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SOUTH AFRICAN TWO FOOT GAUGE RAILWAYS


PGH

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After dieselisation of the line, operations and useable stock seem to have been concentrated at the new diesel depot, with Humewood Road depot used for storing redundant stock and locomotives, although the station itself would presumably still have been used as a departure point for the Apple Express.

This train ceased running in December 2010 due to the loss of its government funding. The last of the steam depot buildings were removed in 2010, and possibly much of the track in the yard would have been removed at the same time.

 

At present (August 2012) the track is still in place.

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  • 2 months later...

Hi

I am from South Africa , and happened to google this page while searching for a image of a typical SAR cattle loading facilty.

The project that you are busy on looks awesome.As a matter of interest the SOUTH AFRICAN MODEL RAIL CONVENTION is taken place in PORT ELEIZABETH (April 2013) i will be attending. I have built a layout of RIVERSDALE station which will be taken to the show.

Is it possible to email me the photos which is shown in this topic ? I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW THEM TO MY FRIENDS.

 

Regards

Chris Benadie

My website http://www.modeltrainsonline.co.za

E Mail : cgbenadie@gmail.com

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Hi

I am from South Africa , and happened to google this page while searching for a image of a typical SAR cattle loading facilty.

The project that you are busy on looks awesome.As a matter of interest the SOUTH AFRICAN MODEL RAIL CONVENTION is taken place in PORT ELEIZABETH (April 2013) i will be attending. I have built a layout of RIVERSDALE station which will be taken to the show.

Is it possible to email me the photos which is shown in this topic ? I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW THEM TO MY FRIENDS.

 

Regards

Chris Benadie

My website http://www.modeltrainsonline.co.za

E Mail : cgbenadie@gmail.com

 

 

 

Thanks for your comments on this topic, I am pleased that you find the photos of interest. With regard to the Emailing of photos, there are approximately 90 involved so it would not be practicable to email them, and in any case I am at a loss to understand why you would need this as they are freely available to view on RMweb by anyone including your friends. Please also bear in mind that they are copyright and should not be distributed or published by another website or any other means without the consent of the contributor.

 

Regards

PGH

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Currently, December 2012, none of the South African Two Foot gauge lines are operating for commercial traffic.

 

The Apple Express is not operational out of Port Elizabeth and has not run since 2010 - it is unlikely that the damage to the line will be repaired in the near future.
 

The Paton's County Railway in Kwa Zulu Natal runs a heritgae rail service on a section of the Ixopo - Madonella branch.

 

The only other narrow gauge operations are on the Sandstone Estates private railway in the Orang Free State.

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  • 1 year later...

Afternoon all,

This is my first attempt at joining a group so please accept apologies if I do not follow any procedures.

I live in Cape Town, but lived in Port Elizabeth for many years on property that backed onto NG line, great fun was had trying to board the wagons as they made their way past the house

Reason for writing, am busy preparing to write a book on "Apple Express" so this site has been a great advantage, if anyone has any other photos or details for me it would be appreciated, have walked and photographed most of the line through the Langkloof but more info is still required, especially of the coaling stages and turntable at Assergaibosch

Second request is for information with regards to modelling of narrow gauge, will be tackling Humewood Road as a starting point, know track is available from Peco (great little trains) as well as some rolling stock (will have to be altered to SAR/SAS colours), any suggestions for locomotives, especially Garretts

Many thanks in anticipation

Apologies for being so long winded

Regards

Ian Temlett

Cape Town

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Afternoon all

If possible could PGH please contact me via my E mail address, reason being that I have started on my book on "Apple Express", wish to use his photographs from forum with permission

Many thanks

Regards

Ian Temlett

Cape Town

 

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Very sadly Peter Hindley passed away suddenly about 18 months ago. A librarian by profession, he was an erudite contributor to this and many other fora and many of us noticed the sudden cessation of posts without knowing why. Eventually someone spotted a long obituary in a magazine for professional librarians and the sad truth became more widely known.

 

I believe that in his last years he had become romantically involved with a French lady but I know neither who she is nor who owns the copyright of his photographs. Having "crossed pens" with him on a number of occasions, my guess would be that he would want his photographs to appear, properly acknowledged, in a well researched work on their subject and, if you cannot find more information, my advice would be to go ahead on that basis if they can be "lifted" from this site and retain sufficient quality for publication. I suspect that googling "Peter Hindley Librarian Obituary" might produce further enlightenment.

 

The news of my demise is somewhat premature and the "P" in PGH does not stand for Peter.

 

All photographs posted by me on this forum remain my Copyright and may NOT be "lifted" from this site for publication elsewhere without my permission.

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  • 3 years later...

Wow, just found this topic after browsing for some pictures of NG/G13 locomotives.

I just started modelling SAR 2ft gauge in On16.5 (Yes, I know, not the right gauge but a consecion to be able to run the loco on the American themed narrow gauge club layout)

After buying the Backwoods kit I decided on building one of the early Cockerill built NG/G16 loco's, it will be no.87 which currently runs on the Welsh Highland Railway, that way I was able to take many detail pictures from a particular loco.

 

Your topic is very resourcefull, it shows many variations in the different series of NG/G13 and 16 locomotives delivered, and the thing I could see that my chosen subject no.87 forms an indermediate stage between the NG/G13 and all the later NG/G16 builds, the only major deviation away from the NG/G13 is in having the pivoting rear truck and roller bearings on leading and trailing axles.

The later NG/G16 locomotives had larger cabs (there is a small window behind the doors, absent on NG/G13 and these Cockerill NG/G16), larger water tanks (initialy still with the rounded top, post war examples had a flat top) and between each build there were minor differences, like welded or rivetted tanks and the placement of  boiler fittings, lamps and sandboxes.

The Cockerill locomotives are somewhat special in having the steam manifold placed in an opening halfway inside the cab, as pointed out to me by a very interested WHR driver, he showed me all the detail variations.

 

So it is possible to build all NG/G13 and 16 variants from the Backwoods kit, some variations need some alteration and some degree of scratchbuilding, like the frame extensions for the NG/G13 and the different cab and water tank arangements, nothing too difficult however.

 

Somewhere in my pile of slides must be pictures of Port Shepstone, Paddock and Humewood road (with the NG4 seemingly abandoned in the then surviving repair shed), all from 1994, I try to find them, scan them and post them here in this Topic, as this is really a treasure chest, thanks for uploading all this.

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