The Garden Route: 2. Power to Oudtshoorn: dedicated to the memory of Don Baker and John Gilberthorpe

Please note: All photographs, maps and text in Soul of a Railway are protected by copyright and may not be copied or reproduced in any way for further use without prior permission in writing from the compilers of this series, Les Pivnic and Charlie Lewis.  

Again we have a chapter where so many have contributed photographs, text and time that no one person can claim credit for compiling it.  The following is a list (in alphabetical order of surname or organisation) of those who have participated: Don Baker [1], Bruce Brinkman, Stan Brown, Alan Buttrum, John Carter, Eric Conradie, Andrew Deacon[2], Org de Bruin, Allen Duff [3], Johannes Haarhoff, Geoff Hall, Allen Jorgensen, Robert Kingsford-Smith, Melly Lewis, Dick Manton, Bruno Martin[4], Yolanda Meyer[5], Peter Micenko, National Archives, Leith Paxton, Dan Pienaar, Les Pivnic, Mark Robinson, Dave Rodgers, Peter Rogers, Charlie Share, Peter Stow, Transnet Heritage Library[6] and Len (Jumbo) Ward. 

[1] Don passed away in February.  He was a lifelong railway enthusiast who concentrated on modelling live steam rather than photography but nevertheless produced many marvellous photographs stretching from 1950 to the end of the steam era.  He was also my first bashmate and, armed with our box cameras, we did many many cycling trips to locomotive depots and lineside in the early fifties.

[2] Andrew is the computer fundi who formats SoAR and thus prepares it for sending out to youse.

[3] Now that Messrs Rhind and Bates have passed on, Allen is the senior railway researcher among us and you can blame him for any historical howlers......

[4] Bruno is SoAR's cartographer - enough said.....

[5] Without Yolanda we would not be able to publish our most precious historic material.  Nowadays she is ably assisted by DRISA, the brain child of Johannes Haarhoff.

[6] Transnet Heritage Library is the irreplaceable home of our principal source archives which is presided over by Yolanda Meyer. 

We are indebted to Allen Duff for sending this historical map in the George Museum which shows the proposed route through the Outeniquas, already being surveyed in the 1870s. Allen provided the enlargement of the title block above, as well as the overall map of the proposed route and the enlargement of the mountain section below it. 

The remarkable thing about the original survey is how little the eventual route deviated from it. 

And that particularly applies to the mountain section, visualised during the 1870s but only becoming a reality in 1913.

Compare with the 1880 survey:

Bruno's enlargement of the pass itself also shows a remarkable resemblance to the 1880s survey, illustrating the cleft in the mountains that allows the railway to access the Little Karoo.  It is host to a wagon track and two road passes as well. The original way through was via the dauntingly steep wagon track known as Cradock Pass. There are actually two Montagu Passes: the original one, Thomas Bain's beautifully engineered road opened in 1847, and the railway, only completed in 1913. On the other side of the huge ravine that leads to the summit is the most recent of them, the more appropriately named Outeniqua Pass, only completed in 1951 and the only one with a proper metalled surface.

While checking dates I came across this good description of the wagon track, as well as its predecessors, by the George Museum Society:

"The first pass over the Outeniqua Mountains (Attaqua’s Kloof Pass) was described by Ensign Isaac Schrijver as early as 1689. Duiwel’s Kop Pass (Devil’s Peak), to the east of George, was the second pass and the only alternative to Attaqua’s Kloof.

In 1811 George was proclaimed a drostdy and A.G. van Kervel was appointed the first Landdrost. Keen on making a success of his post and realising that access to the interior was vital for the prosperity of the new town he drew up a report wherein he suggested upgrading the bridle path immediately behind the town, hoping to persuade the Governor of the Cape, Sir John Cradock, that a pass over the Outeniquas would benefit the colony as a whole.  Cradock agreed with his reasoning.

Forty labourers took two months to complete the 5.5 mile route (10km) which went almost directly over the mountain with no sharp bends or contour paths. The pass was named Cradock Pass in honour of the Governor. From the start there were complaints about this very steep and formidable road. In places wagons had to be taken apart and carried. The gradient was so severe that two teams of oxen had to be inspanned. Disasters were frequent and travelers were held up for days while repairs were effected. Big rocks caused the wagons to tilt unevenly. From the very beginning, some travelers referred to the route as 'only fit for baboons!’

The pass was in use until 1847, when the Montagu Pass was opened. Today Cradock Pass is only used by hikers keen to have a day of strenuous exercise. They will easily spot deep ruts, cut by the wheels and brake shoes of the ox-wagons in the rocks as they scramble up the slope, and will not find it difficult to imagine the desperate braking of frantic drivers. Langkloof farmers hesitated to risk a precious ox-wagon laden with perishables on this route. Many decided to ignore the potential market in the direction of Cape Town and rather undertook a two week trek into the interior to sell their produce to Eastern Cape settlers." 

That's enough about the pre-railway history of the passage through the Outeniquas.  Allen Duff will take over from here:

"The railway connecting George and Oudtshoorn was opened on 6 August 1913. This section was part of a route from Cape Town via Worcester, Mossel Bay and Klipplaat to Port Elizabeth. The route traverses the Outeniqua Mountains and the Klip River valley of the Little Karoo. Construction of the railway was started by the Cape Government Railway (CGR) at George (738ft) in 1908. The construction was arduous as there were many embankments, cuttings and seven tunnels. The highest elevation (2,349 feet) is in the seventh tunnel. Most of the early work was done by 300 convicts who sometimes used the mist which descended on the mountain to escape. With the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the CGR became part of the South African Railways (SAR) which took over the construction.  Private contractors employing 2500 men then completed the construction. Construction work started at Oudtshoorn in 1911. The rails from George and Oudtshoorn met at Doorn River. The scenery throughout is spectacular, but the view between Tunnels 4 and 6 across the deep and majestic Keur River Valley is awesome. Here the railway hugs the mountainside which falls precipitously to the Montagu Pass and the river below. In the distance, across the valley, the route of the Outeniqua Pass is clearly visible. During the construction of this section of the railway the Montagu Pass was closed during the day. The reason being the boulders and rock which rolled down the mountainside when dynamite (as much as nine tons a month) was used to blast the rock. Ox-wagons and carts with lanterns then crossed the Montagu Pass at night. The railway was worked by steam locomotives for just over 60 years. Until the arrival of the GEA Garratts the heavy passenger trains needed two locomotives to conquer the steep line. In late 1979 diesels took over the operation of the railway. The last timetabled passenger trains used this route in 2002. Today only goods trains and an occasional overseas tourist train, use the railway.

Initially classes 6,7 and 8 monopolised the route.  Most trains were doubleheaded and belched smoke and steam continuously as they laboured up the grade.  This caused travel on the footplate through the tunnels to be almost asphyxiating and locomotive crews covered their faces with damp cloths and lay on the wooden cab floor when traversing the tunnels. In the mid-1920s classes FC and FD (modified Fairlies) were tried unsuccessfully on the pass.  These locomotives sometimes were double-headed with a class 8 or were assisted by a class 8 banker.  The first Garratts appeared in the late 1920s; specifically classes GD and GE.  The latter stayed for a relatively short time but the GDs, which had previously worked on the Cape Town-Caledon line and in Natal, were more successful. Photographs show the GDs working alone (rated at eight coaches) and double-headed. The latter workings were often a GD with a class 7 or 8 with the GD in front as this helped avoid undue wear on the pivots [see photo 124 below]. The GDs spent 20 years hauling trains over the Outeniquas until the GEAs arrived from Beyer Peacock in 1946/47 - these were known locally as the 'Peacocks'.  With nearly 50% more tractive effort than a GD, the Peacocks could handle 13 coaches up the Great Brak Heights and 14 coaches up the mountain and the era of double-heading over the mountain effectively came to an end.  So the GEAs monopolised this route for for more than 25 years.  In 1974, with dieselisation of lines in Natal, GMAs took over until they in turn were replaced by diesels in 1979.  Thus came to an end the glorious age of steam over the Outeniqua mountains.

In the late 1920s a passenger train departed from George at 11:25 and arrived in Oudtshoorn at 14:40. By the early 1950s a GEA, with a much heavier 14-coach formation, was allowed 17 minutes less on 1300-up, the Mossel Bay-Johannesburg express.  However, by the early 1980s (with diesel traction) the Cape Town - Port Elizabeth train had reverted to the 2h-15min schedule of the 1929 train. After dieselisation the George-Oudtshoorn section still saw an occasional steam-worked railtour with various combinations of preserved locomotives. From the 1990s a 19D+GMA combination was used on the 'Union Limited' vintage train [with the 19D in front as the GMAs were equipped with self-adjusting pivots] operated by the Transnet Heritage Foundation. But all good things seem to come to an end and the last 'Union Limited' ran north over the Outeniquas in 2005.

During the steam era extensive firebreaks were made and maintained adjacent to the tracks [thus providing plenty of jobs].  However, mountains are synonymous with wind and fires adjacent to the fire-breaks easily spread and often burnt out large tracts of the mountain's unique fynbos.  In late September 2000 a locomotive on a steam-enthusiast's charter started a conflagration in which a fire-fighter died and extensive areas of the mountain were devastated.  Thereafter, Cape Nature Conservation refused permission for steam to be run over the mountain except on the odd occasion with a light load and when the 'Fire Danger Index' (FDI) was low. Consequently, the last time a steam locomotive (GEA 4023) operated over the pass was on 31 May 2005.  As a result of huge fires (not started by a steam locomotive) which swept the Outeniqua and Tsitsikama mountains in November 2005, Cape Nature Conservation resolved not to further endanger the flora and fauna of the region which led to the decision that no steam operations are to be permitted on the pass.

After weekday through trains between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth ceased the weekend service was continued.  This train was known as the 'Southern Cross'. However, low passenger numbers later led to the termination of the service at Oudtshoorn and later, in 2002, it was discontinued. Thereafter, the only passenger workings were the occasional 'Bosvelder' [operated by the late very-much missed 'Boon' Boonzaaier] and Rovos Rail trains which now also no longer operate. In 2009 Shosoloza Meyl introduced a Cape Town - Port Elizabeth return Premier Class working but like its predecessors that service has also been discontinued, despite being very popular with local and international visitors.

In spite of the foregoing it is still possible today to ascend the Outeniqua rail pass and appreciate its fine engineering and magnificent scenery.  The 'Outeniqua Power Van Service', which uses ex-SAR inspection trolleys for its excursions, gives passengers the opportunity to experience a taste of rail travel in the Outeniqua Mountains - its forests, four passes, waterfalls, six tunnels, fynbos and proteas, bird and animal life and a panoramic picnic area.  For more information, contact Outeniqua Power Van by telephone +27 (0) 44 801 8239 or email: opv@mweb.co.za."

Courtesy of the George Museum Archives this photo comes to us via Allen Duff.  While the wagon track took only two months to complete, albeit to a dangerously low standard, it took several years to build the railway through the Outeniquas.  Some idea of the difficulties facing the construction gangs is apparent in this photograph showing the line where it emerges (today) from the inland portal of tunnel 4 (see Allen's photo 17).  About 200yds behind the photographer is where the Cradock Pass wagon road crosses the railway alignment (see map). 

That white triangle in the middle of the picture is the brand-new embankment across the gully leading to tunnel 6. Another historical gem from the THL via Allen Duff, this one also shows Thomas Bain's original Montagu Pass with its solidly made drystone retaining walls.  By 1912/13 it had probably not yet been too frequently sullied by internal combustion machines. 

Note the stones packed at an angle against the retaining wall. These kept wagon wheels away from the retaining wall thus preventing damage to the ends of the axles. 

Espitalier and Day tell us that the favourite locomotives among civil engineers for bedding down new track were the seventh classes. This scene from early on [1] shows two trustworthy 7s on an up goods paused at the viaduct near the summit of the pass in an undated and very rare photo unearthed by Yolanda Meyer, Librarian of the Transnet Heritage Library (THL)[2].  Judging by the angle of the tender of the second locomotive, it has derailed [3] and the four figures in front of the train are pondering the best solution to the contretemps.

[1] It looks as if this was soon after opening the line, possibly only a few days or weeks judging by the fresh devastation of the surrounding vegetation. From a motive power perspective it could have been any time between the opening in 1913 and the early 20s (by which time 8th classes were the predominant power).

[2] It was forwarded to SoAR by Johannes Haarhoff, founder of 'Digital Rail Images South Africa' (DRISA), the project to preserve the irreplaceable images housed in the THL.

[3] Apart from a collision with a ballast train in September 1913 in which no one was injured, as far as is known, in 100 years there has never been an accident on Montague Pass resulting in death or injury, despite major physical challenges, - a credit to the caliber of staff driving and operating on the mountain. 

Before we resume our journey here are a couple of photos at George, one to mention facts that were omitted from the last chapter and the other, at Dave's suggestion, to set the scene: 

GEA 4019 being prepared for the mountain. It was a whole ritual of fire-cleaning, watering, trimming coal forward so the fireman could reach it and hosing it down to minimise dust in the cab (OK, OK, diesels were much simpler, but much, much more boring).  A perpetual mystery to me has been why a GEA was rated at 13 bogies out of Great Brak River (this was reduced to 12 in 1961 to allow for the slightly heavier tin and plastic stock from UCW) and 14 (later 13) over the mountain but a GMA only eleven. Be that as it may, the extra coach allowed from George worked out well for the operating department for it meant the through coach from Knysna to Johannesburg could be attached at George without any hassles.  The same applied to freight traffic off the Knysna branch as well as that originating in George such as frozen vegetables from the Table Top freezing plant.

'Setting the scene' was Dave's suggestion for an introduction to this chapter. It shows the formidable Outeniquas which the Garratt is about to tackle and with which we shall be pre-occupied for the next 70-odd photos: GMA 4090 departing from George with 344-up T&P in August 1975.  Of interest is the twin diner about to be obscured behind the locomotive and why it was parked there? Needless to say, nobody seems to know more than that it had probably been shunted off 1305-down (the Jo'burg-Mossel Bay express) due to a fault.  

1. Our title photo borrows a phrase from my late father's description of a journey up Montagu Pass with doubleheaded 8s in the 1920s [1].  9-down/10-up is about to clear the trailing points at Power which, by the time this picture was made in May 1978, had been equipped with remote-controlled signalling and points operated by the station foreman at George.  The brand-new relay room can be seen half-way along the siding.

[1] Caption to photo 112 in part 1 of this chapter 

2. Trains invariably crossed at Power, usually with an opposing goods but during holiday periods it was frequently with the second section of 8-up/7-down.  In May 1962 I rode 9-dn/10-up and one of its most endearing features was the CGR balcony saloon behind the engine (Peter Stow's comprehensive history of this vehicle is in the caption to photo 84 in Part 1).  

3. Cleanest engine on the line, beyond question, was 4070, the regular engine of driver Charlie Shear and fireman Dan Pienaar.  By 1978 when this photo was taken, Power had become a remotely operated interloop, controlled by George station.  Charlie has just collected the tablet for the section from Power to Oupad, for which 9-down/10-up was allowed 44 minutes. 

4. During holiday seasons (i.e. December/early January and late June/July) the Cape Town - Port Elizabeth mails were supported with extra passenger trains. These usually followed the normal scheduled train and were a real hotchpotch of rolling stock.  Several ran with goods guards vans.  A few hundred yards out of Power GMA 4128 working the regular 9-down/10-up has already got her teeth into the 1:36 compensated grade through the cuttings and is about to go around the huge horseshoe curve over the embankment spanning the "Power" stream. This stream contained a small dam further up its valley which supplied locomotive water to the reservoir at Power siding via a 6" diameter pipeline (visible bottom left) that followed the contours and exited the Power valley on the left at the transition from embankment to cutting. Monday 11 December 1978.

5. Early on 11 December 1978 GMA 4130, having left the fire cleaning and water station at Power a few minutes earlier, bursts out of tunnel 2 with a 44-axle [1] goods from Voorbaai to Outshoorn. To the right of the locomotive is the off-tracking platform for the ballast tamping and aligning machine, as well as the ubiquitous white cabinet for tools for the track gangs to maintain the curve lubricators. The smoke was NOT arranged [Peter's emphasis].  Later that morning this train crossed GMA 4130 on a 76 axle tranship and pick-up complete with two passenger coaches bringing up the rear as per the WTB, as well as GMA 4102 with 808-up, the second section of the Port Elizabeth to Cape Town passenger with a goods guards van. [2]

[1] Peter, an old SAR railwayman, is referring to the way the length of goods trains is laid down in the working time books.   

[2] See the caption to photo 82.  

6. The grandeur of the Outeniquas and the difficulty facing oxwagons in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, not to mention trains in the 20th, is emphasised in this view of the range taken from near the locomotive water supply dam on the Power stream. 9-down/10-up has just emerged from tunnel 2 and the GMAs own smoke is still roiling out of the bore, giving the impression it is a banked train. Woe betide any unwary passenger who neglected to close the compartment windows while passing through it. 

Coming out of the cutline of the pine plantation on the left you can see the original (road) Montagu Pass as well as the 1951 Outeniqua paved N9 weaving its way upwards on the far side of the Keurrivier ravine. Thomas Bain's 1844 Montagu Pass is a much fainter line below the N9 and the original Toll house still stands on the boundary of the forest. It was in use for more than 100 years and today is a National Monument.  

7. Late in the afternoon of Monday 11 December 1978, GMA 4103 with 11 all-steel elliptical-roofed coaches of the Mossel Bay-Johannesburg express is dragging its train out of the second horseshoe curve above Power stream and is negotiating the slightly easier alignment before turning right 'into the bowels of the mountain' around tunnels 3 and 4.  This train is following GMA 4128 on a Cape Town to Port Elizabeth passenger working which left Power just after 2 pm.  The area above Power provided a lovely picnic spot for a few days in the second week of honeymooning for the Micenkos.   

8. Peter writes: "Above Power Bruno's map shows that the railway traverses two back-to-back horseshoe curves which form a huge S, hacked out of the rock.  On 12th December 1978, GMA 4071 with a 66-axle Outshoorn to Voorbaai goods [1] is seen leaving the upper horseshoe and dropping down to Tunnel 2 above Power. The train is so long and the curve so sharp that its van extends past the lengthy cutting.  At Power, 4071 crossed a 62-axle Voorbaai - Outshoorn goods pulled by GMA 4123. The photo also shows the excellent construction methods used with top and skirt drains around the cuttings. When I last travelled over this line the embankment was overgrown with Port Jackson [Australian] wattle trees and this view lost. What was not apparent was when steam finished the firebreaks were no longer maintained as the track maintenance gangs were decimated in favour of mechanisation (which just doesn't get to firebreaks and 'off-track' work like drainage). Yes the 'baanman' gangs did do useful work but that all depended (like all things throughout the world) on the motivation of the gangs and their 'indoenas' which, in the case of Oudtshoorn under Duff Conradie and his predecessor S.P. Wallace, was extremely high."   

Charlie speaking: this is borne out by our photos, and no, Briggs, that report in the Guardian that you refer to was way off the rails. 

[1] See footnote to caption 5 above. 

9. GMA 4130 snakes down through the curves and passes the tamping machine's off-tracking platform above Power with 345-down T&P from Outshoorn to Voorbaai. Decent passenger accommodation was a regular feature on this train.  

10. "In early September 1978, after riding the Johannesburg passenger to Camfer I camped the night at the station, and in the morning walked back to George with the aim of accessing some of the really scenic locations on the line.  On the Tuesday the Power 'Baanman span' (Track gang) rolls downhill towards Tunnel 3 at the end of their working day. Earlier in the day they had been helping the Camfer 'Baanman span' with re-railing some curves in the vicinity of Oupad interloop . (Yes I did hitch a lift to Power as my feet were tiring after the walk from Camfer and afterwards the gang scored a few Castles I had in my back pack). At this stage in track maintenance the outstanding District Engineer at Oudtshoorn (Duff Conradie) had mechanised track maintenance for production track tamping and a couple of 'Length Permanent Way Inspectors' who had two or three 25-man strong 'Emergency gangs' each under a qualified Platelayer (an Esselen Park" diploma-qualified position) and several 10-man strong Baanman gangs under an 'Indoena' (also Esselen park trained) with maybe a 100-man strong 'mobile gang' for major maintenance works (on Springs District we had three of these gangs and most of their time was spent hand screening ballast fouled by spilt coal from DZ's and B wagons' doors and keeping drains open. This changed in the 80's when ballast screening machines were introduced).  One aspect I noticed especially on the Oudtshoorn District was the rigorous monumenting and displaying of the survey track alignment on every curve and the whitewashing of every culvert headwall.  The 'indoena' is the chap in the yellow hard hat. With road access so limited on the entire section the baanman gangs made extensive use of their hand trolleys. Note the use of 'gwalas' (bars used for correcting minor track issues) to increase seating capacity on the trolley!"

[The foregoing, written by Peter, reflects not only his enthusiasm for railways and trains but also for his job as a track engineer for 25 years on SAR.  He is also a well-respected and senior member of the Permanent Way Institution]

11. At Waaihoek (=Windy Corner), about a mile before tunnel 4, the GMA's cylinders hover over a thousand-foot drop into the ravine occupied by the Keurrivier. 

12.  Windy Corner from above showing 8-up/7-down descending to George in April 1977.  Behind the train is the ravine referred to in the previous caption.  Passengers had a somewhat discomforting view of the chasm - especially on downhill trains when centrifugal force applied itself around the curve. 

As usual, Peter provides us with useful information about the train:

"A feature of the passenger service between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town was the use of the type A-18 timber bodied single dining cars, with ornate mahogany pillars supporting their clerestory roofs. Here we see a Hendrie version of this type, built between 1914 and 1918; the third vehicle on the train. They were eventually (c 1960) coupled to Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company type C-33 all-coupe coach used as staff coaches (the fourth vehicle), but which also carried fare-paying passengers. The advent of diesels and the consequent use of 2 locomotives, as well as the general replacement of timber bodied sleeper coaches by those built of steel, resulted in the draw-gear of one of the A-18’s being pulled out, necessitating the CME’s drawing office to issue an instruction that no more than 6 steel coaches were to trail the A-18’s. Soon the A-18’s were replaced by catering cars converted from the all-coupe type C-33’s, bringing to an end the era of the single diners [and the last vestiges of Edwardian elegance]." 

13. On 30 August 1978 this GMA was bringing 9-down/10-up into the S-bend leading to Tunnel 3 which is the railway's escape route from the ravine before Tierkloof. 

14. We are now verily in the 'bowels of the mountain' referred to by my late father.  The spectacular ravine is Tierkloof which at this point has near vertical sides and the GEA of this down goods is not about to enter a tunnel but a section where the line is on a solid-rock shelf beneath an enormous man-made cliff.  Tunnel 4 is just off the left edge of this picture. April 1968. 

15. This was 8-up/7-down just emerged from tunnel 4 in February 1970 

16. GEA 4039 about to plunge into tunnel 4 on 18 January 1973. 

17. Some 80 years after the introductory photo showing the preparation of the formation along here, Allen photographed a Steam Safari coming out of tunnel 4, headed by a 24+GMA doubleheaded combination [see Peter Micenko's comments about this picture in his captions to photos 19 & 20 below]. 

18. "My first sighting of GMA 4070 was in September 1978 when, after crossing the Cape Town-Port Elizabeth mail train at Oupad, Charlie Shear brought his train gingerly down the grade and into tunnel 4. Just how precarious was the track's grip on the mountain can be seen alongside the water tank and the first two DZs where a mass concrete retaining wall and ballast boards or just the toe of the ballast profile edge were all that prevented the whole bang shoot from sliding into the Tierspruit ravine.  Allen Duff's photo 17 also shows the ballast boards that prevented the ballast from spilling into the chasm. The scariest for me was many years later when I trolleyed over the line with the then Depot Engineer Bellville [1] and saw the bolts and adjacent kinks at a rail joint in this vicinity.  By that time they had got compressors and jack hammers in and were strengthening the track's hold on the mountain.  Ahead of the locomotive (where the tunnel cutting begins) can be seen one of the standard pipe cross drains, the discharge of which has kept the bracken from growing in this location.  

I don't know which required more effort by the crews: the physical effort of hand firing the GEA's up the ramp to Topping, or cleaning the fires at George and Power or the psychological strain of vacuum-braking the descent, probably even worse in mist. But at least running bunker first (with the GMAs) would mean the driver had the reassuring benefit of looking at solid rock walls on the descent!"

[1] this was after closure of the District Office at Oudtshoorn. 

19.  "On a Tuesday afternoon early in September 1978 this unknown GMA was dragging 9-down/10-up out of the 'bowels of the mountain' at Tunnel 4. The scary depths of Tierkloof are on the right. The THL photo from Allen Duff's collection shows construction activities here and his photo of the tour train emerging from tunnel 4 (17, above) makes a sharp contrast to it.  It was, and still is, a wild place, so steep that the track formation is held in place with rock bolts.  An inch of steel rod pushing on the end of a sleeper restrains the track from a drop into the ravine. The edge of the precipice coming right to the toe of the ballast left no room for track lifting as any extra ballast would have slid hundreds of feet down into the valley.  

This GMA is about to enter a check railed curve.  The white box to the right of the engine contained tools for maintaining rail lubricators used to reduce friction and side wear on curves. I don't know if the crews appreciated the benefits of the check rails that safely guided the leading bogies of their engines into these tortuous curves." 

20. "At this very location the historical Cradock's Pass crosses over the railway. In September 1978 an unknown GMA works the passenger train for Port Elizabeth out of the curves below Cradock Peak and upwards, ever upwards along the 1 in 36 grade towards Tunnel 5 - the fireman no doubt getting his fire ready and burnt through before the confines of Tunnel 5 are reached.  Later in the trip, at Oupad, this train crossed with GMA 4070 'Amin' on an Outshoorn to Voorbaai goods."   

21.  On 17th January 1973 Rags was strolling around the mountain when he spotted this GEA coming around the corner from tunnel 4 with a northbound goods.  He neglected to get its number.  Those trees alongside the track are where the Cradock Pass crosses the railway and you can see it clearly higher up on the left below the burnt patch, running steeply upwards. 

22. There's a lot to see here, beginning with hints of Montagu Pass's greatest treasure: its flora. Those patches of pink and red are mainly Watsonias (which Peter Micenko introduced us to so graphically in the introduction to the Garden Route).  Across the picture we can trace Cradock Pass, the original wagon track.  In Rag's photo, taken on 7 March 1974, it starts from the trees on the right hand edge (the exact same trees prominent in the previous photo and on the left side of Peter Micenko's photo 18) from where it runs steeply upwards at almost 1-in-1 approximately along the yellow/green horizon you can see diagonally across mid picture (in front of the rock kranses in the background).

Oh, and there's a GEA pulling a train somewhere, overwhelmed by the scenery.  How level that 1:36 gradient looks when compared with the wagon track.

23. Here's what our intrepid photographer wrote accompanying his scan: "Camped out on the pass, great experience, high tannin in streams made great tea, 1st March 1974."  

That's Cradock Peak above the train, in this fine portrayal of GEA 4031 doing what Beyer Peacock designed it to do.  

24. Late snow drapes Cradock Peak as GMA 4073 works 9-down/10-up up the 1:36 towards tunnel 5 on 3 September 1979.  Barely two months later regular steam was gone forever. 

25. Another (of many!) photos of the train I was riding approaching tunnel 5 in May 1962. We have said plenty about the coach next to the engine but the main purpose of including this view is to contrast it with Allen's shot of a pair of 35s working the train some 30 years later.  I'm no economist but surely it can't be cheaper to replace one ever-reliable GEA, coal, water, labour intensive and all, with TWO hugely expensive (R20 million each) diesels.  Have I missed a trick somewhere?  

26. In July 1999, Allen and the late Don Baker rode the last "Southern Cross", the name bestowed upon the old mail by the new regime.  It had long passed its usefulness as a way of getting people and post from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and vice versa, so the only possible use for it was as a tourist operation, but sadly, its new masters were neither up to actually providing such a service, nor marketing it in a committed way. 

27. 8-up/7-down coming out of tunnel 5 in 1973. 

28. This was a David Rodger's chartered mixed emerging from Tunnel 5 in June 1996.  But for the modern cattle trucks, colour film and established vegetation it could have been taken before 1920. The front (narrow cab) engine is 7A 1007 and the second (wide cab) is 7B 1056, both superheated and preserved in working order at the time. 

29. The Class 7s at Tunnel 5 again; this time the train was a Union Limited charter for the Railway Touring Company (UK). Sunday 8th August 2000

30. SAR only started using mechanical reefers (classified type LA) in the early sixties and here is an empty one coming down the hill to be shunted off at George for the Table Top frozen vegetable processing and packing plant in George. During the 1970s this long-haul business grew to lucrative proportions so SAR decided to improve the private siding access to the factory, completed in 1980*. Its death knell was sounded almost immediately when whizz-kid railway accountants decided the cost must be recovered from the client.  No sooner had the (much better) siding been opened and the bill for the work duly presented than the customer decided to use lorries instead to get his product to the market in Johannesburg. The photo depicts 349-down livestock and perishables about to enter tunnel 5 in May 1962.

* Peter Micenko has reminded us that this work also included a repair facility for the LA trucks to improve their somewhat dodgy reliability.  

31. My mother was so terrified of heights she would not even glance out of the window on Montagu Pass.  Come to think of it, that dark, menacing ravine formed by the Keurrivier seemed to be willing the trains, passengers and all to tumble into it. 

32. Balancing precariously on the sharp edge of a small cutting with a huge drop into the ravine below in beautifully atmospheric conditions, Peter photographed this Easter 1974 special from Cape Town forging its way to tunnel 6. By now it was high above the clouds rising from the Indian Ocean. (Peter says he couldn't climb this cutting again, for fear of falling). 

33. With our brave photographer hanging out of the vestibule door of the leading coach (do not try this at home, or any other place, for that matter), the advantages of articulation are evident as the GEA negotiates one of the numerous curves on the pass. The cutting is the vantage point from where the previous photograph was taken. There is a legend that one passenger did indeed fall out of the train near this corner and tumbled to his death at the bottom of the ravine.  It is also said that his ghost may occasionally be seen on top of the cutting trying to thumb a lift on the train. Wait a sec. What th.................... 

34. GMA 4073 again in a well recce'd shot of 9-down/10-up approaching tunnel 6.  The complete train is visible and you can just see the haze of 4073's exhaust being lifted 50 feet vertically by the power of the blast, before it bends to the wind; the transparency of it an indication that the fireman had his stoker settings just right (thank you Alan). 24 June 1978. 

35. Some ten years earlier the driver of this GEA had his stoker settings just right........  Before you all write in to remind me that the GEAs were hand fired, what I actually mean is the driver had his fireman well trained.  The first time I rode footplate up the pass the driver was Mickey Gerber, the redoubtable senior man at Mossel Bay and he was opening and closing the firehole door between each shovelful.  Periodically he would stand up, grab the shovel and use it to protect his eyes from the white-hot glare while he checked that the fire was evenly spread over the grate.  On the footplate the percussion was deafening; it is no exaggeration to say that except for the servicing stop at Power, that GEA was in the company notch all the way from George to Topping. 

36. Preserved 7s No's 1007 and 1056 again, coming at you out of tunnel 6 during the 2000 steam festival. 

37.  In early September 1978. GMA 4113 "Heidi" was rostered on several days to run the short workings over the mountain to Camfer. On one of them 4113 is seen leaving Tunnel 6. In the left background a lovely little waterfall is cascading down the mountain. Once in Camfer the following goods train can add the load to its own as it is mostly downhill or easy gradients to Oudtshoorn from there. It saved on fuel, crew costs and loco mileage. 

38. Late morning in mid summer is not the ideal time for photography on the Pass.  However by December 1979 the only steam left running was the daily pickup seen here headed by 4070, now devoid of embellishments, exiting Tunnel 6 and passing a bank of Watsonias with the return working. 

39. Peter writes: "One of the features of the Voorbaai - Oudtshoorn section was the working of two freights/day from Voorbaai to Camfer where their loads would be left for a following train to collect and the engine and van returned to Voorbaai. The reason was that adverse gradients north of Camfer were sufficiently gentle to allow double the load from George to Camfer. There were no turning facilities at Camfer so the return working was always chimney first. This was the return working of GMA 4113 'Heidi' and guards van approaching tunnel 6. The only other non-GMA working was the 24 class that worked light engine to Outshoorn to facilitate change over of the Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn shunt engines. September 1978."

40. GMA 4070 exiting Tunnel 6 with a Steam and Safaris (Phillips/Middleton) chartered mixed train in June 1993  

41. By July 1978 not only was steam under threat but the clerestory carriages had been replaced by UCW tinplate stock.  The viaduct is the well-known one above Thomas Bain's road approaching the summit at Topping, by which you can gather that the smoke was by arrangement (but not the fact that it was almost vertical to the top of the picture).  

Pesky photographers musta cost SAR a fortune in coal. 

42. Peter Micenko's photo 32 shows a caboose hop resulting from the daily doubling of the hill to get tonnage over the steep bit.  At first glance it is tempting to say this is the same working but when the brain kicks in it says hang on, that Garratt is backwards, so it must have gone up the pass chimney first.  Surely not?

In the background you can see the Baanmanspan trimming ballast - how neat that track looks (thanks Pete). 

In Les Pivnic's booklet entitled: “The Royal Tour of South Africa – 1947” (which can be obtained from Model Train Exchange in Randburg, South Africa - Email: info@mte.co.za) you will find the most beautiful photographs and text setting out the complete Royal Tour from February to April 1947.  The photos 43 and 44 below, as well as several which follow, come from that booklet, together with captions provided by Les.  The timetable, also provided by Les, can hardly give an idea of the meticulous planning that went into the running of the Royal Train which went off without a hitch. Observe the pre- "Place Names Commission" spelling of 'Holgaten' siding.

43. The GEAs began arriving at Mossel Bay in 1946 looking quite incongruous and out of place in the tiny NCCR engine shed. They were an instant success, presenting little difficulty for firemen in spite of their 51 square foot grate and proving capable of hauling 13 coaches up the 1/40 uncompensated out of Great Brak River.  From George onwards the permitted load was 14 saloons comprising a van and 13 corridor saloons including single diner.  They arrived in good time to be properly bedded down and run in by the time the Royal Family arrived a few months later. The SAR took pride in demonstrating to the King what good customers they were for the British locomotive industry. 

As you may deduce from the timetable above, the Pilot Train arrived at Topping soon after midday on Monday 24 February 1947. Brand new GEA 4026 was leading the Pilot Train up the pass with equally new sister engine 4018 (out of sight) banking.  The train's livery was a deep chocolate and cream scheme – very smart in appearance!  Note the pre-War cars and lorry parked on the old road as well as the people gathered to see the passage of this train and daresay hoping to catch a glimpse of the King and Queen of England in the Royal Train which would follow 30 minutes later. 

44. With even more cars parked on the old road, here at last is that magnificently appointed Royal Train with GEAs 4024 leading and 4022 banking passing a waving crowd; possibly the biggest ever seen at Topping - before or since.  

45. From sublime to ridiculous: the same train as in photo 41 approaching the summit in Topping tunnel. 

46. On the Mornington peninsula (south-east of Melbourne) there is a nursery that specialises in Australian indigenous plants.  It is a pleasure to stroll through its grounds, except that they have giant posters all over the place urging its customers to eradicate alien plants such as the Cape's Watsonia. For a Saffa it was sad that such a beautiful flower should be so ostracised.  On Montagu Pass they grow naturally; for most of the year the pass is a nursery of indigenous plants from Proteas and Aristeas to Moreas and Watsonias, in every shade or hue.  This display above the old road at Topping was neither artificial nor photoshopped, it was just THERE.  The GEA was coming out of Topping tunnel with a down freight in June 1969.

47. The actual halt at Topping was between these two cuttings immediately north of the tunnel where there is about half a train-length of level.  In July 1976 GMA 4099 paused here for the Baanmanspan to offload track material.  Believe it or not, the passenger trains from George were also frequent callers here, to offload cyclists and mountain walkers. Also: if you look closely you can see wild flowers everywhere. 

48. GMA 4070 emerging from the Topping tunnel and cutting, from where it's all downhill to Camfer, taken in October 1974, while Peter was on honeymoon. While we're on the subject of honeymoons it seems appropriate to mention that the other Peter who contributes to SoAR also spent his honeymoon on the Pass so one must conclude that such activities lead to long and successful marriages. 

49. The PE-Cape Town mail near Topping with GMA 4073, 12 August 1978. 

50. Ever willing to put on a show: our friends Charlie Shear and Dan Pienaar with 4070 again, laying it on for the photographers.  Given the hordes that flocked here from all over the world, by 1978 the Mossel Bay crews certainly knew they were famous.

51. GMA 4072 drifting down the north slope of the pass towards Oupad (= Old Road).  There was great rivalry between Louis Botha, driver of 4072 and Charlie Shear with 4070 to see who had the shiniest engine. 

52. Priming engines made spectacular exhaust displays but it was not good for the engine.  In September 1978 Allen found this GMA battling its way to the summit with a down goods. 

53. On 1st November 1979 the last normal service steam working of 8-up (7-down), the Port Elizabeth - Cape Town mail, made its way over Montagu Pass.  The engine was GMA 4070, the crew were her regular driver and fireman, Charlie Share and Dan Pienaar, and they had obligingly agreed to run chimney first at the request of Allen Jorgensen who had come down from Jo'burg specially to photograph this sadly historic event.  4070 was as spotless as only men who truly loved their machine could have achieved.  Today, if you visit Charlie (he is retired and living in Kleinmond) you will see framed photos of 4070 on practically every wall in his house, and he tells us Dan's house is the same. 

54. 8-up/7-down restarting from Oupad on Christmas eve, 1975. 

55. A regret I shall carry to my own grave is that this exquisite moment at Oupad (then still called "Brow"), recorded by first bashmate Don Baker on a trip with his enthusiast father in 1953, was not published on Soul of A Railway before Don passed away on 26 February this year.  RIP Don, your photos will ensure you're not forgotten.

56. GMA 4113 with a northbound freight crossing 4129 with 8-up/7-down the Port Elizabeth-Cape Town mail at Oupad on 30th August 1978, some 25 years after Don's photo above. The siding had in the interim been renamed and relocated about half-a-mile closer to Topping. 

57. GMA 4129 getting under way again, soon after the crossing depicted above.

58. In late October 1977 GMA 4071 named "Fanie" was rostered on the Oudtshoorn to Voorbaai portion of the  Port Elizabeth-Cape Town passenger.  Here it is after exiting the horseshoe curve below Oupad interloop and negotiating the next 5-chain curve on the approach to Oupad.

59. GMA at Oupad with 8-up/7-down, the Port Elizabeth - Cape Town mail 

60. GMA 4122 with a down goods approaching the horseshoe below Oupad, 24 February 1979. 

61. The passengers were probably tucking into their breakfast as their 'SAR Travel' Safari Train hauled by GMA 4073 approached Oupad in October 1980. The train manager on this train was Eugene Armer and the Catering Inspector the late Fred Muller.  SAR Travel organised a number of round SA tours in 1979 & 1980 using locos still in service at that date and this October Safari was the fourth of these. 

62. Christmas eve 1971 found GEA 4022 and crew in festive mood as they 'decorated' the front of the rear tank with Port Jackson branches.  The train was 9-down/10-up and the location is one of the numerous S-curves between Oupad and Camfer. 

63. Org was participating in David Rodger's chartered mixed train in June 1996.  This was a runpast coming out of the horseshoe on Burnsleigh hop farm and the fireman* has managed to put a mighty curl of smoke around the Camferskloofberg. 

* Rich: was it you?

64. No such luck for this journeyman photographer almost two decades earlier. 

65. Steady as an ocean liner on a calm sea: GMA 4128 sailing up the hill past Burnsleigh hop farm about a mile out of Camfer. May 1978. 

66. Class 24 3684+GMA 4072 bring the Kei Explorer railtour past Burnsleigh, the Castle Breweries' hop farm at Camfer, only place in South Africa where the sun shines long enough in midsummer to ripen them. April 1986. 

67. GMA 4070 again drifting downhill past the tiny hamlet of Herold (the church tower clear in the middle of it) with only a few hundred yards to Camfer. 

68. GEA 4019 restarting from Camfer's outer home in December 1971. One could be forgiven for thinking this was an excursion; almost every window had heads hanging out.  But no, it was the normal service 9-down/10-up, albeit in holiday season, illustrating yet again how steam in conjunction with good scenery and windows that open compels passengers to watch the action - cinders and all. 

69. 9-down/10-up at the Camfer home signal, date unknown but because it is a GMA on a regular train it was taken some time between mid 1974 and October 1979 when steam haulage of the passenger trains ceased. 

70. An immaculate 4070 departing from Camfer with the PE - Cape Town mail in October 1979 - less than a month before diesels took over. 

71. Evening sun reflecting off GEA 4023 leaving Camfer for Power on a Steam Loco Safari Tours mixed train as part of their Cape Province Explorer III tour on 30 May 1997. 

72. GEAs crossing at Camfer in December 1973: 8-up (7-down) the Cape Town mail just drawing in with a late-running 342-up goods a few months before the GEAs were replaced on the Oudtshoorn run. The Camferskloofberg that features in Org's photo 64 above is just peeking over the hill in the left background. 

73. GMA 4073 again, at Camfer with the PE-Cape Town mail, 4 September 1978. Retired SAR driver Geoff kindly provided this additional information:

"On the left the driver can be seen carrying his hard grease pump.  The connecting rod and coupling rod bushes were all lubricated with sticks of a pliable grease [it had the texture of plasticene and its viscosity varied considerably with temperature] which were forced into the bushes with this pump. The most convenient and easiest position was for the rods to be at their lowest point. On the other side of this unit of course this would not be the case and on the other unit they could be in any position. This lubrication needed to be done two or three times on a trip and in fair weather was reasonably easy. However, on a cold night the grease could be hard as a brick. With a strong wind continually blowing out the flare lamp and perhaps rain it could be quite a challenge and if taking water it was not always possible to move the loco. [here follows Driver Geoff's most heartfelt words:.....] I fail to understand why the GMAs and GOs were not fitted with roller bearings on the side rods, they might also have run more freely......."

In the middle background are Melly, Justin (aged 8), Jess (6) and a friend, Dougal MacDonald, son of the hop farmer at Burnsleigh who, believe it or not, is an Argentinian to the marrow.

74.  A beautiful study of GMA 4122 at Camfer being prepared for the final pitch to Topping with a southbound goods. I'm sorry to make this accusation but it does seem possible that Alan called in here to arrange a bit of smoke........see photo 60. 24 February 1979. 

75. You've been on this train with me all the way since George but I have previously forgotten to mention that it was a Saturday.  The gentlemen on the right (probably railwaymen stationed at Camfer or farmworkers) were returning from a morning's shopping in George and they would have gone down the hill to town earlier that morning on 345-down T&P.  The little boy was running back to his mum and dad's compartment after catching a squizz of the engine.

76. Check all those open windows - Health and Safety officers would be horrified.  GEA 4019 at Camfer on the Cape Town-Port Elizabeth mail 9-down/10-up, 8 May 1973.

77. GEA 4032 departing Camfer with 9-down/10-up in October 1969.  An unusual view of Camfer from the water tower, showing the simple but effective layout.  Last of the seasonal fruit from the Langkloof was being loaded in the shed (right background).  Whereas export and local fruit from the 'Kloof mostly travelled eastward down the narrow gauge to PE, that destined for the western Cape came via SAR RMS to Camfer where it was loaded onto westbound trains. From May to October this traffic was quite substantial. 

78. The Minister of Transport – The Hon F.C. Sturrock – carrying his white panama hat – is leading the way for HRH Princess Margaret and HRH Princess Elizabeth – who appears to be interested in the Walschaerts valve gear on the GEA, as they head towards the leading engine for a footplate ride.  

Note 1: On the extreme right, carrying white coats and gloves, is Group Captain Peter Townsend who ultimately won HRH Princess Margaret’s affection and who aspired to becoming her husband but the Church of England refused to marry them because he had previously married.  How sad and how times have changed!

Note 2: At Camfer, the banking GEA (up the Pass) joined 4024 at the head of the train.

79. Minister Sturrock helps H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth into the cab of GEA 4024 for a ride to Holgaten from Camfer while HRH Princess Margaret waits for her turn to climb up to the cab and a railway official (possibly the General Manager H Marshall Clark?) assists. 

80. Meanwhile, in the cab of 4024, Princess Margaret is coming on to the Group Captain while the future Queen of England has a jolly old time tugging at the whistle.  Both the minister and Townsend seem only to have eyes for Margaret. 

81. At Holgaten the Royal party return to the comfort of their train while Minister Sturrock keeps a watchful eye on our future Queen.  The cable equipment just above the cylinder of the GEA, provided a telephone link between the engine and the train.

NOTE: As previously mentioned, the extensive tour is fully covered in Les's booklet entitled: “The Royal Tour of South Africa – 1947” which can be obtained from Model Train Exchange in Randburg, South Africa - Email: info@mte.co.za. 

Last word comes from Les:

"When I first published that booklet on the Royal Tour, I sent individual copies to the Queen Mother who was still alive at that time and to Queen Elizabeth as well as Princess Margaret.  All the copies were sent via the British Embassy in Pretoria.

As a result of that action I received individual letters of appreciation from each of them.  The letters expressed how pleased they were to receive the booklets as a reminder of their 1947 tour of South Africa.  They indicated that they had a wonderful experience touring the Country by rail. I still have and treasure those letters". 

82. In December 1969 a well-filled 808-up/707-down, second section of 8-up/7-down, was drifting downhill into Camfer.  That's the Camferskloofberg on the right. 

83. After a dull, wet climb from the coast to Topping the clouds began to clear inland beyond Camfer.  GMA 4126 was heading a northbound freight out of Camfer on one of the few short stretches of uphill track on the gradual descent to Oudtshoorn. August 1975.

84.  The same freight as in picture 83, a bit further on on the only short stretch of uphill between Topping and the Olifants River bridge at Oudtshoorn (note the gradient post). 

85. A steam safari crests the summit of the above-mentioned grade, just before the line ducks under the George-Oudtshoorn road. The gadget on the left is a combine-harvester, moved in to harvest the season's wheat crop.  

86. GMA 4073 on the PE-Cape Town mail between Holgate and Camfer, 4 September 1978. 

87. GEA 4023 and train between Holgate and Camfer glinting gold in the evening light while working a full passenger train from Oudtshoorn to Camfer on the above Steam Locomotive Safari Cape Province Explorer III railtour, 2 May 1997.

88. A final look at 4073 on the October 1980 SAR Travel Safari heading for Camfer shortly after passing through the loop at Holgate. 

89. Along with a few spectators on the main Oudtshoorn-PE road a lone cattle egret closely watches GMA 4072 on the Brinkman special from this newly-ploughed field. July 1983.

90. An earlier shot of the October 1980 SAR Travel Safari seen on one of the many curves between Zebra and Holgate, the first spot where the rising sun hit the tracks on this date. 

91. 24 class 3668 doubleheads with 19D 2753 on a Steam and Safaris Tour Train rounding the curve after Holgate loop in June 1993. 

92. Just before its booked stop at Holgate, GEA 4039 was working flat out on grade with 8-up/7-down, the Port Elizabeth - Cape Town mail in July 1972. 

English-speakers frequently pronounce this siding name to rhyme with the toothpaste, but that is completely wrong.  It is an Afrikaans reference to the characteristic hollows found in the rocky bed of the nearby Waboomskraalrivier ('holgate' are described as 'maalgate' on the other side of the mountain, hence the Maalgatenrivier).  By the way, if you look again at the extract from the Royal Train's timetable you will see that the original spelling was the Dutch 'Holgaten'.

Final word on this topic comes from Bruno: "The name change Holgaten to Holgate was one of 480+ name changes listed in the 'Index to Stations and Sidings' (affecting names of stations, sidings and stopping places on the SAR, RR, CFB, CFM & CFK) issued by the Office of the General Manager of Railways, Johannesburg, 1 June 1953." 

93. The last steam-worked 8-up/7-down on 1 November 1979 was a sad day for the service.  Other than the scenery, the main attraction of the train for holidaymakers and tourists was to be removed. This is the same train featured in photo 53 above.

94. GMA 4103 on 8-up/7-down the Port Elizabeth - Cape Town mail (ie the SLOW slow train) between Zebra and Holgate, August 1976. 

95. GO 2575 doing a runpast for the Cape Mountaineer tour participants about a half mile out of Zebra (see next photo). 

96. The Cape Mountaineer departing from Zebra in the kind of perfect conditions that only the Little Karoo can provide.  Look at those Swartberg Peaks, more than 50 miles away yet crystal clear in the crisp morning air (sorry guys I borrowed that from somewhere - musta been Wordsworth). 

97. On one of its first runs after restoration to traffic GO 2575 hauled the Cape Mountaineer railtour from Oudtshoorn to George on 22 July 1990 and is seen viewed from the train on a perfect cool morning near Blossoms. In case you're confused, picture 97 was taken after 95 and 96 but we're moving geographically so rightly or wrongly I've reversed the order.

98. Class 14CRB 1882 pilots GEA 4023 on a Steam Loco Safari Tours charter from Oudtshoorn to George through the Klip River gorge between Kandelaars and Blossoms on the climb to Zebra in June 1997. 

99. Immaculate GMA 4070 heading the PE-Cape Town mail after passing through the Klip River Gorge on the approach to Blossoms, in October 1979. 

100. As vague captions go this is right there among the best of them: "4089, 15 Aug 1979. I don’t know what this is, maybe a Steam Safari. What I can remember is that it’s a difficult trek getting there from the road in the distance. The first time, on finding a decent phot spot, there was my highly visible car standing on the road."  Well thank you anyway Alan, this is a great picture - and I don't see any car? 

101. This ranks among the rarest photos of recent years; here is the photographer's take on it: "24 + GMA  -  that’s all I have in the book. 14 Nov 1980.  My memory is vague on what happened here. I think the [Drakensberg] stock was used only a few times in the Oudtshoorn and Knysna area, but where the trains originated I don’t know."  Well, now you know.  

102. The "Sunset Limited" was a railtour run by SAR Publicity and Travel and organised by Alan Clarke and Eugene Armer in April 1979, here coming through the Kliprivierpoort* between Kandelaars and Blossoms.  Thanks to Peter Odell we can give you the engine numbers: 24cl 3652+GMA 4070 (of course). How elegant that unbroken line of clerestory coaches looked.  The first one behind 4070 is an ex Union Limited lounge/observation car. 

* This is actually its correct name and it is the same gorge that features in Alan Buttrums photos 100 and 101. 

103. GMA 4128 rounding the curve from Kandelaars with a Dave Rodgers Safari mixed in June 2002. This loco had been sold by the SAR and worked at REGM for a while before being repurchased by THF and overhauled for use on Safari trains at Voorbaai. 

104. The Brinkman special had just crossed a late-running northbound (diesel) goods whereupon, with a spectacular slip, GMA 4072 literally exploded out of Kandelaars. 

105. A much better photo of Kandelaars than the previous one with all that steam gushing out all over the place. This was the short-lived Premier Class train which really was a luxury job. Photographer Peter has provided some interesting details on the checkered post-steam career of the Cape Town-Port Elizabeth (and vice-versa) 'service':

"Despite the original CT -PE passenger dying off, there was a revival of the service (initially during the December holiday period during 95/96) and then the establishment of a weekend train running from Cape Town on Fridays at 18h00, arriving PE on Saturday 17h00. Departing PE on Sundays at 08h30; arriving Cape Town on Mondays at 07h30 (not 100% sure of times here) Was marketed under the name of the Southern Cross complete with headboard!  

By 1999 the train was terminating at Oudtshoorn with the catering crew laying over until Sunday evening. Passengers were finding it faster to catch a taxibus from ODN to PE. The service was entirely withdrawn in June 2002: Cape Town to Oudtshoorn on 7th June and the return from Oudtshoorn commenced on 10th June.  By 2009 the weekend train was revived under the Premier Class label, and very smart it was too! Unfortunately that didn't last long either..." Thank you for the accurate dates, Bruno.

106. Would that one could wind back the clock to the days before growlers and tin boxes.  8-up/7-down had just shut off for Kandelaars, hence the popping of the safety valves.  In the background a team of workhorses was ploughing the field, the cottages were freshly whitewashed, the train and the track it rode on true and tidy.  May 1962. 

107.  Peter talking: 

"A SAR Publicity and Travel special alongside the N9 approaching Kandelaars siding in December 1975.  Only the latest coaches were used on these tour trains. The photograph also captures the transition from aluminium painted roofs, as on the sleeper coaches, to the red painted roofs on the dining, kitchen and lounge cars. The first vehicle behind the water tank is a goods parcels vehicle of type FP converted to a power car. At the time, each sleeper coach had its own alternator while the air conditioned dining cars and lounge cars had hypoid gear boxes feeding batteries for power. The batteries were only charged while the train was in motion and had a limited life. The power car was to ensure continuous power while the train stood at various points of interest or where it stood overnight." 

108. GEA 4039 with 8-up/7-down approaching Kandelaars in February 1968. 

109. GEA 4022 just south of Friesland on the start of the climb from Oudtshoorn with 8-up/7-down, the Port Elizabeth - Cape Town mail, mid 1969. 

110. Last knockings of the midsummer sun reflecting off GEA 4014 with 355-down goods during the week before Christmas, 1971.  Loads of power-station and locomotive coal are in the consist - these were the years before the national grid and diesels. 

111. A beautiful old SAR Publicity Dept colour transparency of 8-up/7-down just out of Friesland c March 1960.  The headboard commemorates the 100th anniversary of the opening of the first railway in South Africa: from Durban City to Point.  

112. A nice clean pair of class 34s approaching the halt at Friesland with the "Southern Cross" in July 1997. 

113. Back in the draught days: GMA 4094 heads 8-up/7-down the Port Elizabeth - Cape Town mail between Friesland and Kandelaars on 5 August 76. 

114. The David Rodgers railtour of June 1996 again, featuring GEA 4023 again in a pleasant scene coming out of Friesland. 

115. On a crisp Spring morning in September 1978 GMA 4073 left Oudtshoorn with 8-up/7-down, the Port Elizabeth-Cape Town mail. 

116. We know that 7s in pairs worked the line from its opening until c 1922. So, on this curve, at this time of day, elusive seconds like these must have occurred hundreds of times. This was almost certainly the only time such a magical moment was captured on film.  

Let Peter tell you in his own words: "It was a total grab shot - while trying to get ahead of the train out of Oudtshoorn, I saw the possibilities of a photo at the last moment and skidded to a halt. Out of the car. Across the road. While (almost) falling down the embankment I set the camera to manual for a darker exposure and banged off 3 shots - this was the one that worked. And the train didn't even stop for a run-past afterwards... despite furious hand signalling for them to do so I was the only photographer there."

The classes 7A 1009 + 7B 1056 (built 1896 and 1901) were hauling a train of vintage coaches (1909, 1932 & 1903 respectively) on a chartered railtour by Steam & Safaris, 15 July 1997. When Peter took his remarkable photograph there was a combined 445 years of railway history rolling down the tracks. But for the middle coach, this might have been taken in 1917. 

117. Don't they look great together?  Would that this was a regular marriage in steam days.  Class 14CRB 1882 pilots GEA 4023 on a Steam Loco Safari Tours charter out of Oudtshoorn in June 1997. 

118. GEA 4039 with 8-up/7-down crossing the viaduct over the old Oudtshoorn-George road. May 1962 

119. GEA 4032 coming over the same concrete viaduct with the Cape Town mail in December 1968.  As mentioned, that little viaduct was over the original Oudtshoorn-George road which went via Klipdrif, Camfer and Montagu Pass (the section via Montagu Pass was replaced with the new, paved Outeniqua Pass in 1951 but the winding section north of the junction with the Camfer road was only finally completed in the late 1950s). Behind the train are the original road and rail bridges over the Olifants River.  The railway bridge is still there but the old single-track road bridge was replaced by a two-lane one during the seventies at the same time as the level crossing into Oudtshoorn was eliminated (see photo 120). 

120. Shortly after sunrise, with mist and smoke hanging over Oudtshoorn on a perfectly still morning, an unidentified GMA has just crossed the Olifants River bridge and begins the climb to the Montagu Pass with the Johannesburg - Mossel Bay express (1305-down, 07.30 ex-Oudtshoorn) on 4 August 1975.  This train would be followed some 75minutes later with the Port Elizabeth - Cape Town passenger. 

121. The Cape Town -PE mail arriving at Oudtshoorn with GMA 4103 on 29 June 1978. 

122.  Until c 1970 the entrance into Oudtshoorn from the George road was via this level crossing (and that was only equipped with flashing lights c 1959). That is 9-down/10-up coming past the home signal in May 1962.  Our resident motor vehicle fundi, Len (Jumbo) Ward tells us the car is "a 1957 Rambler Rebel.   This was the first American fuel-injected car.   It was the hope to save the Nash-Hudson company."   

123. The changeover from a Klipplaat 19D (immaculate as they ever were) to an equally immaculate GEA, then only 10 years old.  This was during the Winter holidays and our family was on the 3rd section of 8-up/7-down running as 888-up/777-down, made up of 12 imperial-brown clerestory coaches. Observe the white cardboard booking slips flapping in the breeze.  

In the 21st century it is perhaps difficult to imagine how a train that took two-and-a-half days to cover 675 miles could need three sections to meet the demand.  For more than 70 years 9-down and 8-up ran six days/week, with an extra 'fast' working at weekends making seven trains/week in all.  Here follows an attempt at an explanation: until 1959 there were still stretches of unpaved National Road between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and relatively large towns like Oudtshoorn could not be reached by paved roads at all, therefore long car journeys were undertaken reluctantly. In addition, the South African tradition, especially amongst farming families in the platteland, of sending their children to boarding school, meant heavily-booked trains at the beginning and end of each school and university term. I still remember how relieved my father was to be able to secure a compartment on this train.

And that brings me to another miracle about this photo.  It shows the last trip my family and I ever made with regular main-line steam into Cape Town and may even have been the last time a PE-Cape Town train was hauled by regular steam throughout its journey, for this was July 1957 by which time 90% of Cape Main Line traffic (as far as Touws River) was electric.  You can see my vivid (!) description of the last leg of the journey (from Worcester to Cape Town) here: https://sites.google.com/site/soulorailway/home/system-1/part-4

There are two other interesting things: on the extreme left edge a tiny bit of the town's Power Station is visible, it was quite small and its coal was, of course, delivered by SAR.  On the extreme right edge you can see stacks of cast-iron brake blocks.  At Oudtshoorn the Carriage & Wagon examiners checked the brakes and replaced any brake-blocks that were worn, a process that was allowed a mere 15 minutes but was vitally important for ensuring a safe descent of Montagu Pass.  

The photo brings home again how absorbing these journeys were.  In 39 hours there was hardly a boring moment - unlike the one-hour flight that seems to drag on forever.

124. Courtesy of Stan Brown, the man who was entrusted with choosing a steam line for tourists and holidaymakers (he chose George-Knysna) via Allen Duff, comes this interesting photo of a working that prevailed for more than 20 years before the GEAs arrived: GD piloting a class 7 (sixes and eights were also used).  Unassisted GDs were allowed 8 saloons on this train with a further four bogies added with a 7th class helper.  This was a standard operation until the GEAs arrived in 1946.  It was the practice to couple the GD ahead of the assisting engine, even though it was invariably much smaller and less powerful, to avoid excessive wear of the non self-adjusting pivots of the Garratt.

125. Fifty+ years later things had changed, not necessarily for the better. Two class 33s brought the last Southern Cross into Oudtshoorn in June 2002.

126. Class 8C 1190 was the station shunter at Oudtshoorn in mid 1969.  Every fortnight the shunter would go through to Voorbaai light engine for her boiler washout but the Cape Eastern Operating staff would never be persuaded to attach her to a train.  Don't think we didn't try..... 

127. The new shed at Oudtshoorn, completed in 1964, only saw about 15 years service before diesels made it redundant.  

The District Engineer at Oudtshoorn for almost 40 years from 1954 was the redoubtable Duff Conradie.  His territory stretched from Klipplaat in the east to its western extremity at Riversdale, including the branches.  Under Duff's leadership the District's premises, plant and track were kept immaculate; those few lumps of spilled coal and the little heap of ash would be gone by lunch time.  On the left is a Voorbaai GEA while on the right are two Klipplaat torpedo-tendered 19Ds - all, of course, immaculate.

128.  Another view of the new shed by the late Roger Perry, this one showing the modern coaling apparatus. 

129. Org photographed GEA 4023, the engine of the David Rodgers June 1996 special, coming off shed. 

130.  The SAR entertained several Royal Trains during its 70-year lifespan.  One of them was for the visit of the Prince of Wales (later, King Edward VIII, not much later, husband of the Duchess of Windsor) seen here drawing into Oudtshoorn with a sparkling pair of 8s in May 1925.  The rather sparse gathering of dignitaries emphasised Oudtshoorn's status as a town that had sympathised with the Boer cause. 

If any of you are still here, thank you for bearing with us, we appreciate it.  In the next SoAR chapter we'll continue our journey along the 'Garden Route' through the magnificent Little Karroo to Klipplaat were we join up with the Port Elizabeth - Graaff-Reinet line, covered in Part 13 of System 3.