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43-522: Alfred County Railway is an abandoned 2 ft ( 610 mm ) narrow gauge railway in South Africa , which runs from the southern transport hub of Port Shepstone on the Indian Ocean , via Izotsha and Paddock for 122 kilometres (76 mi) to Harding, KwaZulu-Natal . South Africa, rich in natural resources and fertile lands, has many areas that are ideal for agricultural production. However,

86-555: A 28% shareholding, which gave users greater confidence in the PSACR service. The "Narrow Arrow" piggyback train was introduced for supply to the Port Shepstone pulp mill, where an entire train of 26 narrow gauge wagons was ramped onto a Spoornet train consisting of 13 wagons, having flexible connecting bridges. This eliminated the trans-shipping of timber at Port Shepstone and reduced transfer time from 14 hours to two hours. A further endeavour

129-599: A fuel saving of 25% compared to a standard Class NG G16 Garratt, a performance which was easily maintained in regular service. The cost of the work paid off financially within twelve months and led to a proposal to develop a Class NG G17, but that never materialised since the line's farming produce traffic was gradually lost to road transport on the improving road network. Since withdrawal from SAR service, some locomotives were sold to foreign railways and into private hands and restored to operational condition, while others ended up in various degrees of preservation ranging across

172-664: A fuel saving of 25% compared to a standard SAR Class NG G16 Garratt, and was easily maintained in regular service. Initially, the venture lost money heavily, but after making profits from year three, the venture decided to try to return to an all-steam powered railway. The tourism based passenger train , the Banana Express, had always been steam powered, while the advantages of power and a short wheelbase meant that PSACR decided to lease SAR 91 Class diesels to provide hauling for commercial freight services. The revived PSACR became Spoornet 's second largest customer at Port Shepstone. This

215-443: A gradual decline, eventually failing in 2001 when it lost the key Port Shepstone "Narrow Arrow" wood pulping contract, due to unreliability problems resulting from labour relation issues at Spoornet. Suspending freight operations, the line continued to operate the Banana Express, but accumulated huge debts to Spoornet. As a result of these increasing debts, Transnet decided to legally force the venture into bankruptcy in 2004. After

258-602: A larger coal capacity. They had flat-topped water tanks with rounded top side edges, and were the first NGG16s to have welded tanks. It was planned to use them as tank-and-tender Garratts, semi-permanently attached to a water tender for use across the Namib desert in SWA, as was the practice with the Cape gauge Classes GM , GMA and GO tank-and-tender Garratts in South Africa. However, while

301-490: A span of 32 years. In 1937, Société Anonyme John Cockerill of Seraing in Belgium delivered four new 2-6-2+2-6-2 locomotives, numbered in the range from NG85 to NG88, which were so similar to the older locomotives that they were initially designated Class NG G13 as well. However, in view of the fact that all the carrying wheels were fitted with roller bearing axle boxes and arranged as swiveling pony trucks , compared to

344-600: The 1 ft  11 + 3 ⁄ 4  in ( 603 mm ) gauge Brecon Mountain Railway . South African Class NG G16 2-6-2%2B2-6-2 The South African Railways Class NG G16 2-6-2+2-6-2 is a narrow gauge steam locomotive class. Between 1937 and 1968, the South African Railways placed 34 Class NG G16 Garratt articulated 2-6-2+2-6-2 steam locomotives in service on the Avontuur Railway and on

387-699: The Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne , Australia, purchased NG129 in August 1996 from ACR shareholder Peter Newton. From 2008 they have completely rebuilt it, including re-gauging it to 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) as additional capacity at a time of increasing passenger loadings. Completion of no. NG129's restoration was planned to coincide with the next time that no. G42 was to be withdrawn for major maintenance. The Puffing Billy Railway also purchased no. NG127 from Peter Newton in November 2011. This gave them

430-673: The Free State is home to a large number of Class NG G16 locomotives, either as the owners or as the custodian for locomotives belonging to individuals or other establishments. Three of their Class NG G16 locomotives are homed here, and are regularly run during the Estate's annual events like the Cosmos Festival, Cherry Festival, Stars of Sandstone and others. These are Cockerill-built no. NG88, Beyer, Peacock-built no. NG113 and Hunslet-Taylor-built no. NG153. The Puffing Billy Railway , located in

473-474: The Government of South Africa announced it would gradually put into private hands its huge state-owned corporations, including the state electricity corporation, Eskom , and SA Transport Services which owned SAR. The Alfred County Railway was hence chosen as the pilot railway privatisation project. In reality, SAR/Transnet still owned the line, infrastructure and the stock as a nationally strategic asset; while

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516-913: The Harding line was privatised as the Alfred County Railway (ACR), operating out of Port Shepstone . As part of their strategy to keep the railway competitive, two of the ACR's Class NG G16 locomotives were rebuilt using technology similar to that used in the Cape gauge Class 26 Red Devil . The rebuilding incorporated a gas producing combustion system (GPCS), Lempor exhausts, an improved spark arrester, lightweight multi-ring articulated piston valves, improved valve events and improved mechanical lubrication. The two locomotives which received this treatment, no. NG141 in 1989 and no. NG155 in 1990, were reclassified to Class NG G16A . In comparative testing, no. NG141 achieved

559-781: The Hunslet Engine Company in England. Built in 1967 and 1968, these locomotives had the same enlarged capacity front water tanks as those of the Tsumeb group, but their rear bunkers were identical to those of the 1951 batch of locomotives and carried both coal and water. After the Official Languages of the Union Act No 8 of 1925 was passed on 8 May 1925, bilingual English and Afrikaans cabside number plates began to appear on SAR locomotives, initially inscribed "SOUTH AFRICAN RAILWAYS" at

602-572: The Natal narrow gauge lines . The success of the Class NG G13 narrow gauge Garratts that were introduced by the South African Railways (SAR) in 1927 led to a decision that any additional narrow gauge articulated locomotives would be of the same design. Altogether 34 more 2-6-2+2-6-2 Double Prairie type narrow gauge locomotives were built, spread over five orders from three manufacturers over

645-602: The SAR 's longer routes, which were more powerful. Also, being shorter in chassis length, these diesel-electric locomotives were able to access the growers' farms. Therefore, the SAR decided to transfer the NG G13 and NG G16 Garratts to the Alfred County Railway in Natal . Due to underinvestment, the Alfred County Railway became increasingly unreliable, and was closed to operations by

688-624: The South African Class NG15 2-8-2 locomotives started their career on the 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge. The Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa (now Namibia ) were transferred to the 2 ft gauge railways in South Africa and currently some surviving locomotives reside in Wales on the 1 ft  11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 597 mm ) gauge Welsh Highland Railway and

731-604: The Avontuur Railway, these locomotives were used as tank-and-tender Garratts, but when the Langkloof members of the class were transferred to Natal in 1964, the water tenders were dispensed with since watering points were much closer together in Natal as a consequence of the early use of tank engines on those narrow-gauge branches. The final order for eight locomotives in 1967, numbered in the range from NG149 to NG156, turned out to be

774-605: The Banana Express are stored at Paddock Hamba Wehelle Express In 2015 a short section of the railway line - between Paddock and Plains - was in use and a limited tourist service was being provided using a light weight carriage and an industrial Hunslet diesel locomotive The service is known as the Hamba Wehelle Express (or Humba Weheli Express) and was operated in conjunction with the Gorgez View Bed and Breakfast/Conference Centre/Coffee Shop at Paddock however by 2016

817-593: The Class NG G13 of which the inner carrying wheels were built to the Gölsdorf system which allowed the axle some lateral movement, it was soon decided to reclassify them to Class NG G16 . These pre-war locomotives, like the earlier Class NG G13 locomotives, were built with riveted coal and water bunkers and with elliptical tops on the water tanks. The second order of eight locomotives was delivered from Beyer, Peacock & Company , England in 1939. They were numbered in

860-752: The French Maginot Line and Alpine Line also used 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge railways for supply routes to the fixed border defenses. Australia has over 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) of 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge sugar cane railway networks in the coastal areas of Queensland , which carry more than 30 million tonnes of sugar cane a year. Many 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge and 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge railways are used in amusement parks and theme parks worldwide. The interchange of rolling stock between these similar track gauges occasionally occurred; for example,

903-624: The Natal and Langkloof lines. The seven Beyer, Peacock locomotives ordered by the Tsumeb Copper Corporation, numbers NG137 to NG143, were initially distributed between the Umzinto , Port Shepstone and Avontuur lines, but in 1964 the three that went to the Langkloof were also transferred to Natal. The Hunslet-Taylor locomotives, numbers NG149 to NG156, were placed in service on the Harding and Donnybrook branches in Natal in 1968. When

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946-422: The SAR in 1986. As South Africa's farmers re-entered the global markets in the late 1980s, the quality of produce going to markets became increasingly important. As handling is a key issue in the retail quality of bananas in particular, the farmers were in favour of reviving the Alfred County Railway, to reduce the amount of handling from banana plantation to port. To raise funds and reduce government expenditure,

989-453: The agricultural Harding district to Port Shepstone, the NGR commissioned Stoke-on-Trent based Kerr Stuart to build seven Class NG4 4-6-2T tank locomotives, based on the 1907 Class NG3 4-6-2T . The route of the Alfred County Railway had some curves of 45 metres (147.6 ft), but with gradients of up to 3 in 100 / 3% ( ruling grade of 1 in 37 / 2.7% for 20 miles or 32 kilometres after leaving

1032-486: The coast), the NG4s and their replacements were often double-headed to haul the diverse freight traffic of wood , sugar cane and bananas to Port Shepstone. The line's management decided against purchasing more powerful articulated Garratt locomotives, because their longer wheelbase would make access to the sugar cane fields more difficult. From the mid-1970s, steam was replaced by Class 91-000 diesel-electric locomotives on

1075-504: The government, transport regulations were further relaxed to allow a higher gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 56 tonnes (55 long tons; 62 short tons), a higher axle load from 8.2 and 9.0 long tons (8.3 and 9.1 t), together with a 5% overload tolerance: the highest heavy vehicle mass with unlimited access to the roads of any country in the world. As a result, Spoornet began to lose general freight traffic, and PSACR's reliance on trans-shipment increased transport times and costs. The railway began

1118-451: The last new steam locomotives to be ordered by the SAR. Beyer-Peacock had stopped building steam locomotives after the last batch of Class NG G16 in 1958 and by 1968 they were in the process of closing the business altogether. Since no other overseas manufacturers were available to supply them, they were built by Hunslet-Taylor in Germiston using boilers supplied by their overseas principals,

1161-637: The line to Harding, in December 2005 Transnet shut the Banana Express, after they decreed a lease did not exist between SAR and PCNGR. On 18 June 2008 a huge storm hit the coast, which resulted in large amounts of flash flooding . This damaged many of the railway's bridges along the Hibiscus Coast so that they were considered to be beyond economic repair, and washed most of the Izotsha rail bridges away. Several steam locomotives and several carriages that were used on

1204-405: The locomotives were being built, the decision was made to convert all the SWA narrow gauge lines to Cape gauge. In terms of a prior agreement between the SAR and the Tsumeb Copper Corporation, the SAR would purchase any narrow gauge locomotives that would become redundant should the re-gauging of the SWA system take place. The new locomotives were therefore delivered directly to the SAR in 1958. On

1247-615: The lower section of the Avontuur line was dieselised upon the arrival of the Class 91-000 diesel-electric locomotives in 1973, all the Class NG G16 locomotives still in service were transferred to various branches in Natal, where they remained until they were withdrawn from service. When the four Natal narrow gauge systems were closed down by the SAR, the Weenen and Mid-Illovo lines were lifted, but

1290-495: The new Port Shepstone and Alfred County Railway (PSACR) was granted an operational and maintenance lease for a period of 199 years. The company inherited 25 steam locomotives - of which only one, an NG G16, was operational - plus rolling stock. The company announced a business plan expected to win back lucrative business from farmers and timber growers. In March 1988, the PSACR raised funds by offering 1.8 million shares for sale at one rand each. As part of their development to keep

1333-437: The older style Afrikaans "SUID AFRIKANSE SPOORWEË" at the bottom. When they were designated Class NG G16, the "NG/G13" was altered to "NG/G16" by milling out the 3 and riveting on a 6, as shown. The Cockerill locomotives, numbers NG85 to NG88, remained in Natal for most of their service lives. The Beyer, Peacock locomotives ordered by the SAR, numbers NG109 to NG116 and NG125 to NG131, were shared more or less equally between

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1376-509: The produce from the sorting and packing points to the coastal ports. Their choice of gauge was determined by the gauge that was being used in each local area and varied between the early 1 ft  11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 597 mm ) to the later Cape gauge of 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ). Designed as part of the Natal Government Railways' (NGR) project to transport sugar cane and bananas grown in

1419-469: The railway competitive, the PSACR upgraded two of their existing Class NG G16 locomotives. The engineers incorporated developments proposed by L.D. Porta , including GPCS, Lempor exhaust, an improved spark arrestor, lightweight multi-ring articulated piston valves, improved valve events and improved mechanical lubrication. Two locomotives were modified: No. 141 in 1989 and No. 155 in 1990, and reclassified to Class NG G16A . In comparative testing No. 141 gave

1462-429: The range from NG109 to NG116. The third order was for a further seven locomotives in 1951, numbered in the range from NG125 to NG131, once again from Beyer, Peacock. They still had elliptical tops on the water tanks and both tank and bunker were riveted as per the pre-war machines, however on the boiler the location of the safety valves, clack valves and main manifold (amongst other details) changed to what would become

1505-498: The scenery and the access to local businesses. Before reaching Shelley Beach the railway traversed several river bridges along the Hibiscus Coast. The train then veered inland and chugged up through banana plantations and cane fields towards Izotsha, passed through lush sub-tropical native forests and rondavel -dotted hillsides, before stopping in Paddock for lunch and then the direct return journey. Although PCNGR had proposals to reopen

1548-641: The service was suspended 2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways Most of these lines are tourist lines, which are often heritage railways or industrial lines, such as the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales and the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado . World War I trench railways produced the greatest concentration of 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge railways to date. In preparation for World War II ,

1591-600: The spectrum from running order to staging to total abandonment. In 2017, at least four establishments still operated or were restoring ex-SAR Class NG G16 Garratts. Several however, have now been cut up for scrap (see table below). The Welsh Highland Railway in Wales has five Class NG G16 locomotives. One, no. NG140, is used as a source of spare parts while four locomotives, Cockerill-built no. NG87 and Beyer, Peacock-built numbers NG130, NG138 and NG143, are used for operational purposes. The Sandstone Estates near Ficksburg in

1634-687: The standard for all remaining builds. The fourth batch of seven locomotives, numbered in the range from NG137 to NG143, were the last steam locomotives to be built by Beyer, Peacock and were built to the specifications of the Tsumeb Copper Corporation in South West Africa (SWA). They were mechanically similar to the earlier and subsequent Class NG G16 locomotives, but with a revised coal and water carrying arrangement. These locomotives had an enlarged front water tank capacity, but carried no water in their rear bunkers which consequently had

1677-452: The steep mountainous terrain between the resource rich areas in the high veld and the coastal ports presented a transport challenge. Before well maintained and reliable access roads had been developed, narrow gauge railways were used extensively by South African farmers to move produce from their large farms to central sorting and packing points on their own land. As a result, entrepreneurial business people created linking railways to transport

1720-470: The termination of the PSACR lease, Patons Country Narrow Gauge Railway (PCNGR) was granted a temporary permit to continue running the Banana Express, from Port Shepstone to Paddock. The company had three locomotives available to it: NGG16 Nos.151 and 127; plus an ex-sugar estate 0-4-0T, SAR NG UVE2. With a 6-hour journey totally devoted to tourism and enabling access to local attractions and businesses, it again became very popular with tourists because of both

1763-688: The top and "SUID AFRIKANSE SPOORWEË" at the bottom. The Afrikaans spelling conventions were changed from time to time in the early years. On postage stamps, for example, it was "Zuid Afrika" from 1913, "Suidafrika" from the airmail stamps of 1925 and hyphenated "Suid-Afrika" from 1933. On cabside number plates, the spelling of the Afrikaans inscription was later altered with "AFRIKANSE" changed to "AFRIKAANSE" and with "SUID AFRIKAANSE SPOORWEË" unhyphenated, and stil later to "SUID-AFRIKAANSE SPOORWEË" hyphenated. The Cockerill-built locomotives were delivered with bilingual cabside number plates inscribed "NG/G13" and with

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1806-537: Was driven by the operations of Kulu Lime and the Natal Portland Cement, plus pulpwood, poplar logs (for matchwood ), creosoted telegraph poles , and manufactured wooden items from Harding. North bound inland traffic was general cargo for the farmers, such as maize , fertilizer , salt , cement , farm implements and water tanks and small parcels. The company also revived the Banana Express. In 1991 Spoornet acquired one-million shares in PSACR, equivalent to

1849-447: Was the "Timbertainer," an intermodal system where pulpwood could be loaded into an open container at a plantation and taken through to the mill. Plans were in place for a similar initiative for sugar cane shipments. However, by the mid-1990s the effects of transport deregulation began to impact of the profitability of the PSACR as larger, often overloaded, road trucks becoming ever more competitive. Although Spoornet made representations to

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