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The current steam ban
became too much to take last week, and we needed to get the
smell of coal smoke and steam back into the sinuses. This
resulted in the Friends of the Rail "gricing team" (myself,
Mike Haslam and Nathan Berelowitz) departing Pretoria at
1:00 am on Friday 22 October, heading North in search of
steam...
After a cuppa break just out of Pietersburg at around 3:00
am, we arrived at the border for a pretty uneventful
crossing, just lots of the usual forms and queues (and R270
for my visa)... A few kilometres up the road we arrived at
the first crossing on the new BBR line. The lights were
flashing so we stopped for the train, reaching for cameras
in readiness. Alas, no train, the lights weren't working
properly yet... There is a crossing guard at each crossing,
who sits under an umbrella beside the crossing fence, ready
to leap out with his red flag should a train happen along
the line. Well, actually they were mostly asleep. We asked
one of them when the next train would be arriving from
Beitbridge - "Hmmm, mostly around about 10 o'clock". The
reply was the same when asked about the train arriving from
Bulawayo!
We didn't see a single train along the whole section, only a
work crew near West Nicholson replacing sleepers that were
broken in a recent derailment. We were told later that a car
hit a train on the crossing south of West Nicholson,
derailing a wagon. The car occupants died, and the wagon,
being quite far back in the load, rolled onwards breaking
the sleepers until the air hose finally parted.
To break the monotony of the long drive, we started
practicing the pronunciation of "Bulawayo" with a single
burp. Sounds terrible, I know, but the more you practice the
more convinced you become that the name was made to be
burped. Apart from that, some of our colleagues in Bulawayo
are quite adept at this skill, so we had to at least make
the effort. Somewhere near Mbalabala we were stopped by the
police, Mike was driving at this point, and the police
decided to search the car. They looked in the boot, under
the seats, under the bonnet, we have no idea what they might
have been looking for... Arrival at Bulawayo was just before
10:00am, where we stopped to visit some friends and to pick
up Dave Putnam from the Museum.
The NRZ Museum at Bulawayo is still progressing well.
Unfortunately we were a week early, because the Museum are
holding an open day on the 30/31st October weekend, where
their 7th class will be in steam. This will be the last run
of this loco before it is withdrawn due to boiler condition,
and it will probably not run again for some time. We saw
20th class #736 parked in the corner, this loco was owned by
the late Dusty Durrant. It seems now that the Museum will
take ownership of the loco, and it is possible that this
massive engine will be restored to service in the near
future to run in the Victoria Falls area by the Steam Africa
Express company.
As it turned out, Mr. Putnam was unable to join us on
account of a big party booking at the Museum which he was
organising, so we pointed the car's nose North once more and
headed into the stifling heat. Soon the conversation turned
to the cold draught beer that we knew was awaiting us at
Victoria Falls. We soon found that there was a problem in
the timing of this. Should we get a draught before the meal,
another with, and a final one after the meal? Or perhaps one
while waiting for the drinks menu, or another while waiting
for the first one to arrive? Or should we forget the meal
part and just have cold beers? Lunatic ravings? Perhaps, or
maybe the hot sun and monotonous drive had affected us. In
any case we had a lively debate on the subject, a conclusion
being reached just before we reached Hwange at around
3:30pm.
We headed up to Wankie Colliery and made our presence known
the the shed foreman, who was more than happy to let us
wander around and photograph the trains. 19th Class #4 was on shed
and in steam, whilst 15A #10 was in the shed cold and
awaiting repairs. 15A #11 was in the workshop receiving some
attention, and partially stripped 19 #5 was dumped at the
front of the shed. There was a 15A in steam (#395,
presumably on hire from NRZ) that we had seen in the plant
area, so we set off to find it. It was nowhere to be seen,
so we made our way down to the Thomson Junction transfer
yard where the Garratt had just arrived, creeping into the
yard with a long string of loaded wagons. NRZ DE9A #1950 and
another unidentified DE9 were on shunt duties in the yard.
Within minutes, the big 15 had detached, run up the yard and
coupled onto a load of empties for the return run.
We set up on top of the embankment overlooking the S-curve
where the Garratt would soon make an appearance. We didn't
have to wait long before the rapid exhaust beat of the
straining loco was heard echoing off the nearby hills, then
the 15 roared around the bottom curve, with a passable
imitation of a volcanic eruption launching from the chimney.
Full regulator, long cutoff, 35 wagons on the drawbar,
Garratt versus gravity. What a magnificent sight as 395
climbed up, lit by the afternoon sun, bending into the
curves as only a Garratt can, smoke trail fading into the
valley. As the last wagon passed, we could still see the
loco belting up the final stretch of the grade towards the
plant, showering the dry ground with the remnants of genuine
Wankie steaming coal. There's nothing so impressive as a
Garratt seen in its natural habitat! I hate to mention that
this was the time Nathan discovered that he had left his
video tapes at home, so his video camera languished in the
car throughout the action...
It seemed as though 395
was about to make another trip to TJ, but the crew fiddled
around in the yard for so long that we lost the sun into the
afternoon haze, so we trekked North again for the final hour
to Victoria Falls. On arriving there, we found that our
carefully arranged accommodation plans had gone awry, our
host had seemingly mixed up the days. We tried four other
places that we knew of, but to no avail, so we ended up at
the municipal camping ground in a chalet. The facilities
were, ummm, well, functional, the door didn't lock, but at
least there were beds...
We had a quick look around
the station, 15A #406 was in #2 road, simmering away under
the water column. Near the goods shed, ZR 12th Class #204
was also in steam. Green 14A #512 was also there, but not in
steam. Dinner was at the new Kingdom entertainment complex
near the Victoria Falls Hotel, and the draughts were
everything we'd dreamed of and more. Afterwards we tried our
luck at the slot machines, but luck was not on our side. In
spite of the 21-hour day and the long drive, getting to
sleep was not so easy what with the sauna temperatures
inside the chalet and the many mosquitos that swarmed
through the open windows. After finally falling asleep, we
were rudely awoken by Nathan at around 4:00am, who had
turned on the light and was leaping around the room in his
underpants, chasing the mice that were trying to get into
his clothing bag. As we were preparing to depart, we noticed
that the stove was on and the kettle was a bit melted. We
had put the kettle on before we went to bed, but I had
turned off the wrong switch. Perhaps this accounted for some
of the heat in the chalet?! Still, we were feeling most
refreshed early the next morning as we set off for that
station.
We took a few shots of the
15A at the station, and saw the 12 shunting its coaches
around the yard. The Bulawayo passenger was running an hour
or so late, so we missed its arrival. We had decided to head
into Zambia to get some shots of the 12 at work, so after a
quick breakfast at Wimpy (and Nathan dashing around trying
to buy a new video tape) so we drove down to the border and
cleared customs on the Zimbabwe side. After some
negotiations, we struck a deal with a taxi driver to take us
across to Zambia and into Livingstone. As we were doing the
customs thing on the Zambian side, the 12 crossed the bridge
with her train, so we sped off towards Livingstone to find a
decent place for a shot.
The country was extremely dry, and that piece of line was
not so scenic. We stopped at a tall concrete and steel
girder bridge that spanned the Nansazo (sp?) River. I think
the taxi driver thought we were nuts, telling him to stop,
then leaping out and running through the bush towards the
line. I think this was the hottest part of the trip. 38
degrees on the thermometer, standing in the hot sun with
cameras ready. Well, Nathan's video wasn't quite ready, as
it appeared as though he had left the new tape in the taxi.
The train was approaching, and it was a fair walk back so
the camera missed out again. It was a lovely scene, we
looked down the river bed at the 12th class crossing the
bridge, framed by trees above, with blooms of water hibiscus
below in the river. The loco was tender-first, but you can't
have everything! On our return to the taxi, the elusive
video tape was nowhere to be found...
Next stop was Livingstone
Railway Museum. The entrance fee of 10 Pounds Sterling for
the three of us must make it one of the more expensive
Museums I've been to! The place had quite a run-down air
about it, some of the locos were in good condition, others
terrible. Some of the locos there were: 7 955, 8 1126, 16A
623, #96, 12 181, 15A 401, 10 156, 20 708, #91, #57. The
12th class stopped out the front to let some of the
passengers visit the Museum, after which it continued
another 6km or so down the Mulobezi line, propelling the
coaches. When the train returned, we set up for a shot but
the heat was too much for my tripod, as the tilt handle
splintered and came off... Had a quick look at Livingstone
station, where we saw ZR diesel 02-307 departing with the
Mulobezi mixed at 11:15. The consist was a combination of
ex-SAR compartment coaches and ZR stock.
The 12th class was on its way, so we stopped again at the
Nansazo bridge for a nice 3/4 shot of the train crossing.
The light was a bit flat but still okay. Nathan left his
video camera in the car on account of having no tape, but
then I found the tape on the embankment where it had fallen
out on our earlier visit, so this time the situation was
reversed but no less frustrating!
We had reached the northern-most point on our trek, which we
celebrated with a well-deserved Mosi (Zambian beer) under
the shade of a tree at a local hotel. We were two countries
away, but it could have been a whole world, yet we were not
even as far from Pretoria as Cape Town.
After lunch at Victoria Falls, we proceeded back to Wankie
Colliery once more. Our timing was good, from the road we
could see the 15 entering the transfer yard. We took a
couple of shots around TJ, then set up for the return run at
a different place to the previous day. The 15 again made an
impressive sight straining up the grade, although the didn't
have any sun, making conditions a bit dim. After a bit of
shunting at the plant, the Garratt coupled onto a loaded
train, so we set up to shoot it leaving the yard. The loco
sat there, made lots of smoke, whistled, made more smoke,
popped its safeties, waited some more, then uncoupled and
sped of to TJ light engine! Again we got some good shots of
the train thrashing up through the S-curves, but the
lighting did just not give the same atmosphere as the
previous day.
Mike took over the wheel for the long haul back to Bulawayo,
and not 5km from Wankie we were pulled over by the local
constabulary for speeding. The story from the police was
that we were traveling at such a great speed (which I don't
really think we were...), they couldn't possibly impose a
fine, the matter had to go to court on Monday, two days
hence. We explained that this was quite difficult as we had
to be back in SA by Sunday evening. They replied that it
would be wrong to allow us to continue on our journey
considering that we were lawbreakers. Long negotiations
followed, and we ended up paying - how should I say - an
undocumented traffic infringement penalty? The maximum fine
they could impose was Z$1600, but this would cause problems
for them because they would be questioned as to why the
matter was not escalated to court, given the terrible crime
that had been committed. Therefore the only way to settle
the matter was to pay the maximum fine, but for no
documentation to be issued. Makes a lot of sense... I
think... In any case it lightened Mike's wallet by 30 Pounds
Sterling, with Mike vowing not to drive until we reached
South Africa again, having had enough of the local police by
now! I had heard that Zimbabwe have the best police force
money can buy, and this certainly supports that rumour!
After a late arrival in
Bulawayo, we were once again treated to Dave and Diane
Putnam's hospitality, with a great meal and most importantly
a comfortable bed. Sunday wake-up was at 4:00am, so that we
could be at the steam shed for sunrise. A quick check in to
the shed office to show our permits, then out to the locos.
It's the noise that you notice first, safety valves
sizzling, the scrape of a shovel, blowers roaring, injectors
gurgling, a scrap of shouted conversation between the shed
staff - everything contributing to the unique steam shed
atmosphere. Then around the corner there are the locos, dark
shapes waiting outside the shed in the pre-dawn darkness,
escaping steam almost luminescent against the sky. I have
now visited Bulawayo a number of times, but the thrill of
being inside a working steam shed, especially in 1999, never
diminishes. There is a magic about the place, especially in
the early morning. This time there were 8 Garratts in steam,
as opposed to six in April. Locos were:
14A 514, 515, 519, 527, 527
15A 410, 424
16A 610
The 14's have again made a comeback - in April there were
none working. Interestingly, most of these working locos
belong to the Museum and are on loan back to NRZ. Other
locos in serviceable (or near) condition were:
15A 371, 382, 414, 421,
16A 604, 604, 608, 611
19 Unicem #1
20 730
The 20th class Garratt should have been at Victoria Falls in
service. It was recertified recently and ran a 1000 ton
freight to Plumtree and another back again. The loco was
being towed up to Vic Falls in steam and in a load, and
somehow the crew managed to blow a cylinder cover off, so
it's back for repair once more.
Took a few shots in and
around the shed of locos being prepared and leaving. The
crew of 525 gave me a ride up to the turntable, and we got
the loco turned just for variety! We then walked down to the
station area. This was quite busy, with the Chiredzi mixed
pulling in, two 14's working the station shunt, the Harare
passenger train arriving (DE10 1059), followed by the Rovos
Rail train. Quite a mixture of steam, diesel, old and new
liveries. There were a couple of DE9A's (1963 & 1915) at the
shed as well, these had been refurbished recently with
caterpillar engines. There were a few DE6's (1602, 1607)
moving about the place too. I was told that 6 DE10's, along
with 18 passenger coaches and some goods wagons have been
sent to the Congo as part of Mr. Mugabe's efforts up there.
This seems to have caused a bit of trouble in Zimbabwe, as
reliable DE10's are in short supply. Some trains have
apparently had to be cancelled due to lack of motive power,
and DE9's have been put back onto the main line in some
cases. Perhaps this is the reason for more Garratts being in
steam, as some of the DE9 shunts have to be done with steam
again.
The Cement shuttle was diesel hauled, so we decided to make
an early start for South Africa. A quick stroll through the
P15 shed revealed:
14A 515 (being re-tubed)
9 115 (Mashonaland Railway plates, Museum Loco - attention
to motion)
15A 386 (Valves and cylinders being attended to)
15A 422 (Awaiting washout)
15A #12 (Wankie Colliery Garratt - heavy overhaul being
done)
19 336 (Loco has been moved, still has pieces missing.
Museum loco)
15A 394 (Heavy overhaul. Driving wheels have been re-profiled
and are awaiting placement under the frames again)
15A 381 (Washout)
There was a lot of action in the P15 shed, with people
working on all the locos. It's good to see that heavy
overhauls and maintenance work is continuing, even big jobs
like re-profiling driving wheels, re-tubes, etc. so steam may
survive a little longer there yet...
On the long drive back, we again saw no action on the BBR
line, perhaps Sunday is the quiet day? Arrival back in
Pretoria at 7:30 pm. Mike even had a drive on the way back,
with no police hassles this time, just a massive thunder
storm! We had covered 2600km to see 12 locos in steam,
that's an average of 1 every 217km, quite a trip but well
worth it. |
