SAR Class 26 video

[Ohmisterporter]

This video of South African Railways class 26 commonly called Red Devil or more correctly LD Porta is the first one I have seen that clearly shows the secondary air holes in the sides of the firebox. Five holes can be seen, although I believe there were seven originally. Whatever your opinion of the changes the Dave Wardale made to a standard class 25NC to obtain the results he did, it seems to me a shame that the South African authorities care so little about their railway heritage that they allow steam locomotives that could be a great money earner to rot away and fall prey to metal thieves. Trying to avoid getting too political over this, whatever your views I hope you can enjoy the video, posted on You Tube by Trevor Staats.