Photographing steam in the Karoo

Halcyon days indeed.

 

This is most certainly a Don't Do This At Home posting!

A very much draft double page spread, screen grabbed at very low resolution from one of two 1989 chapters of my South African Steam Loco memoirs book. July.

Just about on the border between the Northern Karoo and the Oranje Free State. With virtually all the circa 100 mile drive back to Witput in the mainly pitch black Karoo where the car headlights always gave the impression I was driving through a forest with the trees forming a sort of tunnel.

Bryan

Needs to be at full size to be readable.

 

I left my overnight stop hotel at Graaff Reinet at 04.15 on a very cold winter's morning and drove through snow showers as I went over the Lootsberg Pass. Hoping the weather front wasn't going to spoil the Karoo sunrise where I planned to arrive at the end of my fast 200 plus mile drive to find a southbound 25NC 4-8-4 hauled freight at sunrise. I found 25NC 3501 heading south at Potfontein on train 2408, the 01.50 from Beaconsfield with little more than seconds to spare as the cloud closed in on the sun that was just starting to climb above the horizon. A frame grab from a digitised video Hi-8 tape shot on a Sony consumer camera. I also got a sun burst panning as the loco passed me close on the same against the sun sequence. Then it was cloud cover for the rest of the day. But I didn't care.

Bryan

 

Epic shot Bryan.

 

4 July 1990 followed a day of the sort of weather that could happen during a Karoo winter, although thankfully not too often - a mild, overcast and windy day.

On the 4th, two 25NC workings were scheduled out of De Aar, one before and one after dawn. So, no breakfast at Salmon Nell's small but great lineside Witput hotel, but probably a rusk or two and a slurp of coffee from the flask he kindly left by a lit oil lamp in the 'foyer' on the dark and freezing pre-dawn. Then I made the long drive south to see where I could pick up the 05.30 De Aar. Today it was late; 25NC 3516 was not in good condition, a major steam leak from around the fireman's side cylinder was probably why I was able to meet it still on the climb to Behrshoek summit. The sand and dust raised over the Karoo during the previous day's wind provided yet another variation in colour in parts of the pre-sunrise sky as the 4-8-4 struggled with its 950 ton freight train - a load normally handled with ease on the up to 1/80 grade by a 25NC where all the steam it produced went into both cyclinders and did its work - and not when a significant amount went straight out into the Karoo as on this freezing morning.

A still frame grabbed from my digitised Hi-8 camera tape shot in a consumer camera. And edited via Photoshop Elements 2025 before and after being upscaled using Adobe firefly's upscaler.

Bryan

 

I remember those coloured sunrises.
Simply gorgeous.
Dad has a picture on Shap of a 9F in a similar condition, but not quite as much escaping steam!
That 25NC isn't doing so bad on 1.5 cylinders!

 

Yes, after Karoo wind storms, often far away from the Kimberley to De Aar line, the sand and dust getting into the atmosphere was, to me and remains so, part of the total magic of the Karoo. It sounds like it's the same for you too.

So sad that steam locos, incuding the one you mention in the photo taken by your dad, saw some locos in such dreadful condition.

25NC 3516 had come down on train 4000 from Beaconsfield at either 22.25 or 23.25 the previous night. And was booked back from De Aar on train 2417 (05.30) 0r 2421 (06.10).

It was driver John Gilberthorpe and fireman Richard Niven as the crew - well known for their dogged determination to get to their destinaton regardless. There were other crews who would also do all they could rather than throw the towel in.

In the end the loco stalled on the summit curve. But was stopped for only ten minutres before they had enough steam back in boiler to get into at least one cylinder.

Bryan