Part 8: Richmond Branch and the Cape-Natal, by Les Pivnic ©

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.

SOUL OF A RAILWAY PART 8 ©

COMPILED BY LES PIVNIC WITH ASSISTANCE FROM BRUNO MARTIN AND ASHLEY PETER.

I would like to thank the following photographers who have contributed photos to part 1 and/or part 2 of this chapter: Charlie Lewis, Bruno Martin, Malcolm Holdsworth and the late George Bambery - Collection Robert Kingsford-Smith, Dick Manton Collection (comprising: AA Jorgensen, John Carter, AE Durrant), Eugene Armer, Peter Stow, Stuart Grossert, Sandy Buchanan, Charles Parry, THL-HLP Collection, Glen Mills, Robert Kingsford-Smith for his own photos, late Roger Perry-Collection HLP, late Dave Parsons- Collection HLP and Ashley Peter, Greg Hart for providing and scanning photos from the late Brian Couzens Collection as well as assistance with captions for those images and, as usual, Andrew Deacon for the formatting of this chapter.

My grateful thanks also to Bruno Martin for his map and gradient profiles as well as the Google Earth photos and info on Joseph Baynes and finally, photos from an album by H.G.Dempster (Resident Engineer, Construction, Underberg branch) in Part 2 of this chapter.

Having travelled out north from Pietermaritzburg to Greytown and sub-branches we will now head south-east from Thornville to Richmond. After that we'll journey down the tortuous Cape-Natal from Maritzburg to Franklin including the branches to Kokstad, Matatiele and Donnybrook-Underberg.

Bruno Martin introduced me to an aspect of Natal railway history; namely the significance of the Thornville-Richmond branch in connection with one Joseph Baynes.

The line is notable for what might initially appear as a non-railway related aspect – the profound influence of Joseph Baynes who came out from England in 1850 and set up a dairy on a 30-acre farm at Nels Rust close to what would subsequently be laid as the branch line to Richmond from Thornville, opened in 1897. Suffice to say that Joseph Baynes revolutionised dairy farming in South Africa; opening branches of his dairy in Durban (Model Dairy), Johannesburg and many other parts of the Country. His personal link to railways was his major role in developing the narrow-gauge lines in several parts of Natal to allow farmers to get their produce to market and he instigated the dredging of the Congella swamps and the construction of Maydon Wharf to double Durban’s harbour facilities. He also proposed a new harbour at Richards Bay which only materialised long after his death in 1925. At the opening of the Richmond branch, he apparently said that one day he will board a train at Richmond and continue on, all the way to Cape Town. This was the only dream that he didn’t achieve!

The full story of Joseph Baynes is extremely interesting. In remembrance of this great man I have included a couple of photos kindly provided by Bruno, showing his estate at Nelsrust.

It is with much appreciation that I now hand over to Bruno Martin, who has an in-depth knowledge of the Richmond branch as well as the Cape-Natal and its various branches:

"I called Pietermaritzburg home for 14 years and during that time I travelled twice – once behind steam and once behind diesel - to Franklin on the day service and returned on the night train. The hotel in Franklin was contacted beforehand to arrange dinner to be served for 10 hungry and thirsty passengers after the train’s arrival around 6:15 pm. The Saturday night return journey behind steam departed at 8:05 pm and was timed for a pre-dawn arrival in Pietermaritzburg at 5:40 am.

From 1984 to 1986 I was a regular tour guide on the popular monthly bus and train excursion 'The Colonial Trail ', the brainchild of the late Bill Bizley. Passengers boarded the train at Elandskop for the spectacular ride to Deepdale and changed trains for the short return journey to Ncwadi where a bus was waiting to take them to Richmond and Baynesfield. Superfluous to say I got to know this stretch of the line very well through the seasons and in all kinds of weather and never got tired of the ever-changing views of the river valleys and mountains".

THE RICHMOND BRANCH

"The Richmond branch was the first of the Midlands branch lines to be completed and its extension foreshadowed as a link to the Cape Railways system. When the surveyors first set to work in 1890, they had a blank canvas. A fairly easy alignment was secured to Richmond, but beyond the town, there were few settlements and even less in the way of formed roads making access in the rugged terrain very difficult. Several route options were investigated to find a way across the deep river valleys of the Umkomaas (Mkomazi) and Umzimkulu (Mzimkhulu) Rivers, however, the proposals never progressed beyond being lines sketched on a map".

"Between March and July 1896 the route from Richmond Road (later Thornville Junction) to Richmond was pegged out and a sum of £60 000 was allocated towards its construction. Branch lines were built on a small capital outlay and gradually improved as and when the volume of traffic justified the expense. Under the supervision of Mr T. Bradford, NGR Engineer-in-Charge, construction work on the line began in June 1896 and although progress was not rapid, it was commensurate with the supply of old rails and bridgework released from the main line. As soon as the rails reached Richmond on 15 November 1897, the railway was pressed into a special Sunday only service to meet transport demands following the outbreak of ‘rinderpest’ (cattle-plague) that had brought all animal-drawn transport to a halt. Although ballasting needed to be completed, the line was formally opened to traffic on 15 December 1897. No major bridgework was ordered for the line: spans salvaged from former viaducts near Inchanga were used to bridge the Umlaas River (Mlazi) and the Little Umlaas River (Mkuzane)".

"The line is 17 miles (27,3 km) long and has 110 curves (minimum radius being 300 ft / 91,4 metres) with a ruling gradient of 1 in 30. The line starts from a height of 3006 ft (916 m) at Thornville and drops to approximately 2645 ft (806 m) at the Mlazi bridge and then climbs to 3024 ft (922 m) at Arnold’s Hill, drops to the Mkuzane bridge (approximately 2850 ft / 869 m) and climbs to 3105 ft (946 m) before the final descent to Richmond station on 2816 ft (858 m). "It was originally worked by Dŭbs ‘A’ tank locos, later by class GCA and GF Garratts until it was dieselised in 1975 (information from RSSA Natal Branch brochure “Steam Train Excursion from Durban to Richmond”, 25 August 1974)".

1. In September 1969 Brian was at Thornville, no doubt having received news of the imminent replacement of the Richmond branch line’s Class GCAs with GFs – even though there had been no noticeable change to the track itself. Here he found GCA 2197 taking water before proceeding down the branch. Note the interesting set-up of the water column on the branch line, but situated just within the protection of the home signal.

2. A few minutes later another GCA joined 2197, interestingly enough with a guard’s van (!) as the spacer wagon between the two, and the train of assorted box wagons proceeded down the 1:30 gradient of the branch line. One can but wonder about how many regulations this “bent” or broke, considering that guard’s vans were not even supposed to remain attached to a load when shunted in a marshalling yard. Incidentally, this was the only guard’s van on the train, which effectively pre-empted the fashion of running goods trains without guard’s vans at the rear by quite some years…

3. On a Saturday in June 1968 GCA 2199 was bringing livestock loads and empties ex Richmond horse sales up the last mile of 1/30 grade into Thornville. The engine had just tripped the outer home resetting switch and the arm hadn't yet completely returned to horizontal. In the background is a whole fieldful of Rainbow-chicken factories under construction. At the time these chickens were fed on mashed whalemeat and tasted, well, fishy.....

4. Train 707, the daily Monday-Friday school train climbing the 1/35 grade between Pentrich and Bisley in the winter of 1961 behind a class 8 from Masons Mill. It left Pietermaritzburg in mid-afternoon behind either a class 8 or a GCA Garratt and ran up the old main line to Thornville Junction where it took the Richmond Branch as far as Nelsrust (since the mid-fifties: Baynesfield). It may have been one of the last passenger workings entrusted to a class 8. The return working (#706) included traffic from the Baynesfield dairy and arrived at Pentrich in time to clear the section before the evening train to Durban via Thornville and Inchanga. I imagine that today rail safety regulations would strictly forbid a passenger train to be hauled in back gear by a 4-8-0. The speeds likely never exceeded 40 km/h and I am unaware of any mishaps. The morning work for this loco included shunting around Pentrich and working the way freight up the "new" main line to Mkondeni (in back gear) to shunt the industrial sidings there. In those days there could be 50 trains a day on the single track between Pentrich and Umlaas Road, so it was always fascinating to see veteran loco like an 8 (or on Saturdays, a class 1 or 1a) fitting in between the mainline trains hauled by 1Es and the new 5Es.

5. This building housed the original dairy at the Baynesfield Estate – the first commercial dairy in South Africa. Now a Museum, exhibits housed in the butter factory include the original machinery installed by Joseph Baynes in 1898. For the official opening of Nels Rust Dairy on 14 September 1899, a special train was arranged to bring members of the Natal Parliament to attend the ceremony at Nels Rust siding.

6. Joseph Baynes’s house. According to the website http://www.baynesfield.co.za, this stately home has recently been extensively renovated in order to create the perfect example of a late Victorian homestead.

7. Richmond-Station: at the official opening of the line to Richmond on 15 December 1897 it is said that Joseph Baynes moved through the crowd telling them that Richmond wouldn't be the terminus for long. However, Baynes's dream of catching a train directly to Cape Town from his estate was one of the few of his projects that never eventuated.

8. GCA 2197 returning to Thornville Junction with loaded and empty vans from the Richmond horse sales, Jun 1968.

9. Following hot on the heels of #2197 was #2199 with the second of two livestock workings on that Saturday in June 1968. Normally the two trains would have been combined but they would have been too long for the passing loops. For the scene at Richmond please refer to the introductory photo.

10. GCA 2197 with the first of the livestock and empty trains crossing a spruit between Durban Road and Arnolds Hill.

11. GCA 2199 again, coming around the sharp curve into Baynesfield (formerly Nelsrus, formerly Nels Rust, see below). The siding in the foreground served the loading platform for stalk cane, wattle bark and logs, while the track curving away to the right in the background went up to the dairy at the farm.

12. Bruno has provided this view of the dairy and the original Nels Rust station with Station Master Mr Southgate and some of his staff about to load churns into the NGR van before the siding to the farm had been built. The man in the bowler hat is possibly the farm manager. Source: 'Natal Province - Descriptive Guide and Hand-Book', 1911, page 290'

The following additional information came from Ashley Peter:

"I note with satisfaction the references to Joseph Baynes and his influence not only on the Richmond branch line, but also on other lines in agricultural areas in early Natal. He also pioneered farm refrigeration, with Baynesfield having the first refrigerated dairy in South Africa".

"Some more info (gleaned from previous visits to the Baynesfield Estate on public open days) is that at one time there was a private siding from Nelsrust station right into the farm dairy, about a kilometre in distance [its take-off point is clearly visible in photo12]. Although I can find no clear evidence of the original alignment of this siding – it would have been on quite a rising gradient to the farm – there is however definite proof visible at the dairy, where the covered loading platform with rails set into the concrete floor still exist. Trucks were rope or cable-hauled up the last section of the route, with clear grooves worn into the concrete platform – no doubt powered by a capstan. The Estate Museum has a photo of an old SAR LZ-type ice-cooled wooden bogie refrigerator wagon standing partly inside the dairy and no doubt being loaded with dairy products for Pietermaritzburg and possibly elsewhere. I wonder if anyone else perhaps has a copy of this photograph?"

"I suspect that when the transport of Baynesfield dairy produce changed from rail to road, the siding fell into disuse and was eventually lifted with the alignment ploughed over, as there are now mealie fields between the station and farm."

trucks on their way up the private siding from Nelsrust station actually made use of three (!) types of haulage to cover that last mile to the farm/factory. The SAR locomotive would have propelled the wagon/s up the service line to a dead-end located within the main farm grounds, where it would have uncoupled and returned light loco to the station. The line to the factory loading bank took off the service line in the form of the second leg of a triangle, and at quite a gradient. A span of oxen was brought into use to haul the wagon up the roughly 100m from the dead-end to a point just outside the butter factory, from where rope or cable-haulage was employed for the last few metres to bring it alongside the loading platforms (one each side of the track). One of the photos clearly shows the oxen taking up the strain as they haul the empty wagon up the private line – the SAR connection visible in the foreground.

I recall being told during one of my visits to the Estate that to expedite delivery, loaded wagons were allowed to run all the way down to the station by gravity, the wagon handbrake/s being used to control the movement so that the truck was stopped safely just short of the goods shed – and in some of these photos the reefer wagon can indeed be seen standing in the station confines, quite near the goods shed – presumably having been run down to meet the return working of the afternoon school train from Pietermaritzburg (Stuart Grossert’s Class 8 photo in the latest SoaR refers).

13. A rather unkempt 2199 moving off shed preparatory to working its livestock loads and empties back to Pietermaritzburg. Normally one engine sufficed for the Richmond branch, at this time it was GCA 2197 with a regular crew based in Richmond. When traffic surges necessitated two, or even three trains to Richmond the extra workings employed Mason's Mill engines and men.

14. #2199 backing onto its load while another two GCAs take a breather in Richmond's minute engine shed (it only accommodated one class A tank).

15. The other end of the shed, looking back through the station towards Thornville.

16. Stretch model. The Santa Fe was the first railroad to try this. They had hinged boilers to get them around the curves.

17. The South African tribal lands were poorly served by roads which meant the horse was the way people got around. The biggest markets for horses, by far, were the tribal Zulus and Xhosas and other South African tribes. Thus, Richmond, focal point of a big breeding district, was important for horse sales and right into the 1980s the animals would be transported to and from there by train.

18. Waiting to be loaded and transported elsewhere.

19. When Brian visited Richmond again in 1971 Class GFs had taken over and he found two of them parked in a siding beyond the station, the back one having arrived shortly before with the daily wayside. The pile of sand next to the furthest loco was river sand which would be dried over an open fire in the diminutive loco shed nearby before decanting into the various locomotive sandboxes – this being a vital commodity on this route with its 1:30 gradients and regularly misty and drizzly conditions.

20. In April 1974, with the Richmond branch under threat by the diesel invasion, the RSSA's Natal branch organised a GF-hauled excursion over the line. The locomotive was immaculately turned out, royal blue-painted GF 2401 named "Magdalena" after the wife of the senior driver at Nelspruit from whence #2401 was transferred when that depot was dieselised in May 1973.

PIETERMARITZBURG-DONNYBROOK, first part of the 'CAPE-NATAL'

Bruno's painstakingly annotated map superimposed on a Google Earth image shows the relief and why the rail distance is almost double the straight-line distance.

In this first part, we will travel up the line as far as Donnybrook. The second part will cover the Underberg branch as well as the remaining sections to Franklin, Kokstad and Matatiele. Bruno Martin has an in-depth knowledge of this line and it is with much appreciation that I now hand over to Bruno for his description of the various sections:

"I called Pietermaritzburg home for 14 years and during that time I travelled twice – once behind steam and once behind diesel - to Franklin on the day service and returned on the night train. The hotel in Franklin was contacted beforehand to arrange dinner to be served for 10 hungry and thirsty passengers after the train’s arrival around 6:15 pm. The Saturday night return journey behind steam departed at 8:05 pm and was timed for a pre-dawn arrival in Pietermaritzburg at 5:40 am.

From 1984 to 1986 I was one of the regular tour guides on the popular monthly bus and train excursion “The Colonial Trial”, brainchild of the late Bill Bizley. Passengers boarded the train at Elandskop for the spectacular ride to Deepdale where they changed trains for the short return journey to Ncwadi where the bus was waiting to take them to Richmond and Baynesfield. Suffice to say I got to know this stretch of the line very well through the seasons and in all kinds of weather and never got tired of the ever-changing views of the river valleys and mountains."

"The ‘Cape–Natal’ as it is now more commonly known - was intended to link the Natal Government Railways (NGR) with the Eastern System of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) based in East London. The NGR Engineer-in-Chief’s Annual Report for the year ending 31 December 1901 noted that no less than 11 different routes and modifications were surveyed before route No.3, from Pietermaritzburg to Riverside, was approved by Parliament. From the point where the Natal-Cape Railway (as it was then known) diverged from the Natal Main Line near Masons Mill, the surveyed line adopted a maximum grade of 1 in 70 to the crossing of the Umsindusi River, thereafter 1 in 60 to Edendale, 1 in 45 to Elandskop and 1 in 40 beyond, all fully compensated for curvature. Curves were of a minimum radius of 400 ft; however, there were three exceptions where 'due to the heavy work' there were curves of 300 ft radius. The approximate distance from Pietermaritzburg station to Riverside was 108¼ miles, which included a deviation from the original survey in order to cross the Umzimkulu River above its confluence with the Ingwangwane. The estimated cost for the line was put at £924 234. Engineer G. R. Holgate was placed in charge of construction on 1 September 1901."

"Few sections on the South African network can compare with this line for its roller-coaster profile crossing four deep river valleys and cresting three watersheds which add up to 6214ft of climbing and 4222 ft of descending over a meandering rail distance of 165¼ miles; connecting two points that are 86½ miles apart in a straight line. The operating severity of the line taxed steam locomotives and crews to their limits. From a low point of 2150 ft at the Umsindusi River crossing, the line follows an easy 1 in 60 gradient to Edendale before it embarks on a continuous climb to gain 2477 ft in 35 miles to Elandskop – this section was opened on 3 November 1903. The next section from Elandskop to Donnybrook was the most difficult to build: it embodies an initial tortuous descent of 1270 ft over 14 miles into the valley of the Elands River to Ncwadi and then dropping a further 516 ft in 8 miles to wind its way down to Deepdale before crossing the Umkomaas River. (refer to the Google Earth image showing the alignment between Elandskop and Deepdale)."

"The river was spanned by three 100 ft Warren truss girders which originally carried the Natal main line over the Mooi River. From here the line gains 1689 ft in a series of twists and turns to reach Donnybrook over a rail distance of 20½ miles. This section was brought into use on 1 November 1905. (refer to the Google Earth image showing the alignment between Mnyamana and Donnybrook)."

"Leaving Donnybrook the line enters the deep valleys of the Umzimkulu River and its many tributaries emanating from the southern Drakensberg. The next 15 sinuous miles from Donnybrook to Creighton (originally Dronk Vlei) descends 1200 ft. This stretch of line was opened on 16 May 1906. Construction work paused briefly at Creighton until an agreement with the Cape Government was signed in 1907 which authorised the NGR to build the line across the Cape Colony’s border formed by the Ngwangwane River. The 12 mile section from Creighton to Riverside was opened on 4 March 1909 with 3¾ miles falling inside East Griqualand. A further 8 miles was opened on 21 March 1910 to advance the railhead to Malenge. This opening took place just six weeks before far-reaching political changes saw the three colonial railway administrations merge to become South African Railways with the formation of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910. Construction of the Natal-Cape Railway continued unabated on the last section, taking it from Malenge to reach its highest elevation between Singisi and Llewellyn (5162 ft) before descending into the valley of the Umzimhlava River to its terminus at Franklin. This section of 24 miles was formally opened by the Chief Magistrate for the region, Colonel Stanford, on 1 August 1912."

21. The daytime stopper from Pietermaritzburg to Franklin was classified as a mixed, as was one of the two night trains. However, passenger vehicles predominated to the extent that it was quite rare to see goods wagons in the consist. Robert has provided this impressive view of GMA 4109 departing Pietermaritzburg with 1213-down to Franklin on 31 May 1974.

22. Once a fortnight each engine at the outlying depots (Donnybrook and Franklin) had to come in to Masons Mill for their boiler washouts. Trains 1219 and 1220 were used for ferrying the engines, the former being a scheduled doubleheader. Over the years it was the rule that a bogie wagon had to be marshalled between the two engines to save wear on the non-self-adjusting pivots on these early design garratts. By 1974 the traffic on the Cape-Natal had grown beyond the point where time could be wasted by inserting a runner wagon. As steam had only a few months more to hang in there it was decided the rule could quietly be forgotten. This was 1219-down goods coming through Edendale, rather stylishly, in May 1974.

23. GCA 2625+GF 2400 approaching Mafunze Halt, between Edendale and Henley, with No. 1219 goods, 9 June 74. Note the time-honoured runner wagon between the engines.

24. Another rule on train make-ups (but this one was in the General Appendix) was that there should be a minimum of two runner wagons either side of loaded fuel tankers. This one too was occasionally honoured in the breach, e.g. photo 46, but when Transnet decided to give up the lucrative East Griqualand business in the mid-1990s nobody gave a damn about letting those dangerous oil tanker lorries loose on the treacherous roads from Durban. This was 1217-down approaching Sikoleni Halt in May 1973.

25. GF 2415+GMA 4106 coming around the curve between Sikoleni and Minimzolo (I kid you not) with 1215-down on 31 May 1974.

26. Strangely, double-headed GFs were less common than GCA+GF. This was the late George Bambery's take of a pair of GFs approaching their first waterstop at Henley with 1219-down PMB to Donnybrook freight on 11 August 74; very late in the day for steam on the Cape-Natal.

27. On a stunning Autumn morning in 1973 Dusty Durrant made this beauty of 1213-down, the daytime mixed to Franklin, approaching the water stop at Henley. After leaving Napier Junction on a grade-separated crossing with the Natal Main Line (1.8 miles from Pietermaritzburg station) the Cape-Natal skirts Masons Mill loco depot and the train continues on a brisk run on the easy 1 in 60 gradient, passing Plessislaer (formerly Sutherlands), Dlaba, Sitebisi before stopping at Edendale. Here the climb begins in earnest on 1 in 45 up the Msunduze valley. By the time Henley is reached, the line has gained 921 vertical feet in 16¾ miles. Henley was the first service stop for westbound trains under steam power.

28. Approaching Henley in May 1974, this was 1215-down - one of three daily (except Sundays) freights that were scheduled to be worked by doubleheaders.

29. Approximately two months and a train's length further on, Rags braved the swaying branches of an Aussie Saligna tree to record GF 2387 drawing into Henley with 1209-down, the PMB to Donnybrook pick up. 22 July 74.

30. A GCA with a fair downhill load of pulpwood and sawlogs departing from Henley, date and engine number not recorded.

31. On the Cape-Natal, GCAs on their own were hardly worth the trouble. The train was 1204-up T&P with a short consist of general freight and, taking advantage of the all-downhill run from the departmental quarry at KwaGuzu, a few wagons of track ballast, about to cross a GMA at Henley, May 1974.

32. While passenger traffic was always extremely busy over the Easter weekend, freight was the opposite as can be deduced from this crossing at Henley on Easter Monday, 15 April 1974. Westbound GMA 4101 working train 1209 was departing from Henley, having crossed a very lightly loaded GMA with 1204-up T&P.

33. On Easter Saturday, 13 April 1968, this unrecorded GMA was restarting from Henley with a heavily-laden 1213-down.

34. How quickly that Aussie Saligna grows. The same location six years later to the day, with GF 2415 (a year previously transferred from Nelspruit) + GMA 4106 with 1215-down T&P. The same train is depicted in photo 25.

35. On the short straight just beyond Henley, the crews of the same train depicted in photo 22 performed splendidly for the camera.

36. Towards the end of regular steam, Dusty took this double GF combination working 1219-down out of Henley.

37. It's that same 1219-down again (photos 22 & 34) smoking it up for the photographers a short way beyond the location of photo 34.

38. GCA 2625 & GF 2400 approaching Gezubuso Halt with 1219 freight on 9 June 1974.

39. GF 2395 approaching Gezubuzo with 1209-down, the Pietermaritzburg - Donnybrook pick-up on 29 August 74.

40. No 1213-down mixed with GMA 4139 alongside the infant Umsinduzi nearing Gezubuso halt in May 1974. This is the same train depicted much later in the day in photo 84.

41. Only during the last few months of steam to Donnybrook was the rule regarding insertion of runner wagons relaxed. This saved an awful lot of shunting before a train could be got under way. The train was 1219-down near Gezubuso Halt (before the building of the power lines for the national grid) in the Autumn of 1973.

42. Photographed in June 1974 from on board the daily, except Sundays, diesel-hauled Franklin bound passenger train made up of 3rd class swing-door suburban stock, 1st class sleeper and baggage van, heading up the picturesque Msunduze valley dotted with Zulu kraals between Gezubuso and Kwa-Guzu. Compare the dwellings in this photo with those in Eugene's similar 'from the train' (title photo) earlier composition near Edendale. Those closer to town were already going from round to square or oblong, and of course, much less attractive. This view near Gezubo shows almost entirely traditional Zulu rondawels.

43. Approaching Kwa Guzu, the siding for the railway ballast quarry, GCA2625+GF2400 with 1219 goods in June 1974. At this time the loop was being extended in preparation for dieselisation.

44. The quarry at Kwa Guzu is in the left background. Train 1215 T&P has just passed through there, having dropped off four empty AY ballast hoppers. The white substance in the DZs is lime for the sugar-cane fields beyond Inglenook.

45. GCA 2200 & a GF climb away from Taylors with No. 1219 PMB to Donnybrook freight.

46. GF 2400 waits at Taylors as class mate 2387 approaches with the opposing pick-up. 22 July 74. Concerning the loaded tanker behind the engine (probably diesel fuel destined for the new locomotive refuelling tanks at Franklin),

Ashley Peter, our resident expert on Natal railway matters, has this to say:

" It would appear that the Yard Master at Mason’s Mill was faced with something of a quandary regarding the dispatching of this particular train. I suspect the loaded fuel tank wagon was needed urgently down the line and hence the dilemma he faced…

1. According to standing instructions, basic goods train loads needed to be compiled as follows: loaded bogie wagons; empty bogie wagons; loaded short wagons; empty short wagons; guard’s van

2. Wagons containing explosive or flammable commodities (as well as empty wagons dedicated for such traffic) had to be separated from a locomotive or guard’s van by at least two bogie or three short wagons."

47. The westbound pick-up, 1209-down, conveying locomotive coal for Deepdale and Donnybrook, arriving at Taylors. 16 April 1968.

48. The daily, except Sundays, steam-hauled, Pietermaritzburg-Franklin service (1213-down) passing an unidentified GF with a Pietermaritzburg-bound freight waiting in the loop at Taylors. Our train had reached the 13th of a total of 43 stops along the 139¾ mile route, having departed Pietermaritzburg at 8:00 am. It was timed to arrive at 6:15 pm in Franklin.

By mid-June 1974 passenger services to Franklin had been turned over to Class 34 diesels and with effect from 1 December 1974 the steam schedules were trimmed by more than half-an-hour. As diesel-trained crews returned from college the through freight services were progressively dieselised until only the pickups (which utilised the branch-line power on their way to and from Masons Mill for boiler washouts) were steam-hauled. Further on you will see photos by Robert Kingsford-Smith and Malcolm Holdsworth of double GMAs working a through freight on 1 September 1974. Since this is the very last record of a steam through working to Franklin that we are aware of it can reasonably be assumed that it was the last.

49. In this photo taken in June 1974, the daily, except Sundays, diesel-hauled Pietermaritzburg-Franklin passenger service was passing two Class 34 diesels heading an eastbound goods. The RSSA organised the running of the last westbound daytime passenger train from Pietermaritzburg to Franklin, hauled by GMA 4146, on 22 June 1974. After a stay of a little over two years, the Class 34 diesels were transferred to Empangeni in 1977 and replaced with the new Class 35 diesels.

50. Taylors, July 1973. Restarting from a servicing stop lasting some 15 minutes, GMA 4106 seems eager to make up for lost time with 1213-down, the westbound mixed. At this juncture it is perhaps appropriate to record that mixed and passenger trains were allowed 120 minutes for locomotive servicing between Pietermaritzburg and Franklin.

Yes Briggs: two hours....... that's in a rail distance of 140 miles. And, NO, this is neither the time nor the place to talk about TGVs.

51. GCA 2625 & GF 2400 restarting out of Taylors with 1219-down freight, 9 June 1974.

52. GCA 2200 & a GF climb away from Taylors with No. 1219 PMB to Donnybrook freight.

53. The daily (except Sunday) all stations daytime Pietermaritzburg - Franklin passenger is seen again approaching the road overbridge half a mile west of Taylors. This train made 43 stops and took over 10 hours to reach Franklin.

54. GMA 4139 and class mate climb away from Taylors with the daily Pietermaritzburg to Franklin freight 1217-down on 1 September 1974. See the caption to photo 48, this was indeed "in deepest twilight of an unforgettable era." [David P Morgan]

55. The GMA of 1213-down mixed (no goods vehicles today) was working hard towards Mbongweni Halt, clearly not planning on stopping. By Easter 1974 not only were the diesels about to take over but those traditional Zulu rondawels were being replaced by dull Western-style rectangular houses almost as quickly. On the left horizon is a local landmark, Kwaqanda Rock, a popular gripless suicide route amongst rock climbers.

56. In June 1974 the late afternoon sun was performing a son-et-lumiere with the GFs on 1219-down goods between Mbongweni and Munywini.

57. Skirting the headwaters of the Msunduze River, these GMAs were essaying the continuous 1/40 to Elandskop with 1217-down goods, a scheduled doubleheader, during Easter 1968.

58. At the same location: having done their laundry in a muddy pool just downstream of the local Chief's cattle, two Zulu wives take a breather during their steep hike back to the kraal to watch the exertions of the GCA on 1209 pick-up expediting locomotive coal for Donnybrook. Near Muniyuni, 16 April 1968.

59. In the left background is the enormous cutting between Mbongweni and Munywini which 1213-down has just negotiated. In the foreground is an example of the local 'roads' at the time, as well as a gent who was a likely customer of the Richmond horse sales. May 1974.

60. GCA 2625+GF 2400 with 1219-down freight between Munywini and Songonzima, 9 June 74.

61. GMA 4139 and class mate climb between between Munywini and Songonzima with 1217-down PMB - Franklin freight. 1 September 74.

The second of Bruno's maps detailing the convolutions between Elandskop and Deepdale. Note that 'Mkhomazi' is the modern name for the 'Umkomaas' River. The latter has been retained in the text as this was the name used by the SAR and we are, after all, attempting to present to you a history of our wonderful railway.

62. GMA 4109 with 1213-down 'mixed' between Mafunze and Elandskop. 31 May 1974

63. GF 2395 between Mafunze and Elandskop with 1209, the Pietermaritzburg-Donnybrook pick-up, 21 July 1974.

64. GMA 4170 with 1213-down mixed on the final, and most taxing, pitch of the 37-mile climb from Pietermaritzburg to Elandskop. Note the much higher level of track disappearing behind the smoke. Today this once unspoilt glen is quite densely populated with informal housing. Easter 1973.

65. The warning board for Elandskop is just around the next corner. Photographed in April 1974, Class GMA 4099 in full cry on the ascent between Mafunze and Elandskop.

66. On a hand-fired Garratt those 37 miles to Elandskop must have been murder for the long-suffering firemen. With an almost empty bunker, GF 2387 had only a mile to go to the summit, which is right in Elandskop station. 22 July 1974.

67. The warning board for Elandskop is next to the third wagon behind the tank of the second Garratt. With only 600 yards to go to the summit there must have been some bribery and corruption involved in creating that spectacular exhaust. GMA 4139 and class mate with a Franklin-bound freight. 1 September 1974.

68. The guard of 1218-up (doubleheaded) had just admitted 1205-down to the loop at Elandskop. The latter had left Pietermaritzburg at 05:50 and arrived at the summit soon after sunrise, Easter Saturday 1968.

69. As there were invariably hordes of customers, the arrival of 1213-down mixed was usually quite an event, especially at weekends. A local buck had come to greet a family-member or a friend on his way back from the mines - there was plenty of banter flying around.

70. Elandskop station: at 4584 ft the highest point between Pietermaritzburg and Donnybrook. In this scene dating from 1985, Class 35-670 with (by this time renumbered) 66621-down had just arrived from Pietermaritzburg at 11 am. Some of the many passengers boarding here would be participating in the monthly all-day luxury coach and train excursion through Natal Settler Country, ‘The Colonial Trail’, operated from May 1984 to December 1986 by the Publicity Associations of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The ride from Elandskop to Deepdale involves a spectacular descent of 1786 vertical feet over a distance of 22 miles, passing along the way the halts at Umhlongonek, Ncwadi and Mdutshini. At Deepdale, passengers changed trains and boarded the daily mixed from Franklin (66624-up) for the short return journey to Ncwadi where the luxury coach was waiting to take them on to Oak’s Hotel in the historic Byrne valley for lunch. They would then continue to the museum at Richmond, followed by a short detour to the Baynesfield Estate on their way back to Pietermaritzburg and Durban.

71. Waving his white flag, the station foreman gives the right-away to 1209-down T&P. Somewhere back down the line the erratic T&P had been overtaken by 1213-down mixed, so that by the time it (the T&P) reached Elandskop the place had reverted to its usual tranquility, as admirably depicted here by Arnie on 28 August 1974.

72. Class 34-211 with a mixed goods waits for a crossing in the loop at Elandskop. Date not recorded but most probably soon after the through Franklin runs had been dieselised.

73. These GMAs working 1217-down, the daily fuel for East Griqualand, had just shut off for the long descent to Deepdale. Elandskop, April 1968.

74. Having taken water, GMA#4099 is building up a head of steam for the short, 1 in 40 climb from Ncwadi towards Mdutshini halt and then its all downhill again to Deepdale in the Umkomaas river valley. This photo was taken in April 1974.

75. Climbing towards Nqwadi from Deepdale and the Umkomaas river valley, at this point the Donnybrook-Pietermaritzburg pick-up, 1204-up, in charge of GF 2422 is already 1000 feet above the waters of the Umkomaas almost directly below. 29 August 1974.

76. A grand view of the Umkomaas valley with 1206-up Donnybrook - PMB goods, doubleheaded in this case, pulling hard away from the falls. 29 August 1974

77. GF 2422 runs along the Unkomaas River valley past the waterfall near Deepdale with the Donnybrook-Pietermaritzburg pick-up, 29 August 1974.

78. Umkomaas Falls: a short distance from Deepdale, as the line climbs towards Mdutshini halt and Ncwadi, the Umkomaas (nowadays 'Mkhomazi' - Zulu for ‘River of Cow Whales’) plunges over a line of cliffs forming an impressive waterfall in the summer months. Bruno reports: "To make this photo of the Franklin-PMB daytime service (Train#66624) passing the falls required a great deal of care driving my Peugeot along a rutted track to a padlocked farm gate and then continuing on foot down the hill slope to find the best vantage point."

79. And this is what it looked like in April 1974 with the river in spate and the hills still clad in summer green. GMA 4148 with 1213-down mixed.

80. GCA 2199 departing from Deepdale with the daily pick-up, January 75

81. Deepdale: this was one of the few remaining typical NGR station buildings, built with timber and corrugated iron and dating from the time of the line’s opening in 1905. There was a station foreman on duty here to oversee the safe change-over of the passengers on the ‘Colonial Trail’ during 1984/85, but by the start of 1986, when this photograph was taken, all staff had been withdrawn and the building abandoned.

82. By mid-1975 the strengthening of the Donnybrook – Underberg branch line was well advanced and it was only a matter of months (possibly weeks!) before the GCAs would be cast out from their last stronghold by the rapidly advancing army of GM Class 34-200 diesels. As the GCAs still made regular turns to Mason’s Mill for boiler washouts, the Natal Branch of the RSSA organised what would be a farewell to the class by arranging a special train on 2 August 1975 from Pietermaritzburg to Donnybrook, where the coaches would be added to the daytime diesel-hauled passenger train from Franklin back to ‘Maritzburg. Even though the load of just three coaches should have been a doddle for the chosen GCA 2620 she made heavy weather all the way to Deepdale, possibly due to the loco’s condition not being the best, withdrawal from service being imminent, but the poor coal quality was clearly also a factor. The train was held at Deepdale for some time while the remainder of the coal in the bunker was turfed out onto the ground – even the accompanying Locomotive Inspector lending a hand in this process – and a completely new batch taken from the coalstage, which was fortunately still in operation. In this photo 2620 had just returned to the train and the passengers herded back into the coaches ready for a somewhat late departure. With a bright new fire set in anticipation of the 500m vertical climb out of the Umkomaas Valley, 2620’s safety valves had actually lifted (probably for the first time that day!) and she performed markedly better, with only a brief (booked) servicing stop at Sizanenjana and a token stop at Inglenook, arriving at Donnybrook around lunchtime. It was no doubt a much relieved driver and fireman who booked off that Saturday afternoon!

For the sake of completeness, Charles Parry's account of the trip gives a few details not in Ashley's version (and vice versa):

"PIETERMARITZBURG-DONNYBROOK BEHIND CLASS GCA 2620: Until the Underberg branch was dieselised a trip had to be made weekly by a GCA from Donnybrook to Mason’s Mill and back for boiler washouts. This was usually done over weekends and was ostensibly on goods trains although usually, the Garratt ran light [but only from early in 1975 until the branch was finally dieselised]. On 2 August 1975 GCA 2620 began her trip to Donnybrook in Pietermaritzburg station, platform 5, at 06:30 hours, in front of two corridor coaches and a passenger van. This was the RSSA special farewell (the last one!) to steam on the Franklin line. Some 45 passengers were aboard this compact train, and we made a brisk run to Edendale in 24 minutes through the morning air. Passing Mason’s Mill reminded us that this was the tail-end of steam in Natal, as there were rows of derelict GFs in the vicinity of the coaling tower. The stop at Henley was 14 minutes, required for fire-cleaning, which was the foretaste of problems to come caused by poor quality coal. 2620 had trouble maintaining steam most of the way up to Elandskop, which we only reached at 09:20. 15 minutes had been spent at Taylors, again to attend to the fire, and no unfavourable crossings were encountered. We had taken 20 minutes longer than the stopping passenger trains for this section. Down to Ncwadi (10 minutes for water) and Deepdale is all downhill and easy. We coaled at Deepdale, the stop being from 10:38 to 11:02. Much improved performance resulted; we had received better coal at Deepdale! Sizanenjana took 28 minutes, and we roared up the switchbacks to Inglenook and so on to Donnybrook at 12:13 hours. We were the shunted onto train 3624 by GF 2416 (station pilot, probably the last working GF at that date) and after only 25 minutes in Donnybrook, we were on our way back to Pietermaritzburg, with a class 34 diesel at the head, 60 minutes late because of us. Alas, we missed our crossing at Deepdale with 3621 and so were held at Sizanenjana until 14:10, 105 minutes late."

"Even ample recovery time given to this train could not get us to make up all that lost time and we were 60 minutes late back in Pietermaritzburg. But it had been a good day, and we considered ourselves fortunate to have had the last trip with a GCA so late in 1975."

83. GCA 2620 from the coal-stage at Deepdale. The special train of 2 corridor coaches + passenger van was kindly arranged for RSSA by Masons Mill. At this time GCAs were still working the Underberg Branch, the last use of steam on the Cape–Natal. This required a weekly visit of a GCA to Mason’s Mill for boiler washout, used that day for the special train which returned from Donnybrook attached to the (diesel worked) weekdays day passenger train from Franklin.

84. GMA 4139 departing from Deepdale after recoaling at the stage visible in the right background, a procedure for which locomotives were allowed 30 minutes (!). According to the WTB, this included time to-and-from the coalstage (even though it was right next door). The engine had just been opened up for the climb to Donnybrook.

Bruno's third map of the Cape-Natal takes us into Donnybrook and completes the first part of this two-part chapter. Note that 'Mkhomazi' is the modern name for the 'Umkomaas' River which we have retained in the text as this was the name used by the SAR.

85. That white dot ahead of the engine is the gradient board: Level to 1-in-66, which continues almost unbroken until Donnybrook, 21 miles away and 1680 ft higher.

86. The brakeshoes on 1214-up would be red-hot by the time it reached the crossing of the Umkomaas river at the bottom of the hill from Donnybrook. May 1973.

87. GCA with 1219-down T&P crossing the well-known stone culvert across the Sizanenjana stream about two miles before the siding of the same name.

88. A few Zulu huts are the only signs of human habitation in the Sizanenjana valley which is (or should that be 'was') as remote and beautiful as Shangri-La. The warning board for Sizanenjana was just ahead of GMA 4109 with 1213-down on 31 May 1974.

89. On 22 June 1974, the RSSA arranged a farewell trip behind steam from Pietermaritzburg to Franklin and return. Dave Parsons took this shot at Sizanenjana while we were waiting for the opposing train, 1212-up mixed (hauled by 34-220), which can be seen approaching at the facing points. The man with his back to the photographer just to the left of the rh upright is our master photographer Eugene Armer (he took the next photo!)

90. The same train as in the previous photo with less clutter and 34-220 drawing into the siding. From left to right, just below the horizon, you can trace the line along which 1212-up has just descended from Inglenook.

91. GCA with 1219-down T&P taking water at Sizanenjana.

92. Congestion at Sizanenjana - 1: Good Friday, 13 April 1973. 1213-down was jam-packed with passengers going home for the Easter weekend. In the midst of them you might spot a late and very much lamented figure well-known in the enthusiast world. As you can see, on this day, 1209-down T&P managed to keep ahead of 1213-down all the way to Donnybrook. As we have previously noted, the mixed would normally have been well ahead of the T&P by now but it is amazing how the prospect of signing off for a long-weekend can motivate the crews.

93. Congestion at Sizanenjana - 2: 1212-up had just crossed 1213-down. Drawing in right behind the latter was 1209-down T&P, desperate to get to the waterhole. What the operating department would have said if they had been aware of such reckless practices 'out there', one can only speculate. June 1973.

94. GMA 4109 with 1213-down again, blasting away from Sizanenjana siding, more-or-less where 1209-down T&P can be seen in photo 92 above. In this glorious scene the train is heading up a blind valley towards a very tight horseshoe (next picture) before turning back on itself, running steeply uphill just below the crest of the hill in the background.

95. GMA 4139 with 1213-down exiting the minimum-radius horseshoe at the head of the valley, referred to in the previous picture.

96. The guard of 1214-up perishables strolling down to the facing points at Old Inglenook to admit 1213-down mixed in June 1968. No wonder it took 1213 so long to get anywhere.

97. We had been camping at the upper rim of the valley alongside the old road from Inglenook farm down to Sizanenjana. Long before dawn we were awakened by the sound of this GMA making a slippery start after watering at the siding. An hour later we could still hear the engine toiling away for all it was worth, but the sun was still not on the line so we practically gave up the idea of photographing it before Donnybrook. Still before sunrise it came around the shoulder of the hill into Inglenook, however, by this time it was much lighter so we hastily decamped and followed. Dawn arrived just before Comrie, presenting us with a memorable photo of 1231-up, the engine of which had been entertaining us for the previous hour.

98. Charles Parry's evocative shot of the GCA special, described in the captions to Photos 82 & 83, entering Comrie.

99. Just after 11:30 on a Saturday morning, sometime in 1967, this Class GMA pulled into Donnybrook with 1213-down, the daily daytime mixed from Pietermaritzburg to Franklin, having climbed its way more than 1680 vertical feet out of the Umkomaas River valley. It would now cut off the train and proceed to the nearby loco shed to clean fire, take coal and water before resuming its journey. Donnybrook lies on the watershed between the great Umkomaas and Umzimkulu Rivers, which meant that after a 30-minute servicing break, 1213-down would commence the 1400 feet descent into the Umzimkulu valley, with yet another marathon climb starting at Riverside to reach the 5,350 ft summit between Singisi and Llewellyn.

To give some idea of how cold the East Griqualand line could get (minus 15 was not uncommon), it was one of the few lines where the Working Time Book officially permitted the passenger coaches on mixed trains to be marshalled ahead of the goods wagons (loaded or empty) so that the steam-heating could be coupled through directly from the locomotive. This concession was naturally only applicable in Winter or during unusually cold spells at other times of the year – but the WTB didn’t specify who got to make this call – possibly the System Operating Office located in sub-tropical Durban!

100. The primitive old coalstage at Donnybrook. Singleheaded trains were allowed half-an-hour for recoaling and doubleheaders a generous 55 minutes (!). Curiously, the new narrow-gauge shed (completed in the late 70s) had a much more efficient gravity appliance which took advantage of the lower elevation of the narrow-gauge shed.

101. An aerial view of Donnybrook Station looking approximately east, taken about 1960. The three-rail line to Donnybrook Junction takes off on the left. This track section was controlled by a wooden staff. The line to Pietermaritzburg was to the right while the Underberg line branched off just after the facing points on that side of the station. Tracks for the narrow gauge towards Ixopo are in the foreground. The photo was found in papers left by the late James L. Grossert, who was District Engineer (Maintenance) at Pietermaritzburg from 1957 to 1962.

102. Almost midday on 16 December 1968 at Donnybrook. Class GCA 2605 had just arrived with train 1261, the all-stations daily except Sundays 08h00 mixed from Underberg, having taken 3 hours 23 minutes for the 38½-mile journey. Behind the photographer on the adjacent platform is train 1212 from Franklin with which passengers can connect to Pietermaritzburg. Train 1212-up mixed would depart at 12h09 after a 30 minute stop for the locomotive to take on coal and water. Behind the class GCA is a Watson 2nd class main line coach no 1717 of type E-13, unusual for this train and no doubt added for a special group. Behind it is coach 6372, a type V-23-C all classes van built on old Cape Government Railway underframes and placed in service in August 1932. The third coach is 4829, built as a 1st class driving trailer for the Germiston steam push-pull sets but after the Reef electrification it was converted to 3rd class and was a regular vehicle on this branch until the passenger service was withdrawn.

103. Thanks to Eugene Armer for providing the information for Dave's photo: "2 x GCA ready to leave the Donnybrook with a goods to Underberg. As I recall, when our passenger pulled in, this train was waiting to depart, so we all ran to get a shot of it. The high sun angle bears testimony to the fact that it was taken on the day of the RSSA special, i.e. 22 June 1974."

104. GCA 2620 at Donnybrook with the mixed to Underberg, 28 August 74.

105. Donnybrook was also the junction for the 2ft-gauge branch to Ixopo and the coast - an absolutely fantastic railway 98 miles long about which we'll be telling you before too long. On the left is one of Ixopo's class NGG16 Garratts, while on the right is the GO of 1206-up, at that time the daily mixed from Franklin to Pietermaritzburg. July 1958.

106. Another NGG16 leaving Donnybrook with 1179-down goods for Ixopo just after 1206-up had departed for Pietermaritzburg. This was originally a mixed but by July 1958 when this photo was made it no longer even offered passenger accommodation.

107. Fifteen years later we were camping in Donnybrook station yard when it started to snow. Staying up for the 23:51 and 00:35 departures of 1228-up passenger and 1230-up mixed seemed a good but chilly thing to do. This was 1228-up all ready to depart. The squiggle alongside the feeder tank was caused by the Carriage and Wagon Examiner's lamp as he came to check that the steam-heat couplings were tight. Considering that it was minus ten outside this was a considerate thing to do.

108. We awoke to find 1201-down T&P about to depart for Franklin.

109. Half-an-hour later the sun had come up and we photographed the yard pilot, GCA 2625, bathed in crisp light before scooting off to Underberg to photograph the daily mixed from there back to Donnybrook.

That's all for now folks. In the next issue we will continue our journey to Franklin and also cover the branches to Kokstad, Matatiele and Underberg.