4 MINUTES = 8 TRAINS !!! TRANSNET Diesel & Electric Locomotives hard at ...

 

A new Book covering the 2ft Gauge Railway from Port Elizabeth to Avontuur and Patensie

The railway was originally described in detail in Sydney Moir's seminal book, Twenty-four Inches Apart (Oakwood Press in 1963). More recently the story has been covered in eight parts of the authors' Soul of a Railway (SOAR) series published online and it is this material which forms the basis of this new book.

This 265 page hardback book printed on high quality paper brings the story up to date and focuses on new, fascinating and compelling information about the railway, particularly the political shenanigans that plagued its turbulent latter years. These are recounted by the author (Charlie Lewis), the Regional Engineer responsible for the line from 1981 to 1986 and also one of South Africa's most prolific photographers.

The SOAR material has been edited by John Hunt, Dick Manton and John Middleton who have all spent a lot of time in South Africa and visited the line on many occasions. The text is complimented by a wide selection of over 350 photographs, many in colour and previously unpublished, with contributions from many of the world's leading railway photographers. The authors believe this new book will form THE definitive record of the Railway in its latter years.

To Purchase go to:  https://shop.myonlinebooking.co.uk/festrail/shop/product.aspx?id=14678

METRORAIL 'BOLAND BLITZ' and other MetroRail Cape Town trains

METRORAIL 'BOLAND BLITZ' and other MetroRail Cape Town early morning peak time trains.

TRANSNET Freight Rail Diesels with a concrete sleepers train

TRANSNET Freight Rail Diesels with a concrete sleepers train to an unknown destination. Video date: 11 March 2020.

METRORAIL Cape Town | Friendly and rude/high FREE RIDERS

METRORAIL Cape Town | Friendly and rude/high FREE RIDERS. See if you can spot these commuters.

TRANSNET Freight Rail diesel locomotive running light

TRANSNET Freight Rail class 35 diesel locomotive running light.

METRORAIL Malmesbury Express = Watch Free Riders doing their thing!

METRORAIL Malmesbury Express = Watch Free Riders here doing their thing on 18 March 2020.

TRANSNET Freight Rail Electrics & Diesels two trains pass each other in ...

TRANSNET Freight Rail Electrics & Diesels two trains pass each other in Brackenfell.

TRANSNET Freight Rail = Grain train to Meadow Feeds at Dal Josafat and back

TRANSNET Freight Rail = Grain train to Meadow Feeds at Dal Josafat and back. The locomotives returned running light about 2 hour 20 minutes later.

METRORAIL Boland Blitz = Morning run from Worcester to Cape Town

METRORAIL Boland Blitz = Morning run from Worcester to Cape Town.

METRORAIL Malmesbury Express = More than an hour late this morning

METRORAIL Malmesbury Express = More than an hour late this morning

METRORAIL Cape Town = XPLUS livery amongst two offpeak commuter trains

METRORAIL Cape Town = XPLUS livery amongst two offpeak commuter trains.

TRANSNET showing a White Flag for METRORAIL Trains

TRANSNET showing a White Flag for METRORAIL Trains. Some work is in progress to get the signalling system at Brackenfell operational again - you'll see some of this activity in this brief compilation

TRANSNET Freight Rail = 4x Class 35 Diesels with a long Train of Wagons

TRANSNET Freight Rail = 4x Class 35 Diesels with a long Train of Wagons. Presumably this was a train from KLAWER with a load of agricultural gypsum.

TRANSNET freight rail diesels Class 36's fetching a Grain Train from Dal...

TRANSNET freight rail diesels Class 36's fetching a Grain Train from Dal Josafat.

ROVOS RAIL Pride of Africa Luxury Train on track from Cape Town to Pretoria

ROVOS RAIL Pride of Africa Luxury Train on track from Cape Town to Pretoria: I do not often see the Rovos Rail train - for the sole reason that I am not there when they come by on their scheduled time. Down in the Western Cape ROVOS do not have their own locomotives in green livery, so they have to hire traction from TRANSNET freight rail. This here was the last time I saw the ROVOS earlier this year, the date is in the video ;-) Passengers are having a good time on the rear-end deck.

METRORAIL Cape Town = Collection of Overloaded commuter trains

METRORAIL Cape Town = Collection of Overloaded commuter trains.

TRANSNET freight rail diesels with Grain empties Train from Dal Josafat

TRANSNET freight rail - A pair of class 35 diesels with a 36 wagon Grain empties Train from Dal Josafat.

TRANSNET freight rail Watching Class 35 Diesels Locomotives doing their ...

TRANSNET freight rail Watching Class 35 Diesels Locomotives doing their work.

TRANSNET freight rail Motive power transfer 6x 18E's Electrics to Worcester

TRANSNET freight rail Motive power transfer 6x 18E's Electrics to Worcester

TRANSNET freight rail Daily Grain Train to Dal Josafat & back

TRANSNET freight rail daily Grain Train to Dal Josafat & back. Today no class 18E electric locomotives to take the train out to Meadow Feeds in Paarl. Two class 35's will do the shunting at the non-electrified Dal Josafat siding. The friendly driver is Sebastiaan Bester.

TRANSNET freight rail Diesels Ammonia delivery to MELLISH using a shunte...

TRANSNET freight rail Diesels (1) Light running; (2) Another pair with an Ammonia delivery to MELLISH siding using the BELLVILLE shunter wagon. The ammonia is used to make the cattle feed at Braam's Voerkrale more edible for the animals. Note the use of buffer wagons to protect staff from the dangerous gas in the tanker.

TRANSNET freight rail Electric and Diesel Locomotives running light

TRANSNET freight rail Electric and Diesel Locomotives running light

BOLAND BLITZ Metro and TRANSNET Diesels motive power transfer to SALKOR ...

(1) BOLAND BLITZ Metro and (2) TRANSNET Diesels motive power transfer to SALKOR at Saldanha.

SHOSHOLOZA MEYL ordered to halt rail operations indefinitely

SHOSHOLOZA MEYL ordered to halt rail operations indefinitely This was my last set of this train spotted on 19 February 2020. Here is the relvant newspaper report from Business Day:
"Intercity train Shosholoza Meyl’s services have been suspended indefinitely after the company, a subsidiary of the embattled Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), contravened the temporary operating licence it was given by the railway safety regulator."

TRANSNET freight rail MORE Light running locomotives

TRANSNET freight rail MORE Light running locomotives.

METRORAIL Cape Town More overcrowded commuter trains

METRORAIL Cape Town More overcrowded commuter trains. Several 5M2A morning peak hour trains.

TRANSNET freight rail Grain Trains to and from DAL JOSAFAT

TRANSNET freight rail Heavy coiled steel train for processing at DUFERCO...

TRANSNET freight rail Heavy coiled steel train for processing at the DUFERCO plant in Saldanha. The train has 152 axles, carrying a total of 76 steel coils.

TRANSNET freight rail Class 36 diesel shunters with noisy shunter wagon

TRANSNET freight rail Class 36 diesel shunters with noisy shunter wagon, due to flat spot wheels on back axle, this is shown in the video. This short train is on the way to the KALBASKRAAL branch line, either to fetch grain wagons at KLIPHEUWEL or ballast wagons at KALBASKRAAL.

METRORAIL Cape Town Some 10M5 and 5M2A commuter train sets

METRORAIL Cape Town - Some 10M5 and 5M2A commuter train sets and a friendly driver.

SHOSHOLOZA MEYL on the way from CAPE TOWN to JOHANNESBURG

SHOSHOLOZA MEYL long distance passenger train going through BRACKENFELL on the way from CAPE TOWN to JOHANNESBURG. This clean looking train is hauled by two vintage class 6E1's (units 1404+1667) in Prasa blue livery. The friendly driver appears to be Grandall Roman :-) The weekday was Friday = Valentine's Day 2020.