Old days on steam, South African Railways

[@gawieparsons5741]

I had the great fortune of growing up in Kimberley in the 1950s and 60s and my dad was a driver at that time on the 25nc steam locomotives. He was a driver on the 25nc locomotives since 1954 when they were still brand new. He worked the line from Kimberley to De Aar and the iron ore trains from Kimberley to Postmasburg and back with the 25 condensers. In the days before the bypass line was built to reroute the goods trains around Kimberley to bypass Kimberley station it was a steam lovers dream to be able to see all those trains passing through Kimberley station. The roster in those days were so busy and the goods yard in Beaconsfield so full that the trains stood stacked all the way from Beaconsfield to Kimberley station waiting to get into the yards. In the beginning of the 1970s during my school holidays I used to go to work on the railways as a shedman assistant at the Beaconsfield loco depot and boy did I enjoy those days. Our job was to coal all the locomotives that came in from the road at the coal stage and then to take them down to the triangle to turn them around and from there to the fire cleaning and then up to the shed to park them for the next shift. What glory days those were. Richard I am a keen follower of your steamdays in Kimberley as I can relate to those days. Hope to see many more of these videos and clips.

[@Palmstreet-u7x]

to think what a hell hole the country is in now, so sad

[@imackiemsamich]

Lucky the most exciting that's happened to me recently is our car stalling on the way to church I only have five years of childhood left and I hope I get out of this hellhole soon since we do have close family in Norway

[@ChristoBrand-d6e]

​@@imackiemsamich I am 74 years young and relive my childhood every day. Started working at 16 fired locos for many years.❤❤❤love life😂😂

[@AndreGouws-u4u]

my dads still nostalgic a out his days as a driver in Sydenham. 90 yrs old now

[@h1017412]

Great video, thank you. My last "great" train ride was in 1986 - Johannesburg to Bulawayo, return.

[@Palmstreet-u7x]

today after covid there's no rails left, so sad, to think before 1994 elections how clean and safe the country was

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Many men moved to SA to work on steam, the American man summed up pretty well what working on steam means, as an ex volunteer fireman on a preserved railway I exactly had the same feeling of total personal involvement to make the engine working fine and to avoid disaster happening. But sadly for both interviewed men steam would not last much longer. As the man from Bristol said that steam ended 10 years ago in the UK, I think this must have been recorded in 1978. In 1958 when my dad just had married my mom he was asked to move to SA and to work on the railways. Sadly my mom declined to leave the Netherlands, and instead my dad kept on working in the colliery. How different would have been my life to be in the middle of steam heaven, although I probably would never been working on steam myself or just for a short period as steam was just a few years from extinction in SA when I was old enough to start as an apprentice. But I surely would have worked on the railways. But seeing how the railway system in SA is in ruins and being vandalised now I don't think I would have seen my retirement in SAR service.

[@imackiemsamich]

The absolute shit state of the railways here makes me sad as a young enthusiast although the state of practically everything here is absolutely shit

[@ekspatvos6264]

Thank you so much for sharing. It took me back to my childhood days.

[@charlestellis7021]

Yep, my Dad was a loco driver on the Mafeking Bulawayo run, involved in an accident in 1958 outside Lobatsi in the then Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.

[@Adventurescot]

Charles, the fireman in the shot Geoff Hall worked up there at Mafeking for many years as driver on both lines to Warrenton and also into Zimbabwe

[@charlestellis7021]

@@Adventurescot the name rings a bell. Yes, when the Rhodesian Railways (RR) took over the line from Bulawayo to Mafeking, my Dad then did the line to Warrenton till he retired end December 1976.

[@tims1542]

Thanks Richard lovely to watch. Kind regards Tim

[@stephensmith799]

I think William Stanier is on record as rating SAR 24 class as one of the best designs ever put on rails. Who am I to argue with that?!

[@Adventurescot]

The 24s were amazing locos for branch lines. However when I worked the big 25s out of Kimberley I sometimes got class 24 no 3654. She was an amazing loco and would wisk along at 70 - 80kph with an 800 ton train. I loved working her

[@stephensmith799]

@@Adventurescot 800!!!

[@stephensmith799]

@@Adventurescot I googled 3654 and it seems it still exists, at Kimberley. I am still amazed that it could haul 800 tons at a good speed.

[@Adventurescot]

@@stephensmith799 shes not in good condition sadly. I have a feeling a shot of her with over 800 tons is on my KZbin but finding what clip its on could be hard. I will see if I can find it for you

[@Adventurescot]

Stephen, that clip is on my KZbin under "Racing steam part 2" Its about 5 min into the clip kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXndonarjbuXitk

[@struck2soon]

Great stuff. The American summed it up pretty well.

[@trainryan2837]

That was a South African Narrator

[@struck2soon]

I was not refering to the narrator, I was refering to the AMERICAN. (Did you watch the clip properly?)

[@rgj8044]

A wonderful era for sure!

[@Woodenrailwayoliver20]

Racist

[@Woodenrailwayoliver20]

You must be a disgusting white supremacist.

[@AndreGouws-u4u]

gmam 4070 in her glory

[@Mason58654]

Wish I could head off to South Africa and do this if steam were still around. @1:09

[@Palmstreet-u7x]

barring that , the country is now a real hell hole,stay far away from the country,

[@Mason58654]

@@Palmstreet-u7x I know. Makes me sad.

[@Palmstreet-u7x]

@@Mason58654 when one is my age -- born in the late 1959 0s, grew up in the 60/70 it's so sad to see how backwards instead of forward ⏩ the country has gone, such a pity those born after 1994 don't know how safe clean the country was before 94

[@Mason58654]

@@Palmstreet-u7x Yes, I know, and I’ve never even been there. They bit the hand that feeds them and kicked the Boers out and persecute them still now. It’s terrible.

[@Palmstreet-u7x]

@@Mason58654 I can relate to it,as I was born in South Africa before 1994 and saw the downgrade of the country since 1994, your problem is that of these black people target tourists, because it's a dead give away as tourists love to walk around with big expensive 📸🤳 , at Jan Smuts airport in Johannesburg it starts already,sindicates operate in the airport at baggage control and contact the thugs waiting outside the airport building,and sometimes follow the taxi's to their destinations and Rob them their,so do sad

[@chrispretorius9778]

Is there any videos of GMAM's working the Donnybrook area

[@sirbarongaming2138]

Can't even get a paying job working on steam locomotives in my part of America The one job I wanted to work for as long as I can remember hasn't been present for nearly a century And I don't live anywhere close to the railroad companies that have an active steam program

[@charlestellis7021]

It's a living monster.

[@Adventurescot]

Hey Charles, your not talking about that living monster fireman Geoff Hall are you?? ;-) ;-)

[@charlestellis7021]

@@Adventurescot 😁 talking about a steam loco, they're living monsters.

[@stephensmith799]

A 'calling'...

[@stephensmith799]

Jobs worth doing.

[@sirbarongaming2138]

I dont believe steam locomotives are obsolete, we just got way into diesel and electric locos for their ease of activating

[@Adventurescot]

The big problem in todays world is getting the younger generation to work steam. Its hard work and something most of todays youngsters do not know. Diesels & electrics are sit back and get fat machines