenger is the 'Orange Express' hauled by a 23. Preparations for electrification on the Kroonstad line can be seen in some shots.

Germiston loco shed on 12 May 1974. 77 locos were seen, working engines being from classes 12A/12AR,

12R, 15A/15AR, 15F, 16CR, S, S1, S2. Also present were half a dozen locos set aside for possible preservation.

Footnote:

** See 'The Wizard's Apprentice' .