The temptation to go rooting around old steam engine graveyards proved to be too much, particularly given that there was precious little else going on on the boat. Google earth showed the depot was an easy walk, and soon I found myself trying to blag my way past the guard at the gate. He was having none of it and marched me off to the office to plead my case. After a few minutes there, dropping the few facts I had about the place, and flagrantly fibbing about growing up right next to the Beyer Peacock locomotive works in Gorton and I was in and free to roam around at will.
I got a handful of photos but was wondering where the reputed locos were, the online sources had shown a string of them left outside to rot. There were some fairly large engine sheds, not too old, locked up tight and giving nothing away through their grimy windows. A TransNet, (the railway authority), pickup truck showed up and parked by the sheds and I thought I was done. I asked driver what he knew about the sheds and things rapidly took a turn for the better. Not only was he a TransNet employee, but he started out as a fireman on this line's steam locos and is the son of a former railway man. He knew exactly what was in the sheds and got on the phone demanding to know where laddo-with-the-key was.
Said laddo duly arrived, I was ushered into an Aladdin's cave and given free run of the place. Plenty of passenger rolling stock in rather nice condition, a handful of diesel electric locos, two 2-8-2 Henschel NG15 Mikado steam locos and a really lovely NG G16 2-6-2+2-6-2 Bayer Peacock Garratt. The locos' boilers are certified and the running gear is being worked on. All the serious work is done by a single steam fitter, now in his sixties. They are unable to find younger engineers and apprentices to train to take over from him.
My benefactor was a treasure trove of information and likely knows the name, number, location and condition of every steam loco in South Africa. I found out the condition of the 177 miles of track all the way to Avontuur (all there and pretty good bar the lack of maintenance and a couple of washouts). I heard the story of the engineer who went 100 miles up the line to fix a loco's brakes only to find the engine was not in steam and arranged to return when it was. He returned the following day to find it missing, taken to work further up the line. He chased it down to find it on its side down a ravine. I learned that their rolling stock is being poached by other lines; a low loader shows up with some paperwork and a little bit more line's life ebbs away. It was a wonderful couple of hours rummaging through the place and piles of memorabilia sharing tea and stories. They have great shop facilities, plenty of motive power and rolling stock, a unique line and yet its future looks grim. There is talk by an upcountry fruit grower about reverting to rail haulage; the roads have become so rough that too much of the produce is lost to bruising. There is not enough passenger demand. The tourist runs didn't generate enough revenue. I have to wonder what one would find here in five years and fear it will be a bike path, or a trail of weeds.
Link to today's photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6sitdt5lm35h7tg/AABQqEXSz0lJPUGhd_lqZJfJa?dl=0
Link to all photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/777m1sl5uebzqey/AABaKPwzXV0e_WlXZC0LDhDja?dl=0
No comments:
Post a Comment