22 May 1986: Meeting Some Beautiful South African Steam Locomotives

May 28, Hillcrest Community, Halfway House, north of Johannesburg

I was destined to be a rail fan from an early age.  By 7, I’d lived near railroad tracks in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, and Rhode Island.  My dad bought me my first American Flyer train set just before I turned four, and my grandfather, Bill Mahoney, was a locomotive engineer for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, his hand on the throttle of steam, and later diesel-electric, locomotives pulling trains between Boston and Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod.  Hearing train whistles and horns in my sleep as a little kid infected me for life.  So, it was the thrill of a lifetime last Thursday to ride in the cab of a Class 25NC, 150-ton steam locomotive, even though we only went a few hundred yards down the track.

First of all, I should explain that South Africa still has a couple hundred steam locos in regular service.  About 150 of these are powerful Class 25NC 4-8-4s (This is the designation of the wheel arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered driving wheels coupled together on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles.)  They are used to haul freight trains and even passenger trains especially on the non-electrified sections of South African Railways (SAR), the government-owned line which runs all rail operations in the country.  Steam locomotives operate out of seven rail centers in central South African:  Bethlehem, Bloemfontein, De Aar, Kimberley, Mafeking, Vryburg, and Warrenton.  Why does South Africa still have steam locomotives in service when they were retired about 25 years ago in most other countries?  Fuel!  The country has abundant supplies of coal but very little oil.  They do manufacture oil synthetically from coal and import some, as well, but most of it is consumed by autos and trucks.  Although SAR has a fleet of diesel-electric locomotives, they are very vulnerable to an oil embargo.  Thus, they keep these black monsters running and have numerous others in mothballs, if needed. 

Last week when I was in Kimberley, I noted that my tourist guide book mentioned the Beaconsfield Marshalling Yards on the edge of the city where a number of steamers are housed and repaired.  At the railroad’s regional office, next to the passenger station in Kimberley, I was issued a permit enabling me to visit this rail yard and three others anytime between now and the end of September.  Jimmy, a young guy from the South African Tourist Bureau, drove me out to the Beaconsfield yards where we were introduced to John Dewinnaar, the acting supervisor for steam locomotives in Beaconsfield.  I was glad to have Jimmy along as John’s English isn’t very good and my Afrikaans isn’t worth a shit.  

John Dewinnaar led us across the tracks next to the maintenance sheds where a dozen or so iron horses were in various states of readiness.  In addition to the 25NCs, he pointed out a 190 (4-8-2) and a 24 (2-8-4).  These are older engines only used for shunting cars in the yard, not for mainline service.  While the 25NCs still undergo major repairs, these other engines are sent to the boneyard when they break down.  The 25NCs were last manufactured in 1953.  They look similar to some American steam locomotives produced from 1935 to 1949, but the attractive “elephant ears” (smoke deflectors) at the sides of the front of the boiler give them a European flavor.  They pull either of two types of tenders (for coal and water):  the class 34 which is squarish or the class 35, a long cylindrical job.

The only remaining Class 25 in South Africa was sitting off to one side.  It looks the same as the 25NC except for the large grills on either side of the tender.  The 25 is called a condenser because it recycles some of the steam back to its unusual tender where it is condensed into water.  The 25 can go about 200kms (120 miles) before it has to visit the water tower.  The 25NCs can only go 100kms (60 miles) before they have used up the 50,100 gallons of water in their tenders.  The 25 NCs were originally 25s but the engine proved too difficult to maintain.  Both the 25 and the 25NC can go 200 km on a tank full of coal.  The one remaining class 25 engine is now only used on excursion trains by special request. 

Class 25 (condenser) locomotive at the Beaconsfield Marshalling Yards in Kimberley.  Note the louvers on the side of the tender.  This is the only locomotive of its class still operating in South Africa.  It looks similar to the Class 25NC I rode in except for its unusual louvered tender.

 

As I was snapping pictures of the 25, Jimmy informed me that John wanted to take us for a ride on one of the 25NCs.  Wow!  I had Jimmy shoot a couple pix of me climbing up into the cab.  A red glow was coming from the fire box.  John explained that fires are always maintained in the engines unless they are in the shop for repair or only occasionally used for excursion trains.  I imagine it would take hours to heat up the boiler otherwise.  John pulled the lever on the mechanical stoker and coal shot into the firebox.  As the fire got hotter, he pointed to the vacuum gauge explaining that the needle had to get up to 64 kilopascals before he could engage the gear to get us going.  I sat on the fireman’s (left) side looking out of the small forward window as our beast slowly advanced.  As we picked up a little speed, I leaned out the side window for a couple of photos.  The engine soon came to a stop, and John backed it up to our starting point.  He pointed out the cord over my head, and I pulled it, giving the low-pitched whistle a couple of toots.  Jimmy told me later that his one regret of the afternoon was that we didn’t get to go further.  I was thrilled to have even gone a few hundred yards! 

After our short ride, John took us on a tour of the repair shops.   Here were 25NCs in various states of undress.  I saw several pairs of driving wheels with axles on a track.  One pair alone probably weighs as much as the average Mercedes.  A dozen strong men could probably do considerable damage using one of the pistons as a battering ram – if they could lift it, that is.  There were machines for tooling new parts although major components are manufactured in the shops in Bloemfontein.  They can do serious repairs here, however, as they were working on one pathetic-looking old 25NC which had been in a wreak. 

John showed us a Class 26.  It’s a Class 25 redesigned by an American engineer and being rebuilt.  He explained that there are more rings on the pistons and the shape of the smoke deflector “wings” are higher.  This engine also has two chimneys, an experiment to see if it will use less coal and water.  The boiler is painted blue.  It’s going to be a beauty! 

On the way out of the shops, I saw a very attractive 4-6-2 engine.  It’s the only remaining Class 16E in service and had just pulled an excursion train that morning.  Red plaques on either side of the boiler have its name:  Pietermaritzburg (the name of a small city near Durban). 

Earlier in the day, I got a couple shots of a proud ol’ 25NC just after it had left the Kimberley station enroute to De Aar, 240km to the south.  I plan to ride this train in August as well as others.  Train freaks from all over the world visit South Africa to see these proud old steamers.