South African Loco

Just found this on Britarch.
This is the loco featured in the Ch 5 documentary being recovered from S Africa.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-central/139612-restoration-begins-on-glasgow-steam-engine/

 

That is good news. I feared 3007 was going to quietly rot like some of the other SAR locos which have been imported. Specifically I'm thinking about the 25NC at Quainton Road and the GMAM at Coatbridge. Any updates on other SAR locos in UK would be interesting.

Cheers, Neil

 

It would be nice to see it in steam, is it narrow guage, I suspect it'll just be cosmetically stuffed and mounted,

 

It's 3ft6" I believe.
Steve

 

Another 2 pieces about the loco from today

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.2535687.0.lets_go_loco_for_a_grand_old_lady.php

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Chuffed-to-have-you-home.5854120.jp

 

And man, was the photo shoot for that long yesterday!

Also, never let the marketting director of your company know you're a steam enthusiast...it was me interviewed by The Scotsman ( and also STV, hasn't appeared on tv yet though... )....most awkward day of work yet!
It should be interesting to see what we're actually gonna be doing with the engine. I mean, we aint overhauling it....and we aint restoring it. Apparently, we've to "Conserve" it....which is supposedly a great deal different from restoring it.
So, from what we were told yesterday, sadly it won't be in Ex-Work's condition.

 

Ugly looking foreign loco though, no british style to it!

 

Foreign? Built in Glasgow...

 

Same gauge as the garratt at MOSI then.

Regards

Duncan

 

The 'main lines' in Southern Africa are all 3'6" with 2' being on the 'lesser' branch lines. However put a std gauge loco next to a 3'6" one and try and spot the difference. In many cases the narrow gauge engines are larger.. Racing along across the Karoo at dawn on the footplate of a 25NC is one experience I will cherish until the end of my days. Who says NG is for wimps!

 

I fully agree. Thirty years on, the memories of footplating on Bloemfontein - Bethlehem and Springs - Breyten are still crystal clear.

I like the comment by Dusty Durrant that Cape gauge and metre gauge should be regarded as "medium gauge".
To illustrate the point about loco sizes, the largest SAR pacifics - class 16E - exerted at tractive effort of 39,980 lb. A rebuilt Merchant Navy could exert 33,495lb tractive effort. The class 16E's were built in 1935 by Henchel. The final branch line loco (class 24) a lightweight 2-8-4 tender loco has a highter tractive effort than an Southern S15 or a BR standard 5.

Incidentally the UK often built bigger and easier to maintain locos for export than it ever did for domestic use. In the 1930's the UK exported modern low axle weight 2-8-2's and 4-8-2's for use on African colonial railways and the LMS continued to build Midland 4F's for freight work!

Cheers, Neil

 

Too damn right. I paced some of the 25NC's on the dirt roads back in the 80's - man what a sight. Superb engines, every bit as good or even better than anything we have (or had) here. Wish I'd had video, but even the slides I took still make the hairs on my neck tingle.

 

I'd love to - where is it please? ;-)

 

Looks like they'd tarmaced the road by then - I was there in 1985 and IIRC it was dirt - wife holding the wheel while I hung out with the cameras! Now for those who are new to all this, here's a "proper 25".http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHjAT2_7ALY I wonder if that's what the "turbomotive" sounded like?

I saw one of these come through Witput station at dusk (a B&B we were staying at - I take my missus to all the best places!) - wondered what the hell was coming - like a 747 taking off! Here's what she had to put up with ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCRGH_ZVD4A

Here's some background tom the class http://www.stanleys-steamers.gen.nz/Class 25 - an analysis.htm. Note the 45,360 lb TE and 70sq ft grate !! No wonder they had mechanical stokers.

Here's some more footage of the last 25, some good cab shots and at 3.08 a great shot of the top of the condensing tender, fans an all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYEhFeFOeBs