Derwent - Stoffberg - Roossenekal

System 8

Eastern Transvaal

 Part 11

Derwent to Stoffberg and Roossenekal

Compiled by Bruno Martin ©

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, Charlie Lewis and Bruno Martin.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS

The following colleagues contributed photographs and text to this chapter:

Allen Jorgensen, via Dick Manton Collection; Charlie Lewis; Dick Manton; John Middleton and Peter Stow.

My sincere apologies to anyone who should have been acknowledged but was unintentionally missed.

SA RAIL CORRESPONDENTS' OBSERVATIONS OF MOTIVE POWER IN THE LAST YEARS OF STEAM OPERATION

In addition to acknowledging the photographers who recorded the images, special mention is also made to the correspondents, who published their observations in SA Rail (the Railway Society of Southern Africa's official journal), giving insight into the workings of the branch in the last years of steam operation.

DEDICATION

TO THE LOVING MEMORY OF 

PETER STOW

Peter was a proud railwayman, a keen railway enthusiast, a talented photographer, 

and a leading expert on SAR coaches. 

He was also the Chairman of the RSSA Reef Branch and a member of the Natal Branch.

DERWENT – STOFFBERG - ROOSSENEKAL LINE

INTRODUCTION

Since the temporary closure of Transnet's Heritage Library, the official reports providing details of this branch line's construction and engineering were not accessible at the time of compiling this chapter. Fortunately, Allen Jorgensen compiled a comprehensive account in his lavishly illustrated feature titled 'Eastern Transvaal Branch line 2, The Roossenekal Branch', published in South African Transport's January 1981 edition, on pages 45 to 50. Some details are drawn from Allen's article to provide a more comprehensive coverage of the route surveys.

DERWENT – STOFFBERG SURVEYS AND CONSTRUCTION 

The primary purpose of the branch was to serve the agricultural areas to the north and northwest of Middelburg. Farming communities in the fertile Selons River and Steelpoort River Valleys needed transportation to move their produce to the markets of Pretoria and Johannesburg. Shortly after the establishment on 31 May 1910 of the Union of South Africa and the unification of the Cape Government, Natal Government, and Central South African Railways under one administration to form the South African Railways and Harbours (SAR&H), a branch line was proposed by farmers in the area to start from Middelburg. In 1917, H G Dempster, SAR Resident Engineer, surveyed a route from Pan Station (13 miles east of Middelburg) to run northeast to the farm Enkeldoorn, then descend into the Steelpoort River Valley to terminate on the farm Blinkwater, northwest of the present-day Stoffberg. Despite being the shortest route to link the branch to the Eastern Line, Middelburg residents formed the Middelburg District Railway Committee to voice their disapproval. They insisted the branch line should start from Middelburg and follow a more northerly route across the farms Bankfontein and Elandslaagte situated at the head of the Selons River Valley.

Nothing further transpired until 1921, when George Whitehouse, then SAR Resident Engineer from the Northern Transvaal's Surveys Section, submitted a report to the Chief Civil Engineer. His proposal was drawn up after consultations with the Middelburg District Railway Committee members and after reviewing H G Dempster's route. Based on the routes indicated in Whitehouse's plan, one option proposed a route starting from Middelburg to cross the farms Banksfontein and Elandslaagte. His second option was to place the junction for the branch at Derwent, about midway between Middelburg and Pan. From here, the proposed line would head northwards, crossing the farms of Bankfontein and Elandslaagte, and, like the direct route from Middelburg, continue eastwards to Leeuklip, a prominent hill on the farm Uitkyk, to enter the Steelpoort River Valley.  It would then follow the Steelpoort River to the farm Blinkwater. Although Whitehouse's proposed routes were longer than Dempster's earlier survey, its starting point at Derwent appears to have been preferred by the Middelburg District Railway Committee members and approved by the Railway Board. The Derwent-Blinkwater line, 41 miles long, which was estimated to cost £223 860 to build, was one of twenty-five new railway lines approved under Act No.33 of 1925.

References to the progress of the line's construction were conspicuously absent in the General Manager of Railways Annual Reports from 1926 to 1928. This absence of information can be explained by the fact that even after parliamentary approval for the line's construction was enacted, not all landowners agreed that the most suitable route had been chosen. 

In 1928, a new survey plan for the revised route was presented to the Railway Board. In the interim, it was established that Whitehouse had miscalculated the branch's length by several miles. The additional length would have increased the construction cost to £267 540, which was £43 800 above the amount Parliament had already authorised. As a compromise, it was decided to retain the junction at Derwent but to reroute the alignment, bypassing the farms of Elandslaagte, Bankfontein, and Uitkyk, which shortened the distance of the line as initially surveyed from 41 miles to 37 miles and 73 chains.

The construction of the branch was rapidly executed so that plate laying and ballasting operations were completed by October 1929. The track comprised 60lb/yard rails on 1980 steel sleepers per mile. The ruling grade was 1 in 50 in both directions, compensating for 12-chain minimum radius curves.

At Kleindam Siding, a reservoir and pipeline were built to supply water for the locomotives. Stoffberg was served with a station building. Before the branch was officially opened, traffic was accepted in short truckloads with a minimum of 11 tons under construction conditions.

The branch was formally opened to traffic on 14 November 1929. According to Allen Jorgensen's article, classes 7 or 8 powered the mixed service. Initially, the service operated from Middelburg on Mondays and Thursdays. The return trip from Stoffberg was on Tuesdays and Fridays. Before the advent of ore traffic, the branch was the domain of the 8th class 4-8-0s, which remained in service until the 1950s. After that, class 19D and 24 locomotives worked on the branch, with class GF Garratts appearing briefly, as did a GO Garratt on a test run.

The 1944 timetable below provides a snapshot of the increased passenger service.

THE STOFFBERG BRANCH'S EXTENSION TO ROOSSENEKAL

A rail link was needed for transporting titaniferous magnetite from Mapochs Mine, 5 km from the town of Roossenekal, to the Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation's new production works at Clewer, near Witbank. Mapochs Mine was opened in June 1968, and the iron/steel/vanadium plant at Clewer opened in April 1969. Starting in June 1968, the delivery of 335 000 t/y was forecast for the 1968/69 financial year; by 1973/74, it was anticipated to achieve 1 340 000 t/y.

In 1965, Parliament approved a 22-mile and 23-chain-long (35,86 km) single-track extension from the terminus at Stoffberg to a terminal point at Erts (Roossenekal) under the category 'Lines constructed and operated under special conditions'. In accordance with an agreement dated 17 December 1965 and ratified by Act 17 of 1966, Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation Ltd. guaranteed the SAR against any operating losses for a period of 30 years.

Construction of the extension started in late 1966. Work on the railway was completed to Roossenekal on 31 March 1968 and opened to traffic on 1 June. The extension was built to main line standards set for a gradient requirement of 1 in 66 against loads (Up), 1 in 50 against empties (Down), and 30-chain (603,5 m) curves. This standard could be achieved for the first 4½ miles up to the Steelpoort River Bridge, but after that, the curvature needed to be sharpened to a minimum radius of 15 chains (301,75 m) to Roossenekal.

Meanwhile, the railway from Derwent to Stoffberg that had started as a quiet agricultural branch in the late 1920s was transformed in the early 1970s into a busy ore carrier to serve a new Mapochs Mine near Roosenekal. Regrading and strengthening the original Derwent-Stoffberg alignment required six deviations, totalling 31¼ miles (50,3 km) of new line. One of the realignments eliminated Wonderhoek intersiding. A new siding, named Nitens, was opened at km point 14,97, while Meadow Bank Halt and Shirley intersiding were closed. Kleindam was upgraded to a station. All work on the line was completed in February 1970 to bring the alignment up to the main line standard, which was graded to 1 in 66 in both directions with 30 chain minimum radius curves, and the old 60lb/yd rails were replaced with 96lb/yd. Derwent Station and yard were relocated and enlarged as part of the upgrade. 

The total cost of the upgrade was R4 370 600. 

Until the regrading was completed, class 19D and 14CRB were pressed into service to haul ore trains. Trailing loads behind the double-headed class 19D and 14CRBs grossed 1060 tons. After the entire branch had been brought up to main line standard, the more powerful class 15CA, 15CB and 15F 4-8-2s took over, and trainloads were increased to 1380 tons. Loads were further increased to 1830 tons (104 axles) worked by a lash-up of two GMA Garratts.

For anyone who witnessed this line during the last years of steam traction will likely retain a lasting memory of it. After the class 15CB 4-8-2s took over, and later together with the 15CAs, these engines consistently delivered a level of performance that matched the highest standards achieved during their five decades of service with the South African Railways. For the 15CBs, this was their last assignment before being relegated to shunting and trip-working duties along the Reef, after which they were withdrawn from SAR service. The 15CAs remained in service for a while longer, joined by 15Fs in 1973 until 1975, when most workings were taken over by the GMA Garratts (double-headed), which lasted until electrification in February 1977.

At Derwent, trainloads were handed over to electric traction as far as Witbank, and then steam took over for the final five-mile run to Clewer.

From the August 1973 RSSA Newsletter: Derwent – Roossenekal:

"This line, quite scenic in places, has been host to various double-headed combinations. Way back in '69, we got 19D+14CRB, and at the end of last year, double-15CB and 15CB+15CA; since the 15CBs went to Millsite, it has been double 15CA on the ore trains, but on 5 July, a 15F made its first appearance when No.3149 was piloted by 15CA No.2077 on trains 951 empties, and 952, ore."

"It is the intention to phase out the 15CAs on this line, and in the interim, keen enthusiasts will be able to obtain the splendid 15CA+15F combination. However, please don't wait too long, as it may become the ubiquitous 15F.  Incidentally, on the 1 in 66 gradients, ore trains tear along the excellent track at high speeds and are difficult to chase by car."

In the October 1973 RSSA Newsletter, a correspondent reported that he had observed a pair of diesels being tested on an ore train during the first week in September. Their test load was about 200 tons (three wagons) less than the usual pair of steam locomotives' block load and took 50 minutes longer, even without a water stop.

SOUTH AFRICAN STEAM WATCHER'S GUIDE.

Compiled by A E ('Dusty') Durrant, November 1973.

4. Derwent - Roossenekal

Location: Eastern Transvaal.

Motive Power: 15CA and 15F, mostly double-headed.

Traffic density: About 10 return workings in 24 hours. Mon-Sat, variable according to ore loadings.

Gradients: Switchback roller-coaster line with 1 in 60 gradients, including a substantial climb against loads out of Roossenekal.

Photographic locations: Generally scenic all the way, particularly at the far end, north of Stoffberg.

Weather: Highveld type, excellent in winter, with a good chance of morning sunshine in summer.

Accessibility: There are no passenger trains, so a car is essential.

Facilities: Hotels at Middelburg and Roossenekal, petrol at Middelburg, Stoffberg, and Roossenekal, and shops at Middelburg.

Locomotive Depot: Derwent (sub to Witbank)

Urgency: Scheduled to go diesel sometime in 1974.

Special note: Despite loads and gradients, trains run fast and are hard-driving, so slick photographic work is needed to obtain the best results.

Other steam lines in the area: With no Sunday and a few Saturday afternoon trains, those visiting the line from a fair distance and wishing to make up an entire weekend may occupy the remaining time on the Pretoria - Witbank and Breyten - Piet Retief lines.

Traffic loading: Iron ore from Mapochs Mine, Roossenekal, comprises the main loading in double-headed trains. There is also a daily pickup freight, single-headed, for general traffic.

In October 1973, train times (with guard's van accommodation) were as follows: departs from Derwent at 08:30 am. Mon-Fri, except public holidays, and at 3:00 pm, arrives back at Derwent. The other daily, except Sundays, departs Derwent at 5:20 am and returns at 12:30 pm.

The Steam Watcher's Guide, published in the December 1973 RSSA Newsletter/Nuusbrief.

SoAR READERS: Do you have any photographs of electric locomotives working on the branch?

ELECTRIFICATION OF THE ROOSSENEKAL BRANCH

Electrification of the Eastern Line from Komatipoort to Witbank was completed in April 1966. From the Pretoria side, the section from Eerste Fabrieke to Greenview was energised in August 1974 and then commissioned to Witbank on 23 June 1977.

In the August 1974 issue of SA Rail, it was reported that concrete mast bases, in preparation for electrification, had appeared at various points along the line. By October, it was observed that masts were being erected from the Derwent end. At this juncture, a mixture of 15CA/CB and 15F was still handling the traffic.

Observed on Saturday, 21 September 1974, the dawn working from Roossenekal was double-headed by 15CB No.2073 and 15F No.3025. A reduction or smelting plant had been built beside the line between Sterkloop and Wapadskloof, where ore from Roossenekal was transported to this facility by lorry! A continuous parade of heavy articulated lorries hurtled along the country road, paralleling the railway. Using thousands of litres of valuable imported fuel oil to convey heavy mineral traffic ought to be done on the adjacent and underutilised railway, whose traction is provided by steam (currently) and electric (in future) power using local coal as fuel. Meanwhile, we were told there is an oil shortage, which is hard to believe.

By August 1975, the masts were in place, and contact wire was strung from Derwent to just short of Stoffberg, with masts lying beside the track for a few kilometres north of Stoffberg. One morning, there were three trains: the first with a 15F leading a 15CA, the second with a double 15F, and the pickup with a single 15CA. The writer lamented that this line would not survive another season's winter photography.

In October 1975, the class 15F's allocated to the Witbank shed to work the Roossenekal branch were urgently needed to move mealie traffic in the Orange Free State. As a result, they were replaced by GMA Garratts from the Waterval Boven-Breyten section, which had been made redundant by dieselisation. For the latter half of August, with only three Garratts available, double-headers with Garratts leading either a 15CA or 15F combination were operating. However, once the class 15Fs had left the scene, double-headed Garratt operation was the norm in 1976. Double-headed Garratts worked 1830-ton block loads (104 axles) from Roossenekal to Derwent, where the loads were handed over to electric traction.

Crews driving the Garratts did it with the same verve that they used on the 4-8-2s, creating sound effects on the steeper banks that were quite fascinating and unique. The deep-toned thump of a 15F's exhaust contrasted with the staccato crackle of the unsynchronised smaller-wheeled Garratt. All the GMA Garratts allocated to this line were from the 4141-70 batch with Berkeley stokers.

The GMA Garratts from the Roossenekal branch went to Waterval Boven for boiler washouts. Four GMAs ran a lash-up in the early hours of Sunday morning from Derwent to Boven and returned. Sometimes, also working with a load, four GMAs departed from Boven at approximately 08h00 on Sundays.

Electric traction was inaugurated to Roossenekal on 24 February 1977, marking the end of steam working on the branch. Block loads of 40 trucks, representing a gross trailing load of 2780 tonnes, hauled by four 6E1 electric locomotives, operated between Roossenekal and the furnaces of Highland Steel and Vanadium's works at Clewer, west of Witbank.

Class 8A No.1127 (Sharp, Stewart & Co., W/No. 4863, 1902), one of the steam locomotives that saw regular service on the Derwent-Stoffberg section, was mounted on a plinth on 21 August 1984 at Middelburg's Civic Centre.

SA RAIL, August 1977, edition reported that Waterval Boven shed had become a store and dump for GMA Garratts, many of which had come from the Roossenekal Branch. The locomotive numbers given were: Nos.4141, 4142, 4143, 4145, 4150, 4152, 4153, 4154, 4155, 4156, 4157, 4158, 4159, 4160, 4166 and 4169.

DERWENT - STOFFBERG – ROOSENEKAL

LINE CODE: C01-L073 (DRW-SOF) – C01-L074 (SOF-RSL)

From Witbank (WIR)     (43,71 km)

From Middelburg (MDR)    (9,27 km)

Derwent (DRW)            0 km

Nitens (NTS)               14,97        (14.56) 

Boord (?)                    23,75

Kleindam (KDX)           30,62        (30.59) 

Languitsig (LUG)          36,54        (36.60) 

Wapadskloof (WDF)      44,87        (40.05) 

Sterkloop (STP)                54,85        (50.03) 

Stoffberg (SOF)                64,22        (59.40) 

Vanadiumkop (VAN)          73,3

Hanmien (HNM)                84,85        (80.04) 

Roossenekal (RSL)         100,94        (96.13) 

Train control: Radio Train Order (RTO)

Distance discrepancies have been noted (distances in the 2nd column) between the diagram in WTB No.169 (dated 1984/04/02) and TFR Rail infrastructure Diagram BBB 4821 VER 3 (2006/07/24). The distance from Languitsig to Wapadskloof appears to have been increased by 4,82 km.

REFERENCES

Jorgensen, A A, 'Eastern Transvaal Branch line 2, The Roossenekal Branch', South African Transport, January 1981, pp. 45 to 50.

Dulez, J A, 'Railways of Southern Africa. Locomotives and Trains', Vidrail Productions, South Africa, 2012.

Durrant, A E, Jorgensen, A A & Lewis, C P, 'Steam on the Veld', Ian Allan Ltd, Shepperton, Surrey, UK, 1972.

Paxton, L & Bourne, D, 'Locomotives of the South African Railways. A Concise Guide', C Struik Publishers, 1985.

SA Rail, various editions

Annual Report of the General Manager of Railways, various editions.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - CLOSURE OF MAPOCHS MINE

(miningweekly.com)

JOHANNESBURG – The provisionally liquidated Mapochs Mine has been sold under the hammer to International Resources Limited (IRL) of China, BiddersChoice MD Pieter Geldenhuys confirmed to Mining Weekly Online on Friday. (15 Sep 2017)

The mine, which was initially part of Anglo American, has its own rail network, train station, and train store, and formerly operated at a rate of 2.2 million tonnes per year.

Following its acquisition from Anglo by the Russian group Evraz several years ago, Mapochs supplied ore for the production of both steel and vanadium to Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium.

The Mapochs Mine, previously operated by Evraz Highveld, closed in Q3 2015 due to operational difficulties and financial losses, according to International Mining. The mine entered business rescue in April 2015 and was later placed into provisional liquidation in May 2016. It was subsequently auctioned off in September 2017.

Roskill reports that the Mapochs Mine in South Africa will be auctioned on September 14 in a move "that could have significant consequences for the vanadium market. The mine was previously operated by Evraz Highveld, a major producer of vanadium feedstock until 2015. In Q2 that year, Evraz Highveld announced it had filed for a voluntary business rescue, and the operation subsequently closed in Q3. The company attributed the closure to historical operational difficulties and sustained financial losses within a capital-constrained operating environment."

Additional comments received from John Middleton about the current status of the Roossenekal Branch:

After the closure of the mine, the only remaining traffic, as far as I know, was to the AFGRI grain silos at Stoffberg (which had its own loco), and I am pretty sure TFR workings would have been diesel. Hence, the electrification probably finished at the same time as the mine closure. There was also a small opencast colliery located about 20 km south of Stoffberg, which had a loading siding; however, this was short-lived. From Google Earth it closed sometime between 2013-2017. Also looking at Google Earth, the track still seems to be intact but there is no evidence of rail traffic to Stoffberg and the rest of the line looks overgrown.

Does anyone know when traffic ceased completely?