South African steam railways 1977-1985

Original Super 8 cine film subject to deterioration, transferred to Video "just in time"... Scenes :- (1) S1's Germiston Yard, Johannesburg 17 July 1977, (2) NGG13 No 60 Eston, Mid Illovo line 16 October 1978, (3) 19D 2517 departs Warden 17 October 1978, (4) ex SAR GEA No 4031 Natal Ammonium Colliery, Enyati Railway 22 October 1979, (5) GF No 2435 banked by GEA 4031 Nek Sidings (Enyati Railway) 22 October 1979, (6) New Years Dam Tunnel, Alicedale-Grahamstown line 2x19D's 2747+3336 26 October 1982, (7) 2x19D's 3326+3330 at Cold Spring ex Alicedale 19 April 1985, (8) 4x25NC 3425+3512, then 3506+3515 depart south from Orange River 21 April 1985, (9) Kraankuil (Little Karoo) 25NC No 3436 heads south as 3432+3517 head north at dawn 29 October 1982, (10) u.i.d. 25NC heads north near Poupan 29 October 1982. ... Ends with "The enemy" as 5xSAR diesels head a block car train north on same day.

[@nonhlanhlasebitlo8179]

The train takes me back to when I was a teenager wonderful. Thanks for the memories

[@TrainLordJC]

Wonderful video of the South African steam locomotives working hard. Thank you for making the effort and expense to have them digitised for KZbin. Greatly appreciated by many like the us. Hope there is more coming. Well done.

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for your gracious comments, I'm pleased you enjoyed watching the film. In due course I hope to add more of my South African footage, but I need the assistance of a colleague with more technical "savvy" than me to edit and upload it. Sadly the Covid pandemic has precluded the opportunity to do so .... BUT watch this space. Thank you once again for your comment

[@veronicabotha9199]

I've only just discovered this video and I cannot thank you enough. My Dad used to work on the steam locomotives in Germiston. It was in his blood until the day he died. This brought back memories and tears to my eyes.

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for your comment, Germiston depot was always on the list of sheds to visit when in SA. You must be proud of your dad for working as he did with those wonderful machines. Over the years railways, steam locomotives and the men that worked them were the unsung heroes of all counties that flourished due to their toil. I'm pleased my modest bit of film brought back memories of your dad, I hope they were tears of joy and not sadness whilst remembering him. Take care Cheers.

[@sarelstrydom9834]

Hi nice my dad was from Springs

[@davidhawkins6724]

Excellent and wonderful to see a few scenes that I don't think one would find on other clips. The Grahamstown to Alicedale section specifically.

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for your kind comment, as well as filming on the main Kimberley - De Aar Iine I tried to "get in" as many routes as possible during my 10 visits to S.A. I managed a few such as Lootsberg summit, Breyten-Lothair, Sterkstroom-Maclear, plus the Tarkastad, Alexandria and Jamestown branches to name but a few, all provided many a happy "chase". Cheers

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Glad you saved the film and got it digital, there are some priceless images in here, and the sound quality is very good still. Especially where Coronation Colliery and Enyati Colliery engines are cooperating on the same train. (you mentioned the Natal Ammonium Colliery, this must be the Coronation Colliery). I have seen GEA 4031 during my visit to SA in 1994, but sadly steam operation on both collieries had ceased just weeks before. 5 diesels needed where 2x25NC could do the work! Very capable machines these were.

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for your comments, and commiserations that you missed out on seeing steam at Enyati. Ref Natal Ammonium Colliery, this was one of two collieries served by the Enyati Railway. If you check the footage at 8 minutes into the film (at Nek sidings), the line to Ammonium is at the lower level immediately to the right of camera position, (I believe this line closed in 1982/83 ?). Having come up this line the GEA attached its train to the rear of a load from Natal Anthracite colliery headed by the GF. Anthracite colliery was 4 miles or so further on from the Nek in the direction the camera is looking at the start of that clip. Once combined, the two trains and locos left for the 8 mile trip to Boomlager as seen. The GEA was on hire to Enyati from Coronation Colliery. The Enyati Railway left Boomlager SAR yard at the southern end whilst the line to Coronation colliery left at the northern end. I have more "SA stuff" that was transferred to DVD, but I do need the assistance of a friend to edit it and upload it to KZbin, this includes two NBL 4-8-4T at Coronation colliery, I will attempt to get this done soon ! ? Best Wishes

[@Tom-Lahaye]

@@colinstone1406 Thanks for this explanation, for us living in the Netherlands it was not easy to find information about the railways in SA at that time, as you were dependant on what you could find in magazines, I think I came into SA railways after buying the book The Great Steam Trek at a show (which I still own and treat carefully) and I was struck by the sheer beauty of the landscapes and the elegance of many locomotive classes. But it were the Garrats which impressed me the most. Information came I think first time from the Continental Modeller magazine which I got from a club mate who regularly visited the UK and I got a subscription. There so now and then information about SA railways was listed, but this not always was up to date anymore, so we could just miss out on steam operations on Enyati and Vrijheid-Coronation.

[@philippelahaussedelalouvie6107]

Great to see - thanks for posting Colin. My first qualification after school was SAR&H Fireman, shunting in Durban 1974-76. Still remember the steam noise, heat and brasso (lots to clean) and keeping the fire blazing, filling the water tank. It paid for my varsity fees..with the Suez shutdown, Durban port was super-busy, we worked 30 days a month, 14 hours a day.

[@colinstone1406]

Hi Philippe .. Thank you for your comments ref' the film, it is good to hear it has stirred old memories. I note you worked on steam in Durban 1974-1976, 1974 was the first year I visited South Africa, arriving in Durban toward the end of the trip we were pleased to find the Class H2 4-8-2T loco's still working, seeing 5 of them at Greyville Depot. Unfortunately we never made it to the Harbour at Bluff or Wests to see the out stationed examples. Sadly no cine camera until 1977, so I never got to film them. I have fond memories of my first paddle in the Indian Ocean at Durban. With luck I hope to get more from the archive up on KZbin soon.

[@cricciethcastle5077]

Thank you so much for preserving and posting these very historic films. In 1982, I took a photo of a 19D at Harrismith, recently arrived from Warden. She was in spotless condition. The driver let my daughter go up on the footplate, and pull the whistle chain for the departure! The same year, I was on the Trans Karoo Express, got off at the Orange River service stop, walked along the cinders, and was warmly welcomed up on to the footplate of our 25NC. The regular crew had got off, and an ex SAR driver and fireman, who happened to be on the train, had also gone "up front", and were doing the watering and fire-raking for old-times sake. This was after dark, with the orange glow in the cab, the red-hot fire iron, the "snick-snick" of the steam operated rocking grate, and on top of the tender, in the shadows, someone tending the water crane. An experience which is forever imprinted in my memory.

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for your positive comments, like you I have many fond memories of my visits to South Africa (SA). Sadly like most things steam in SA came to an end, I was lucky enough to see a lot of their locomotives in action and get to film some of them. Luckily new technology has enabled me to convert the old technology of cine film and post it on You Tube and share it. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to upload even more, in the meantime I'm glad my modest filming efforts has stirred happy memories for others. Cheers

[@Adventurescot]

Wow, watching those S1s in Germiston yard brings back so many memories. I was a fireman there for years but finally moved to Kimberley where I worked the big 25NCs on the mainline. Thanks for posting this clip, I love it to bits

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for your kind comments, the Germiston S1 shunt was the very first piece of cine film I shot in South Africa (SA), they were always "vocal" engines. Once we are through the covid pandemic I'm hoping to get even more of my miles of SA cine film onto KZbin, but I need the assistance of a mate more tech savvy than me ! ! I must also thank you for the items you have placed on You Tube, stunning stuff, much better than my modest efforts with an old super 8 cine camera. Cheers

[@Adventurescot]

@@colinstone1406 strange but those S1s right there in that yard were the first steam locos i also ever got up close to. I was 8 years old and my family had just arrived in SA the previous day. That night I heard steam locos all night long from Germiston Hotel and so next morning I was up and away. I got invited onto the footplate by driver Piet Steenkamp who then became a lifetime friend. Then at the old age of 14 I got my first job as engine cleaner in the shed. That lasted less than 1 day when I was asked if I could fire a class S1 right there in the yard...of course I said yes!! From that day on I have been on the railways. Those S1s sure kept a fireman busy. Get the fire packed up and the water was down in the boiler. Get that filled and then it was time to pack the box again. If its at all possible i really would love a copy of that lot of S1s shunting in Germiston. If I could post it on my KZbin site then that would be great. I just want to show folk how fast we use to shunt back in the good old days. Thanks again

[@colinstone1406]

@@Adventurescot Hi mate, Thank you for your interesting reply I have no objection to any of my film going on other folks sites, it gave me great enjoyment filming the loco's at the time and if it can be enjoyed by others, great. However I'm not "technical" and unsure how to go about it ! ? If you have the knowledge and wherewithal to "clip out" what you want, then feel free to do so. If you have another idea of how it can be done, then let me know and I'll see what can be achieved. Cheers.

[@sydneymartin6941]

Man I miss those steam days

[@rongalliers7584]

Thank you for these scenes. So much of it, even the diesels at the end, bring back memories. The quality of the pictures and the sound are very impressive. Thank you for saving this wonderful archive.

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for your positive comment, in 1977 on deciding to take cine film, I paid extra for a sound camera. Sound striped super 8 cine film was new technology back then ! Getting miles of old film transferred to disc was an expensive gamble, luckily the company I chose, based here in the UK, did a fine job. Some colour quality has been lost due to the age of the film and in the transfer, but in the main I'm happy with the result. Cheers

[@edwardbotha792]

Excellent. Great old days

[@daanpretorius8005]

I travel 64 65 and 66 from school in Kimberley to Hotazel.

[@silvertongue3003]

We should have never changed from steam to no electricity 😅

[@jacqueso8424]

Absolutely fabulous video. Thanks for this. All id like to know is where in the country is the film being made

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for the comment, I'm pleased you enjoyed the film. I filmed in various areas of South Africa, the locations of each section of film are mentioned in the description comments under the picture frame. All of my cine film was copied on to DVD by a company based in High Wycombe here in the UK . A friend of mine who was in the film business did an edit for me. This is but a small portion of hours of film taken in South Africa between 1977 and 1985. Cheers

[@jacqueso8424]

@@colinstone1406 thanks for the reply much appreciated. Anything left of steam today also needs to be archived as much as possible especially here in SA where steam preservation could very well be extinct soon if it wasnt for a few individuals and groups dedicated to the cause and purpose. Even modelling the old SAR railway in 16 and 12 mm gauge can be seen as an effort to preserve it. However due to declining interest( only held by males and some females older than 40, correct me if im wrong from the SA modellers) financial constraints and very limited availability of materials sar rolling stock and locomotives(all 3 traction types) makes it difficult to sustain yet we who are doing it keep continueing to push through. As for live steam, Ceres rail Cmpny and Umgeni steam is still active

[@Preyser123]

Greetings from Bergvliet, Cape Town. Fantastic stuff!

[@colinstone1406]

Thank you for your kind comment, it was placed on KZbin as a bit of "a test" to see if it attracted any interest, especially in South Africa. If you enjoyed watching the film half as much as I did when filming, then the effort was worth it ? Just a small part of many happy memories of visiting your beautiful country all those years ago. Cheers.

[@Preyser123]

Thanks very much for the lovely comment. As a blind person I especially enjoy the sound clips.

[@hawkeye-vv4kb]

Sweet memories.

[@nonhlanhlasebitlo8179]

Thank you very much for this video I'm writing about the South African transport from 1964 until 1976. Is it possible to use your pictures. How can I contact you. Very interesting

[@fernandosantiagorodrigueze5532]

And the Steam in Spain & Portugal?

[@sarelstrydom9834]

Hi can we please make contact my dad was a steam driver maybe you got some pictures