© by Bruno Martin, Les Pivnic and Charlie Lewis

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: Bruno Martin, Les Pivnic, Charlie Lewis, Andrew Deacon, Peter Stow and Peter Micenko.

THE HARRISMITH - BETHLEHEM – KROONSTAD RAILWAY

SETTING THE SCENE

We need to begin at Ladysmith to trace the history of the Harrismith-Kroonstad Railway and then look at the bigger picture of the events that played a crucial role in constructing this railway.

When the Natal Government Railways (NGR) reached Ladysmith in 1886, the railways in Natal operated at a considerable financial loss. The following year saw the turning point to economic prosperity following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in the South African Republic (ZAR)*.   Thousands of miners flocked to the area, leading to the establishment of Johannesburg and the adjoining conurbation. So, the race was on between the two rival colonial railways, the Cape Government and the Natal Government, who would first reach the cherished goal, the Witwatersrand Goldfields.

*Zuid-Afrikaanische Republiek (ZAR)–South African Republic (also called the Transvaal Republic).

Natal realised that a rail link to the goldfields would benefit the colony more than any other part of the sub-continent because Durban had a distance advantage over the shortest rail connection with a Cape seaport, namely East London. The immediate reaction was to hasten the continuation of the Natal Main Line towards the Transvaal border and ultimately to Johannesburg to secure a share of the lucrative traffic. In addition, income derived from transporting coal from the coal fields in Northern Natal would make the railway even more profitable. At the same time, a rail link from Natal to the Orange Free State border was desirable to divert traffic to and from the Kimberley Diamond Fields through Durban.

Consequently, in 1887, railway construction of the main line forged ahead from Ladysmith, opening to Charlestown on 7 April 1891. By reaching the border, Natal appeared assured that it was well-placed to win the race. 

But at this juncture, geopolitics came into play. To foster good relations with the South African Republic, President Paul Kruger and representatives of his government were invited to attend the opening ceremony at Charlestown. After that, a special train conveyed President Kruger and his entourage on an official visit to Natal, stopping at Newcastle, Ladysmith, Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Despite being lavishly feted, Paul Kruger steadfastly blocked the railway extension from Natal from entering the ZAR until the Eastern Line under construction from Delagoa Bay to Pretoria was completed. 

As for the Orange Free State, the Volksraad (Government) was not yet committed to building railways. As late as 1887, 'Anti-Railway Conferences' were convened to deter the construction of railways through its territory. Arguments included: all railways were unnecessary; they were detrimental to transport riding by wagon; they were injurious to horse-breeding; they were likely to entail heavy land taxes, and they would encroach on property rights. Not deterred by the anti-railway lobbyists, the Cape Colonial Government pursued its expansionist tactics to ensure it captured the lion's share of traffic destined for the 'Rand' by persuading the OFS Volksraad to allow them to finance, build, equip and operate the territory's railways. Once an agreement was signed, the Cape Government Railways (CGR) immediately extended their Midland System line from a junction near Colesberg to Norval's Pont on the south bank of the Orange River by November 1889. Simultaneously, the Cape Eastern System extension from Albert Junction (later named Dreunberg) was built to join the main line at Springfontein. The main line reached Bloemfontein on 17 December 1890. Construction was pushed forward with such vigour that train services operated to Kroonstad by 20 February 1892. Just three months later, on 7 May, the rails reached the south bank of the Vaal River at Viljoensdrift. 

Meanwhile, the Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NZASM) had severe financial problems affecting the completion of the Eastern Line. Enter Cecil John Rhodes, the Cape premier, who negotiated a deal in December 1891 whereby a loan was made available to the NZASM to complete the railway from the Vaal River to Elandsfontein (later Germiston). In return, provision was made for the CGR to use the line. On 21 May 1892, the rails were extended across a temporary bridge over the Vaal River and connected to the NZASM's line, which opened to traffic on 15 September 1892 to Elandsfontein and on 1 January 1893 to Pretoria. And so, the CGR succeeded in reaching the Witwatersrand goldfields first.

While President Kruger was still blocking the Natal Main Line's extension over ZAR territory, a continuation of the railway from Van Reenen via Harrismith and Viljoens Drift to connect to the Cape Government Railways' line was considered in 1892 as an alternative to the goldfields. Natal used this option as leverage for President Kruger to allow the Natal Main Line onto his territory because had the extension been built across the north-eastern Free State, a direct route to Durban could have threatened the profitability of the Eastern Line to Delagoa Bay. Furthermore, it prevented the ZAR from controlling railway traffic to and from Natal operating through the Free State-Cape customs union.

Bain's Railway Map, c. 1903, indicates the route proposed from Glenlennie to Viljoens Drift.

The first sign that President Kruger was softening his opposition came in October 1892 when the ZAR Volksraad authorised the Natal Government to undertake a provisional survey of the route from Charlestown to Johannesburg. A breakthrough finally came in on 3 December 1892, when an interim agreement was signed, which permitted Natal Government Railways building, at its own expense, the extension of the main line from Charlestown to link up with the line connecting the Vaal River bridge to Elandsfontein. On 10 October 1895, the rails were ceremonially joined at a point some 4 miles south of Heidelberg. Passenger services started operating on 14 December 1895 from Johannesburg to Durban, but goods traffic, destined to begin on 2 January 1896, was delayed until the 20th. The delay was caused by the upheaval and disruption between 29 December 1895 and 2 January 1896 by the botched attempt to overthrow the ZAR Government during the Jameson Raid orchestrated by none other than Cecil John Rhodes.

LADYSMITH – VAN REENEN - HARRISMITH

After the survey for the rail link from Ladysmith to Van Reenen was finalised, the route was pegged out in June 1889. A junction was formed a mile north of Ladysmith Station, recorded as 190¼ miles from Durban and 3350ft asl, and appropriately named Orange Free State Junction. However, terminating the line at Van Reenen was not considered very remunerative, and tapping into the OFS's rich agricultural eastern region would make the undertaking more profitable. Negotiations with the OFS Volksraad resulted in the Natal Railway Administration being granted the sole right to build, equip and operate the extension from Van Reenen to Harrismith. Representatives of both Governments met in Harrismith on 25 February 1890 to work out the agreement's details. In terms of the agreement signed on 24 June 1890, the railway was to be completed within three years of the turning of the first sod. Significantly, while profits would be equally shared between the two Governments, all operating losses would be borne by Natal alone. The Free State could, at any time, after giving six months' notice, take over the railway at the cost of its original construction and any other capital expenditure.

Contracts for the earthworks and masonry culverts from Van Reenen to Harrismith were awarded on 22 January 1891†. The route generally followed the course of the Wilge River, graded at 1 in 80 with 600ft minimum radius curves. The energetic approach of the work crews completed the extension four months ahead of schedule. The extension from Van Reenen to Harrismith was taken into use on 13 July 1892. Initially, there was only one station, Albertina, later renamed Swinburne, between Van Reenen and Harrismith.

Distance from Durban, elevation in feet

Van Reenen  226       5520·49     Staging Station at the Natal/OFS border

Albertina     234¼     5408·46     Passing Station

Harrismith      249½     5322·30     Temporary Terminus

† The section from Van Reenen to Harrismith was built and operated by the NGR under an agreement signed on 24 June 1890 between the Orange Free State Volksraad and the Natal Colonial Government. The Orange Free State Volksraad authorised the Natal Railway Administration to construct, maintain and work, at its own risk, the line from Van Reenen to Harrismith. The working of the line was taken over by the CENTRAL SOUTH AFRICAN RAILWAYS (CSAR) in November 1903. No construction maintenance was allowed under capital expenditure (Under Law 29 of 1890, a sum of £260 000 was authorised for the construction of this section).

HARRISMITH – BETHLEHEM

With the rail link completed to Johannesburg and the goldfields in 1895, there was no longer a need for an extension from Harrismith to Viljoensdrift. All further railway construction plans were put on hold during the 1899-1902 Second South African War of Independence. 

The Imperial Military Authorities (IMR) assumed control of the railways in the Transvaal and Orange Free State from 11 September 1900 and commenced construction of the following lines: Bloemfontein-Modderpoort; Harrismith-Bethlehem; India Junction-New Canada and India Junction-Driehoek. On 1 July 1902, the IMR was handed over to the Central South African Railways (CSAR) administration.

After the cessation of hostilities in June 1902, the Inter Colonial Council of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony (ORC)* initiated a resolution with the following arrangements: 

* The Orange Free State was known between 1902 and 1910 as the Orange River Colony.  

(a) NGR to work the section between Van Reenen and Bethlehem at the expense of the CSAR Administration*. 

(b) The agreement, dated 10 March 1905, between NGR & CSAR empowered NGR to construct, equip, maintain and work at its own expense until expropriated, a line from Bethlehem to Kroonstad*.

The 20 miles 20 chains long section from Harrismith to Aberfeldy was opened on 1 April 1903, and 44 miles 22 chains to Bethlehem on 1 March 1905. Following the opening of the railway, the financial arrangement for working the line from Van Reenen to Bethlehem allowed the NGR  to deduct the operating expenses from the gross amount earned and the balance to be paid half-yearly to the CSAR Administration. The NGR would be compensated for the deficit if the cost of working the line exceeded the total income derived.

STATIONS AND STOPPING PLACES (1910)

Harrismith, 5321ft, 60 miles (from Ladysmith) 

Glen Lennie Halt, 5253ft, 70 miles

Aberfeldy Station, 5315ft, 81 miles

Chivelston Halt, 5514, 88 miles

Kestell Road, 5603 ft, 93 miles (later named Afrikaskop)

Tiger River Station, 5466ft, 104 miles (later named Kransfontein)

Sherbrooke Halt, 5547, 110 miles

Annandale Halt, 5454 ft, 118

Bethlehem, 5368ft, 125 miles

BETHLEHEM - KROONSTAD RAILWAY

This vital link to the main trunk route through the Orange River Colony (see map), as the Orange Free State was known between 1902 and 1910*, was provided by the NGR. An agreement was signed on 10 March 1905 between the Colonial Government of Natal and the Central South African Railways, which empowered the NGR to construct, equip, maintain and work at its own expense until expropriated, a line from Bethlehem to Kroonstad. The NGR was also given the authority to operate the railway from Van Reenen to Bethlehem, and the cost was charged to the CSAR Administration. 

* From the end of the Second War of Independence (Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902) until 1910, when the ORC became a province of the Union of South Africa.

The Natal Colonial Government was authorised to raise a loan of £650 000 and advance £150 000 to the CSAR's Commissioner to finance the building of a railway from Bethlehem to Modderpoort.

Building the railway was undertaken as a departmental project by the NGR and accordingly advertised in several South African newspapers, calling for the submission of tenders by 22 May 1905. Resident Engineer G R Holgate was appointed as supervisor. Trial surveys were already done at the beginning of 1905, which located a line of 88½ miles on a ruling gradient of 1 in 65 compensated for curves of 703 ft minimum radius. 

The route adopted was a continuation of the Harrismith-Bethlehem line from the far end of Bethlehem Station Yard instead of a reverse route at the Harrismith end as initially intended. The junction with the ORC main line was made south of the Valsch River (Valsrivier), about 1¾ miles from Kroonstad. 

Orders were placed in England for the permanent way material, and hardwood sleepers were obtained from Australia. Construction work started on 27 May, subcontracted in sections, so that by the end of 1905, considerable progress had been made with the formation, culverts, and laying of rails.

The permanent way comprised 60lbs/yd flat-bottomed steel rails, British Standard Section, with 6-hole angle fish plates. The rails were spiked directly to the Australian hardwood sleepers without plate chairs. Initially, the track was placed on inferior ballast. Some 2000 tons of rails and fastenings were ordered. The first shipment of hardwood sleepers arrived in Durban on 14 November 1905.

By the end of 1905, rails from Bethlehem were laid for 19½ miles and 27 miles from the Kroonstad end, respectively. Track laying was completed on 15 February 1906, and the line opened to a goods service. The Lieutenant-Governor of the ORC, Sir H Goold Adams, travelled from Kroonstad to Bethlehem on 18 February, and the line was opened to public traffic on 21 June with restricted speed pending the completion of ballasting.

STATIONS AND STOPPING PLACES (1906)

Bethlehem (0 miles) (314¾ miles from Durban)

Meets Stopping Place (7 miles) 

Valsch River Station (16½ miles), passing loop

Kaallaagte Stopping Place (22¼ miles)

Kaffir Kop Stopping Place (28½ miles), double dead-end siding.

Lindley Road Station (36¾ miles), sidings. 

Komspruit Stopping Place (47¼ miles) 

Lovat Station (54¼ miles), sidings. 

Oosthuysen Stopping Place (60¼ miles) 

Wonderkop (70½ miles), passing loop

Cowie Stopping Place. (77¾ miles), double dead-end siding. 

Kroonstad Junction (88½ miles) (403¼ miles from Durban), loop & sidings. 

Kroonstad Station (1¾ miles) (405 miles from Durban). 

BRIDGES

The Valsch River (Valsrivier) bridge, 16 miles from Bethlehem, comprising two 100-foot spans, was only one of importance. Second-hand lattice girders were obtained from the CSAR Administration for its construction.

Other bridges were: 

Lang Spruit (4 miles), two 15ft arches. 

Sevenfontein Spruit (14 miles), a 30ft span through bridge. 

Valsch River (16 miles), two 100-foot spans, lattice girders.

Naude Spruit (17 miles), a 20ft arch. 

Brak Spruit (21 miles), a 30 ft span through bridge. 

Solz's Spruit (34 miles), two 30ft spans through bridge.  

Louws Spruit (41 miles), a 30 ft span through bridge. 

Bloomplaats Spruit (58 miles), a 20 ft span deck bridge. 

Geldenhuis Spruit (59½ miles), a 20 ft span deck bridge. 

Yankee Spruit (60¼ miles), 20 ft span deck bridge. 

Belladonna Spruit (62 miles), a 20 ft span deck bridge. 

KROONSTAD - BETHLEHEM - HARRISMITH 

by Charlie Lewis

I have reversed the direction of my input from Bruno's correct (east-west) description of the construction of the line (which completed the link-up of the Natal and OFS systems in 1906). This was my introduction to the route in July 1952. Hence, the photos from here on will be placed in geographical order eastwards from Krooonstad. But first...

In April 1964 Melly and I went to live in England.  In December 1967 we returned.  During that time steam in the UK practically disappeared (even locomotives less than ten years old were being scrapped and the bulk of freight gone over to road) as well as in much of Europe.  This woke me up to a realisation: it could and would happen in RSA.  During those four crucial years SAR had electrified Witbank to Komatipoort, dieselised East London to Bloemfontein and electrified Johannesburg to Kimberley.  We landed in Cape Town to be greeted with the news that the next coast-to-highveld main line to lose its steam would be Port Elizabeth to De Aar.  There was NO time to lose.  In fact we got home already a year too late but thank goodness there had been steady hands at the helm in the shape of Les Pivnic and (later) Allen Jorgensen, Dusty Durrant and a few (very few) other Saffers.

So I immediately signed up with SAR who needed an assistant engineer (maintenance) at Bloemfontein.  We arrived there in January 1968.

Believe it or not, my first assignment was to stake out the route for an eleven mile pipeline to strengthen locomotive water supplies at Sannaspos - for a steam enthusiast this was a distinct morale booster but thank goodness it didn't cause me to slow down a determination to record the last years of SAR's steam operations. SAR was reaching the crest of a gigantic wave; what a time to be in Bloemfontein and it is important to mention that new orders for motive power weren't keeping pace with the growth in traffic.

No sooner the pipeline staked than I was called in by the System Engineer, Mr Hardaker.  He told me someone was needed to stand in for the District Engineer at Kroonstad during the latter's annual leave, to be followed by another relief job in Bethlehem.  Would I object?  Well, Kroonstad had a locomotive allocation of 120+ and Bethlehem 100+, all steam.  So, no, I didn't object.  Transport (by steam train) to Kroonstad and Bethlehem was free....

A coupla weeks later I was on the Orange Express (YESSS!!!) bound for Kroonstad.  At that time the line from there to Harrismith was being straightened and regraded from 1/66 to 1/100 preparatory to electrification.  Work had begun 18 months previously and it still had some four years to go, so each afternoon I headed east out of Kroonstad in the District Engineer's current model Ford Fairlane.  These were 'inspection' trips to the System's first railway tunnel - between Kriekdraai and Meets.  There happened to be several opportunities for photos along the way.  

OFS SYSTEM Working Time Book, December 1965

1. The bulk of freight between Kroonstad and Harrismith (155 miles) was hauled by doubleheaders, the reason being the change in grade from 1/100 on the main line to 1/66 from Gunhill to Bethlehem and beyond to Harrismith*.  The 19C+15F depicted here had just arrived from Bethlehem and was heading into the loco for servicing and turning before returning to Bethlehem with an appropriate load.

*The actual gradient beyond Bethlehem to Harrismith was 1/80 but this was not compensated for curvature so on a 22-chain radius curve it was equivalent to 1/66 and this was used as the through gradient (for which the loads were calculated) for the entire distance of 155 miles.

2. The approach to Kroonstad station from the town side in 1946.  Note the "bandits" doing manual labour and the guard with gun strapped to his back.  It was the practise to use convict labour in those days and nobody thought twice about it.

3. The mails arriving at Kroonstad in 1910 when the NGR was still operating the line on behalf of the CSAR.

4A. In the late seventies 10BR 756 (selected by Les) was plinthed in the station forecourt.  How grand she looked.  Sad to relate that within a few years vandalism took over.  The Elliot 10Bs were the principle passenger power on the Main Line for the first decade of SAR's ownership but the reboilered version never actually worked the OFS main line.

5. A view of the yard at Kroonstad looking towards the south, taken from the footbridge by SAR's official photographer in 1946.

6. The eastbound Orange Express in charge of a 15F coming in from Bloemfontein in March 1968. On the left is a 15E ready to take the train onwards to Bethlehem.  Before that can happen the guard's van will have to be shunted to the other end (this only became the practice from the end of the fifties - before that the train was hauled backwards from Kimberley to Kroonstad). 

7. The van has been shunted to the rear of the train for the rest of the run to Durban and a Bethlehem 15E has coupled under supervision of the Carriage-and-Wagon examiner.  Note the mixture of clerestory and Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) elliptical-roofed stock.  This was when the train was undergoing a transition from all-steel clerestory stock to the plain ugly UCW steel coaches.

8. A Bethlehem 15E makes a dramatic departure from Kroonstad in February 1964.  At this time the train was comprised almost completely of Metro-Cammel steel clerestory coaches - roofline only being disrupted by the elliptical-roofed dining saloon, kitchen and lounge cars. 

9. Roger Perry used this popular spot at Kroonstad, to photograph a 15E departing with the Orange Express for Bethlehem.

10. Soon after arriving in Kroonstad I was informed that my duties included footplate inspections of all the lines for which the DEs were responsible.  That was good news indeed!  This shot was taken from the cab of a 15F taking me to Bethlehem to stand in for the District Engineer who would be on leave during June/July 1968.   The train was the Orange Express and we had just departed Kroonstad before turning left at Gunhill, the junction for Bethlehem.

11. There was a series of 45mph reverse curves between Kroonstad and Gunhill.  Because of the severity of the banks out of the Vals river valley (1/90 towards Bloemfontein and 1/66 towards Bethlehem) drivers liked to charge them by running over 50mph around these corners, causing the coaches to lean over alarmingly.  Here is Bethlehem 15E 2868 with the eastbound Orange Express in March 1968.

12. Gunhill yard, completed in 1946 when export manganese off the Postmasburg line destined for Durban harbour was growing rapidly. One big problem: ruling grade from Postmasburg to Gunhill was 1/100.  From there to Meets (last siding before Bethlehem) it was 1/66 which meant that block ore had to be re-marshalled in order to reduce loads (from 2187 tons for doubleheaded 15F/23s to 1435 tons for doubleheaded 15E/15Fs) at Gunhill, the junction for Natal. This accounts for the busyness of the Kroonstad - Bethlehem section.

13.  Thank you Les, for identifying this location which Charlie had completely forgotten.  It was probably taken during one of his relieving trips to Kroonstad c 1968/69.  In the background, just above the refrigerator truck is the trestle marking the end of main-line electrification south of Kroonstad at that time and 15F 3032 on an eastbound goods is leaving Gunhill eastbound, charging the 1/66 up to Featherstone - first station out on the Bethlehem line.  In the background the numerous church spires on the skyline of Kroonstad can be seen.

14.  This 15E with a light goods load has just left Gunhill Yard, Kroonstad and was heading east to Bethlehem on 6 October 65. Just above the guards van the bridge over the Valsrivier carrying the main line to Bloemfontein can be seen.

15. Featherstone: 15E 2901 (the last of the series) heads 714-up mixed towards Kroonstad on 6 October 1965.

16.  2901 heads off with 714-up mixed train from Bethlehem to Kroonstad. 6 October 1965.

17. In March 1968 a Bethlehem 15F brings 709-down out of Featherstone.  In the next 75 miles this heavy train will be dragged uphill more than 1000ft to the summit just before Meets siding.  Small wonder the average (timetabled) speed over this section was barely 19mph.

18. Near Featherstone 15E 2888 is heading 709-down mixed from Kroonstad to Bethlehem on 18 September 1965.

19. District Featherstone, 18 September 1965: 15E 2859 heads a goods train for Bethlehem.

20.  A 15E brings an eastbound block of empty B-bogies out of Patrysdraai on their way to the collieries around Vryheid in Natal.

21. Komspruit: departure of 709-down Bombela with 15E 2884  The photo was taken from the original formation and the train is on the recently opened new alignment. 

22.  Komspruit: 15E 2889 slogging up the 1/66 of the original route with 709-down Bombela, March 1968.

23. Arlington: eastbound doubleheaded 15Es with 02663-down manganese on its way to the export pier at Maydon Wharf, Durban while an eighth class makes up trains for the branches to Senekal (southwards) and Wolwefontein (northwards).  In the far left the local track gang is busy replacing a set of points.

24.  Arlington: 15E 2880, the regular engine of driver Loggerenberg who kept his engine immaculate, departing with an eastbound freight.

25. Doubleheaders were common on the Kroonstad - Bethlehem line, as depicted in this evening departure of two 15Es on an eastbound goods east of Arlington.  In the next 30 miles they will drag their load up the 1/66 to the summit > 5600ft between Kriekdraai and Meets. 

26. Ooreenkoms: Stephenson 19D + Henschel 15E with westbound ore empties on their way back to Postmasburg. July 1968.  The 'torpedo' tendered 19D was on its way to its home shed at Arlington and the 15E would come back from Kroonstad.

27.  Kaallaagte, July 1968:  a late-running Orange Express was bringing me back to Bloemfontein after spending a fortnight relieving the District Engineer at Bethlehem.  The driver was making up time and the train was leaning over quite alarmingly on the tight (45mph) curve.  Note the lovely old wooden clerestory coaches behind the engine - one is an articulated saloon with extra-large compartments as handed down from the erstwhile Union Limited/Union Express.

28. We have mentioned that SAR's orders for new motive power weren't keeping pace with the growth in traffic, thus calling for desperate measures by the operating department; exemplified by these two 19Ds with a lengthy eastbound general freight on brand new embankment between Kaallaagte and Valsrivier in July 1968.  Note the original trackbed in the right background (the pink line in Bruno's map above).

29.  The new 1/100 alignment with its sweeping wide-radius curves had only been open for a matter of days when this 15E coasted downhill with a short westbound freight en-route to Kroonstad.  

The original line can be seen winding its way through the trees in the background, towards the neck between Ooreenkoms and Kaallaagte.  On this stretch of 1/66 the 15F of the Orange Express taking me to Bethlehem in July 1968 was reduced to walking pace.   I was having dinner in the diner at the time and remember the sound of each exhaust beat ricocheting like canon-ball fire off the cliffs.

30. Valsrivier: westbound doubleheaded 19Ds bringing pitprops to the Free State goldfields in March 1968 (please refer again to the caption for photo 28 above).

31. Valsrivier: eastbound 15F about to tackle the final stage of the climb to the 5614ft summit at Meets (March 1968, a year before the tunnel at Kriekdraai was opened to traffic).

32.  The earthworks behind the train are for the 1/100 alignment to the first railway tunnel in the Orange Free State through the ridge between Valsrivier and Meets, opened in March 1969.  The 19D+15E combination in the foreground are drifting down the original 1/66 grade towards Valsrivier with a block load of wooden pitprops for the mines around Welkom.  It is worth mentioning that the combined tractive effort of the two locomotives were reckoned to have about the same pulling power of a single 15E/15F on 1/100.

33.   Kriekdraai:  with the opening of the route through the 200m-long tunnel this halt disappeared forever.  See the topo map below.  The pink line is the route of the railway before the tunnel was built.

34. Kriekdraai:  most trains were doubleheaded on this section.  All trains were reduced to walking pace here; this was the steepest part of the line and the tunnel buried underneath it.

The wavy pink line showing the original route over the summit between Kroonstad and Bethlehem was traced off topographic map 2828AA. 

35.  As one approached Bethlehem the outriggers of the Witteberg could be seen to the south of Langspruit halt.

36.  Approaching Langspruit halt was 15E 2888 with this string of petroleum empties returning to the refinery in Durban.  Those were the days before completion of the Sasol pipeline.

37. Eddie Mecl took this fine shot of a 19D double-heading a 15E on a 'water train' near Bethlehem on 11.12.66.  As implied by the parched end-of-winter landscape, it was the practice to tank locomotive water in the dry season.

38. About 3 miles out of Bethlehem the new alignment came together with the original, much steeper and curvier, route out of town. Westbound there was a 7-mile climb of 500ft to Meets. One evening Charlie caught a freight to there and rode in the guard's van.

Map showing the alignment changes from Bethlehem Station to Annandale.

Bethlehem – Harrismith track improvements.

The relocation of the junction of the Harrismith line, about 2½ miles north of Bethlehem Station on the Villiers-Balfour North line, appears to have been completed in the early 1960s. Surprisingly, the old alignment, which often still features on updated editions of the 1:50k series, is not depicted on the 1st edition of the 2828AB BETHLEHEM topographic sheet, based on 1959 aerial photography, surveyed in 1965 and published in 1967. The old alignment on the above map was plotted using Google Earth imagery.

On TFR's 2006 Infrastructure Diagram, 'Atbara TWS' is 1,79 km from Bethlehem Station, 213,55 km ex-Balfour North, and designated as an 'interlocked station with semaphore signals'.

Work started in March 1965 on twelve deviations, between 263 miles 9 chains and 320 miles 45 chains. The project entailed building two major bridges over the Wilge River, bypassing the detour at Glen Lennie, relocating Rivierdraai interloop and Aberfeldy Station, and eliminating excessive curvature.

The two major bridges over the Wilge River were completed in 1967.

In 1969, stage 2 of Bethlehem Marshalling Yard was taken into use.

Work started in 1969 with casting foundations, erecting steel structures and wiring on various portions of the line on the Kroonstad-Bethlehem-Harrismith section.

All deviations were completed in 1969, and on 25 November 1970, the line from Harrismith to Bethlehem was energised for service under electric traction. Deviations and regrading shortened the distance between Harrismith and Bethlehem by 4 miles and 54 chains (7,5 km).

39.  Before the junction of the line from Bethlehem to Balfour North was deviated to Atbara, a site some 2 miles north of town (see Bruno's map above) a 15F was making heavy weather of the start out of the station yard with a Kroonstad-bound freight. That's a 3R at the water column (by the 1950s they were confined to shunting duties).  July 1958.

40. Les took this shot of the nameboard at the gate to Bethlehem Loco in the C.1966.

41. The CSAR established a junction at Bethlehem in 1906.  The importance which the CSAR attached to this may be gauged from the fact that it built a major locomotive shed together with an altogether modern coaling plant. Which makes it weird how a diminutive ex NZASM tank engine came to be the loco shunter and how the coal happened to have been loaded into short cattle wagons.  The quality of the coal doesn't look too kosher either, judging by the pile in the CSAR wide-cab sixth class about to move away.

42. About 60 years separate this photo and the previous one: the coal stage hasn't changed but the engines have: 15E and 15F moving away and a Belpaire 6th on the loco shunt.  The rolling stock and the quality of the coal has improved a lot!

43. Belpaire 6C 544 shunting the coal stage, March 1968

44. Les writes: "on one of my visits to Bethlehem Shed in 1967, I was fascinated by the shafts of sunlight coming through shed roof.  A 15E and a reboilered Hendrie loco was in the shed when I took the photo". 

45.  A small portion of Bethlehem's allocation of 120+ engines on a July Sunday in 1968.  15Es and 15Fs predominate with plenty of 19Ds in between plus a few 12Rs, a 6J, a 6 Belpaire and a coupla eights left over from the CSAR  days.

46. A 15E's 'roly-poly' valve gear getting some attention from one of the Bethlehem fitters.  July 1968.

47. One of the shed pilots, Belpaire 6C 544, still very active, looking as if she has no time for a shower, on a cool morning in July 1968 when Charlie was relieving at Bethlehem.

48. This portrait of class 6J 641 was taken on 12 July 1970, while it was having a break from working the coal-stage in Bethlehem Loco. 

49. 19Ds at Bethlehem worked north to Balfour North, the Warden branch out of Harrismith and filled in on the main line by doubleheading with the main-line power.

50. On another visit to Bethlehem in December 1966, Les was fortunate to find 15E 2881 just out from a 'heavy repair' in Bloemfontein Shops. In SAR terms, a 'heavy repair' refers to a major overhaul.

51.On the same visit to Bethlehem Loco, he saw another 15E still carrying the arrow-crest on her smoke deflectors from her days stationed at Beaufort West on the Cape Main Line.

52. Passenger-link power at Bethlehem was kept immaculate, mainly due to the influence of the Assistant Loco Foreman at that time, no greater man than the redoubtable Alec Watson. They were all regular engines, 15E 2880 depicted here 'belonged' to Driver Loggerenberg.

53.  A passenger-link 15F bulled up quite nicely although it does look as if the white edge to the running board still has to be finished.

54. Bethlehem's fleet of 19Ds got through a lot of work - northwards to Balfour North, west to Kroonstad (sometimes Arlington) and east to Harrismith (which would have included the branch to Warden).

55.  Empty coal bunkers tell you this 15F+15E combination is just in from Harrismith having brought in a double-headed goods load.  They are reversing back to the loco (visible behind the signal gantry).

56.  A mid-seventies view of Bethlehem station.  As you see, it was quite a charming structure.  Don't ask what it looks like today..... (Sadly, it's just a burned-out shell)

57. And this is how it looked in 1946.  The Essem was a gardening enthusiast.  Note all the bicycles on the verandah and the clerestoried chocolate-brown coaches in the yard.

58. How about this for an array of motive power?  From right to left:  12R; 15AR; 3R; 19D; 15E.  November 1961 was an especially interesting time to be in Bethlehem.  The 15Es had recently arrived from Beaufort West to take over from the15ARs (which were about to be bumped off their runs to Harrismith, Bloemfontein and Kroonstad) and the 12Rs had already been downgraded to shunting duties alongside the 3Rs which had been on shunts for more than 20 years by this time.

59. This 15E was approaching Bethlehem station from the Loco Depot in November 1961 to work a passenger train to either Bloemfontein or Kroonstad.

60. The 1947 Royal Train  and the Pilot Train both at rest in Bethlehem station.  

61.The Orange Express between Cape Town and Durban dropped off a compo-saloon at Bethlehem en route to Durban.  This coach was picked up again on the return leg from Durban to Cape Town. The class 3R on the left was just taking a break from her shunting duties at the station in November 1961.

62. Les's visit to Bethlehem on 12 November 1961 provided an unexpected extra to the general local scene - the new Amsler dynamometer car in original brown livery.  She is depicted here with her attached staff car which is in the then new standard red and grey livery. 

63. Another shot from Les's 12th of November visit to Bethlehem - a 19D departing with a goods load for Reitz and Frankfort.

64. A 15F departing from Bethlehem with oil empties destined for Durban

65.  Charlie's Dad took this frosty winter morning shot while he was on his annual trip around the country (his train, 81-down, is in the left background).  Almost obscured by the station-yard shunter on the right is the 19D on the yard shunt, making up trains.  Then, right to left: 3X 15ARs on eastbound goods, all impatiently blowing off, as is a 19D about to depart with goods for the High Veld via Balfour North.

66. In July 1958 Charlie's Dad took the family with him!  Recently arrived from Beaufort West was the 15E that came on at Bethlehem blowing off preparatory to setting out for Harrismith.  

81-down was a heavy train of solid clerestory stock in imperial brown and no elliptical roofs to disrupt the continuous clerestory roofline.  As you see, the departure board was already off when this photo and the next one were taken.

67. 81-down's crew seemed friendly so Charlie asked them for one minute to photograph the other side which they obligingly did.  What a dramatic scene. The early morning sun reflecting off the headlight glass gave the impression that it was switched on.

68. A few years later Charlie's Dad had bought himself a 2nd-hand Leica M3 and his photography improved immensely.  This was 81-down in July 1965 waiting for the off.

69. It was a sort of family tradition that the Lewises would photograph first one side and (if there was time) then the other.

70. District Bethlehem 11 December 1966: 15F 2915 with a livestock train, already clear of Atbara and heading for Harrismith.

71. Train 665-down (a continuation of 81-down which had left Bloemfontein the previous night) crossing the Liebenbergsvleirivier just east of Bethlehem in July 1968. On the new alignment the next five miles through Annandale to the summit at Kreuzberg are uphill at 1/100.

72.  Running half a day late, in April 1968 this rather unkempt 15E 2878 was bringing the eastbound Orange Express (sans nameboard) up the 1/100 from the Liebenbergsvleirivier bridge towards Annandale.

73. We chased the Orange from the previous photo (only about 3km but the engine was battling on the hill up to Annandale) and comfortably beat it to the home signals at Annandale where it crossed two westbound goods and overtook one eastbound.  We never did find out why the Express was so late.

74.  Annandale: pm departure of 668-up all-stations Harrismith to Bethlehem (it continued from there as 724-up all-stations to Kroonstad). When asked, the lady in the foreground said yes, she would normally take the train but today she was in a hurry.

75. A 19D+15F departing from Annandale with freight on its last leg to Bethlehem.  As already explained, the reason for the plethora of doubleheaders on this route was the necessity to compensate for the difference in permissible loads on 1/100 and 1/66 (Kroonstad-Bethlehem) or 1/80 uncompensated (Harrismith-Bethlehem).

76.  Bethlehem-Van Reenen was one of the coldest sections on the SAR - in those pre-global warming days winter temperatures regularly fell below minus 12.  The steam bleeding off the steam heaters of 665-down (previously 81-down) awaiting a crossing at Annandale bears testimony to this.  Charlie's dad took this shot on his annual circuit of the country some time in the early sixties.

77. On 19 February 1967, Les was near Annandale when 15E 2888 and a 19D with a goods load came up the grade heading for Harrismith.  In the right background is the formation for the new 1/100 alignment.

78. Multiple crossings at Annandale in February 1968.  Careful study of this photo reveals four trains (two up and two down).  The WTB for 1967 shows that for a single steam-operated line, Bethlehem - Harrismith was exceptionally busy with more than fifty trains per 24 hours. This was 81/665-down, the daily stopper from Bethlehem to Durban, passing 669-down ballast mts and crossing two unknown freights.   

79. Hot on the heels of 81/665 was this special ballast working with mt AYs en route to collect more stones from the quarry near Harrismith.

80. Annandale: energetic departure of an eastbound goods at dusk.

81. They even used double 19Ds to haul manganese.  Those were desperate times.

82. 19D+15E with an eastbound goods departing from Annandale, the first crossing place out of Bethlehem - it was always congested.

83.  1st July 1958 was a cool morning on the Harrismith line. On this heavy holiday 81/665-down our 15E was struggling to cope with icy rails.  This is the same train that features in photos 66 and 67.

84. Just one more short wagon would probably have been enough to defeat this 15F+15E combination struggling up the old line out of Annandale.  In fact the train isn't quite on the old line yet - you can see they are just at the point where a temporary connection takes them onto the old line.  The formation of the new line is in the left background.

85. This was the 15E of 71-down with its maximum permissible load about to move onto the old line out of Annandale, only a few days before the new 1/100 alignment to Kreuzberg was opened to traffic.

86. Drifting down to Annandale on the old line, 19D 2753 with livestock, March 1968.  

87. Barely a week before the new line was opened to traffic this 15E+15F combination was slogging up the old line towards the 5,720ft summit near Kreuzberg between Sherbrooke and Annandale.

88. Bakbossie: 15E 2892 approaching the summit with westbound empty ore wagons, July 1968.  New line under construction in the background.

89. In preparation for electrification, during 1967/69 the section between Annandale and Sherbrooke was flattened and straightened at great expense (see Bruno's note concerning the capital works between Harrismith and Bethlehem adjacent to photos 38 and 39 above).  

Having completed 02667-down's 300ft climb out of Annandale, this 24+15E combination was about to shut off for the long drift down to the water stop at Kransfontein. The train was a block-load of export manganese destined for Japan, heading for Maydon wharf. It is on the old line and the cutting that will lower the summit of the new line can be seen in the left background.  The train has just passed the point where the route of the new line intersects the old one (see photo 87 above). It should be mentioned that the purpose of this huge capital-works program was not only electrification but also to reduce the ruling gradient for eastbound traffic from 1/66* to 1/100.

*Although the steepest inclination recorded on the original line-side gradient posts was 1/80 the 66-chain curves along this route made an equivalent gradient of 1/66. 

90. The seemingly unending variety of motive power combinations was a fascinating feature of the Bethlehem-Harrismith section, in this case a pair of 19Ds working an heavy westbound goods during early 1968.

91. The tightness of the curves on the original alignment between Harrismith and Bethlehem is made dramatically clear by comparing them with those on the new deviations as shown above.

92. Westbound freight crawling up to the summit between Kreuzberg and Annandale on the old line which had an equivalent gradient of 1/66 here.  In the foreground is the new deviation with its 1/100 compensated gradient and climbing some 30ft less at this point.

93. A 24+15E combination brings a goods up the new line between the sidings at Kreuzberg and Bakbossie. This was a favourite place for reflection shots. The embankment of the original 1/80 route is visible in the background just ahead of the train.

94. The seemingly endless variety of combinations between the various classes based in Bethlehem is typified by this poppet-valved 19C + standard 19D passing the same farm dam seen above.  At the time (July 1968) Bethlehem had three 19Cs on loan from the Western Cape.

95. Emphasising the variety of motive power and combinations on this route: 19D+15E on 666-up goods approaching Kreuzberg, Apr 1968

97. To avoid costly earthworks the NGR's engineers staked a number of tight reverse curves on 1/80 uncompensated gradients between Sherbrooke and Kreuzberg. This 19D+15F are bringing a heavy freight away from the un-opened new line with its flatter curves and 1/100 compensated gradient (left edge of the picture).

98. 19Ds bringing a block load of pitprops bound for the gold mines around Welkom, into Sherbrooke, March 1968.

99. District Annandale: This smartly turned-out 15E was seen working a string of loaded B & DZ wagons on 19.2.67.

100. A 'torpedo'-tendered 19D (North-British 1949) heads a westbound goods out of Kransfontein in July 1969.

101. On a freezing morning in July 1968 15E 2880, regular engine of Driver Loggerenberg, made a spectacular departure from Kransfontein with 72-up, the Natal-OFS-Cape mail.

102.  In steam days Kransfontein watering stop was a seriously busy place. Invariably two or three (or four) trains would be there for watering, fire cleaning or just crossing.  Having been serviced for the last leg of their Harrismith-Bethlehem trip, this 15E+15F combination were about to cross a Natal-bound goods in April 1968. 

103.  Laundry for local folk around Kransfontein was the locomotive water dam (out of sight to the right) where there was a regular line-up of ladies doing their washing, as with this couple.

104. Like Annandale, the servicing stop at Kransfontein was always congested.  This was the crossing of three doubleheaders in March 1968

105. Kransfontein (again): two 19Ds rolling in with a long goods while this 24+15E wait for it to clear before heading off for Harrismith.

106. Kransfontein: North British-built 'torpedo'-tender 19D+15E crossing an eastbound goods with another 15E, April 1968.

107. Kransfontein: 15E 2880 (driver Loggerenberg) with 82-up opening up after crossing the Kalkoenspruit, July 1968.

108.  Between Harrismith and Kroonstad, 19D+15E combinations were the ones that most closely matched the single engine loads of 15Fs and 23s at Kroonstad so that was the one most frequently employed by operating to move traffic for onward transmission with the least disruption.  By July 1968 construction of the new line was far advanced allowing this combination to enjoy a gallop up the 1/100 leading away from the Kalkoenspruit up to the summit at Kreuzberg.

109. Beneath the kranses of Kransfontein a 15F brings 81/665 down mail up the 1/66 (equivalent) of the old line.  March 1968.

110.  The same Orange Express in photos 72 & 73, still running half-a- day late, on the new line a mile east of Kransfontein.  We had visited this spot the previous weekend when photos 108,109 and 110 were made of trains on the old line in the foreground.  The new line was opened in the intervening week (see also photo 111) - April 1968.

111. The same Orange Express with 15E 2878 enjoying a gallop on the new line up to Afrikaskop, April 1968.  Note the old line, not yet a week out of use, between the photographer and the train.

112. Train No 02665-down has a full load of export manganese off the Postmasburg branch for this 19D+15E on the 1/66 of the old line (the soon-to-be-electrified 1/100 new line is down in the vlaktes on the left).  According to the 1967 working time book the gross train load for this combination on this gradient was 1435 tons,

113. The same load of export manganese from the same vantage point used for photo 112, i.e. the kranses of Kransfontein, entering a temporary cutting made to accommodate the old line while the very deep cutting for the new line was being dug.  At that time the rapidly growing ore export business was being sent to Maydon Wharf in Durban Harbour, and the huge project to flatten, straighten and electrify the line was being undertaken to enable SAR to cope with the unprecedented growth in this business.  These were the days before the new purpose-built ore wagons were being built and SAR made do with DZ and B-bogie general traffic open wagons which was not an efficient way to handle manganese, one of the densest of cargoes - note how the ore barely covers the bottom of each wagon. 

114. A week before the new line was opened we enjoyed watching this coast-bound goods on its hands and knees crawling up the old line between Kransfontein and Afrikaskop. The gradient post read 1/80 but with compensation for the 22-chain curve it was equivalent to 1/66.

115. Domeless 19D+15F with general freight for the Orange Free State drifting downgrade on the old line from Afrikaskop towards the bridge over the Kalkoenspruit about one mile east of the water stop at Kransfontein in March 1968.  The train is actually coming off a temporary deviation to avoid the deep cutting about to be used by the new deviation in the background.

116. Barely a month later, April 1968 saw 72-up (still almost entirely comprised of classic SAR wooden clerestory stock) with its 15E having opened up for the climb away from the Kalkoenspruit into Kransfontein. Demolition of the old line (in the foreground) had not yet begun.

117.  Photo 115 shows an up goods coming down the old line which can be seen here (upper left) in the process of being dismantled while a freight chugs up the deviation in its brand new deep cutting.  In fact, the 'old line' at this point was actually a temporary deviation to avoid a double crossing of the original route (its much shallower cutting can be seen higher up to the right of the locomotive). July 1968.

118. A 15E+15F combination on the long descent from Afrikaskop to the Kalkoenspruit just before their service stop at Kransfontein.  The cutting from a higher perspective shows the route of the temporary cutting (photo 115) as well as the route taken by the original line around this natural promontory.

119. Two 15Fs bringing a westbound freight down from Afrikaskop towards Kransfontein, about to enter the new cutting.  April 1968.

120.  A 15F with 81/665-down emerging from the eastern end of the deep cutting shown in photos 117 & 118

121. 15E 2890 with an eastbound goods emerging from the temporary cutting shown in photo 115 onto the old line.  The deep cutting for the new line can be seen in the background.  The passenger train in the previous photo came through it a few months later. 

122. On the old line the stretch from the bridge over the Kalkoenspruit to Afrikaskop was a succession of 66-chain curves on the 1/80 grade, (i.e. 1/66 compensated) sufficient to bring full passenger loads down to walking pace (in the opposite direction it was exhilarating and very different - quite scary in fact!).  Beyond the cutting seen in the previous photo the earthworks for the new line were much less dramatic but the curves were all flattened to a radius sufficient to provide compensated gradients of 1/100. Above is the daily mail train 81/665 down, headed by 15E 2876 in March 1968.  The deep cutting featured in photos 117 & 118 is just behind the last few vehicles.

123. The recently completed new interloop at Kersslag with15Es on freights crossing.

124. A domeless Dollie and a Bongol (19D+15E in official jargon) drifting down from Afrikaskop heading west towards the water stop at Kransfontein.  Coming west from Afrikaskop, this was where the old line deviated from the new one.  Ahead lay a whole succession of curves with 45mph restrictions on them. Not long to go before the new line was opened to traffic - March 1968.

125. The facilities at Afrikaskop were primitive to say the least.  There wasn't even a rudimentary platform.

126.  Afrikaskop, 15AR 1855 on a special Orange Express for the school holidays, July 1954.  A year earlier Charlie rode the real Orange Express from Durban to Cape Town and a 15AR took over from three 1Es at Harrismith.  The headboard looked quaintly out of place on the small diameter smokebox of the 15AR but unfortunately it was the end of the holidays and Charlie's film was all used up.

127. Traffic jam,  July 1968.  On a single-track line carrying fifty+ trains/day there were bound to be snarl-ups like this one near Aberfeldy.  The 19D (on 683-down goods) was struggling to get up the gradient into the siding less than a mile away, meanwhile 669, the daily pick-up, had been released from Chivelston with the regulation 20 minute cushion.  As you see, the time had been used up and the trains were running on visual interval!  Highly irregular...... 

128. Tackling the rise between Chivelston and Aberfeldy are a 19D+15F with 02667-down manganese on its way to Maydon wharf in Durban for shipping to Japan.  Note how little ore makes up a capacity load in a DZ wagon!  Each one of those lumps probably weighs 5kg-10kg.

129.  Domeless 19D+15E with westbound ore empties pulling away from Aberfeldy in September 1968.

130. Aberfeldy: Unrecorded 15E departing with 665-down mail all-stations Bethlehem-Ladysmith-Durban, July 1968

131. On new 1/100 formation between Breedal and the new siding at Cumnor, this 15E+15F combination were working a hefty eastbound goods up the last lap before Harrismith. The formation of the original line through Glen Lennie, abandoned in September 1968, can be seen along the base of the hill in the background (see Bruno's map below).

Track straightening between Rivierdraai and Breëdal, resulting in the elimination of Glen Lennie halt (see Bruno's notes on the Harrismith-Bethlehem regrading between photos 38 and 39 above).

132. Between Rivierdraai and Glen Lennie the old line had several tight bends, each equivalent to a 1/66 gradient.  That's Baker's koppie in the background and that dirt track in the foreground is the original main road between Harrismith and Bethlehem.

133. Notorious for its numerous tight reverse curves, the old approach to Harrismith with Platberg in the background. An early sixties photo by Charlie's Dad on his annual excursion around the country.  Already a Union Carriage & Wagon tin coach is spoiling the clerestory skyline.

134.  From the teak clerestory carriages to the locomotives and much of the goods rolling stock on view here, the stamp of D A Hendrie, SAR's first CME, was everywhere, at least up to the mid-fifties  Even then, it lingered for another two decades.  This was Harrismith, the end of the OFS System, showing the arrival of 81-down c 1946, taken by an official photographer.(THL photo reference N52862_141)  

135.  The 15E (in the distance, on the middle road) has uncoupled from our train and a domeless 19D is departing for Bethlehem with a healthy-looking load.  July 1958.

That more or less winds up the steam era on this primary link between Natal and the Orange Free State.  It is perhaps interesting to record that steam haulage of the crack freight between Natal and Cape Province was kept going for more than 15 years after the electrification from Harrismith to Kroonstad had been switched on - albeit only two trains/day; 1212-down and 1213-up perishables (mainly fruit).  From Bethlehem they ran via Modderpoort, slightly shorter and quicker for cargoes on their way to or from the Western Cape.  We are fortunate to have two gents who knew the terrain intimately doing the coverage of this beautiful route for Soul of A Railway: Messrs Michael Carter and Peter Micenko.  Michael drove the 25NCs that worked the line during its last coupla decades and Peter was an SAR civil engineer with intimate knowledge of the physical characteristics of this very rugged route.

IT ONLY REMAINS TO THANK THE MANY CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS CHAPTER: UNFORTUNATELY SEVERAL HAVE PASSED ON, THEIR NAMES ARE IN BLACK:

Johannes Haarhoff (via his invaluable index site DRISA), Peter Stow, Roger Griffiths, Roger Perry, Eddie Mecl, Bertram Lewis, V Venter, Yolanda Meyer and the Transnet Heritage Library.