ROLLING STOCK | PERWAY | INFRASTRUCTURE | SIGNALLING | OPERATORS | COMMENT
ISS
UE
3 // 2
01
2
WWW.RAILWAYSAFRICA.COM
RAILWAYS AFRICA / FOREWORD
Foreword
The copyright on all material in this magazine is expressly reserved and vested in Rail Link Communications cc, unless otherwise stated. No material may be reproduced in any form, in part or in whole, without the permission of the publishers. Please note that the opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers of Rail Link Communications cc unless otherwise stated. While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, neither the Editor, Publisher or Contributor can be held liable for any inaccuracies or damages that may arise.
3Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
BARBARA SHEATPublisher / Railways Africa
PUBLISHERBarbara Sheat
EDITOR Rollo Dickson
DESIGN & LAYOUTGrazia Muto
ADVERTISINGKim Bevan
SUBSCRIPTIONS Kim Bevan
CONTRIBUTORSAnton van Schalkwyk
Jacque Wepener
John Batwell
Leon Zaayman
Pierre-Noël Rietsch
Roderick Smith
ISSN 1029 - 2756
Rail Link Communications ccPO Box 4794 Randburg 2125
Tel: +27 87 940 9278
E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: railwaysafrica
Website: www.railwaysafrica.com
ROLLING STOCK | PERWAY | INFRASTRUCTURE | SIGNALLING | OPERATORS | COMMENT
ISS
UE
3 // 2
01
2
WWW.RAILWAYSAFRICA.COM
Lease or buy? Depending on the nature
of the undertaking, it’s a fundamental
business decision. The answers are usually
pretty straightforward: like how much
money is available for spending, will it cost
less to borrow than lease, and what will
the end costs be?
One hasn’t heard much about these
options in local railway terms – certainly
as far as national carriers are concerned.
One or two private specialist fi rms lease
out locomotives, certainly – mostly to
other countries on the sub-continent. But
what about wagons? For decades there’ve
been stories of South African rolling stock
visiting neighbouring countries and not
being over-keen, always, about coming
home. This is rolling stock owned by South
Africa’s national railway, which hasn’t been
in the habit of leasing what it needs.
This is in contrast to practice on other
continents. Take the Arkansas and
Oklahoma Railway (AOR) in the United
States for example. It isn’t the biggest
railway in America, not by a long way.
Still, this privately owned operation runs
on a fraction under 200km of route and
wagonloads moved annually run into some
impressive fi gures. AOK itself owns a mere
10 wagons, but a great many more than
that carry the company’s reporting marks,
belonging in fact to a huge leasing entity
called Greenbrier, with many thousands of
wagons on its books. According to AOK, its
relationship with Greenbrier is what helped
it through lean years.
Not infrequently, one hears South African
customers complaining that the railway
can’t supply suffi cient wagons for their
needs. Would leasing make business
sense in this context? Is there scope for
a Greenbrier-like operation in Southern
Africa? Newly established Thelo Rolling
Stock Leasing of Benmore, Johannesburg,
clearly thinks there is. It’s putting its money
where its mouth is. Backed by the Industrial
Development Corporation, its investing in
the concept – in a big way. Good luck to
them.
Oh and by the way, the AOK doesn’t own
any track, either. The line is owned by the
state of Oklahoma – and leased.
WWW.RAILWAYSAFRICA.COM
Railways Africa is proud to announce, due to popular demand,
we are once again printing our magazine! If you would like
to receive copies of our magazine please fi ll in and return the
Subscription Form on the next page.
Please Fax/Email the completed form to us at:
Fax: +27 86 665 5330
Email: [email protected]
ROLLING STOCK | PERWAY | INFRASTRUCTURE | SIGNALLING | OPERATORS | COMMENT
WWW.RAILWAYSAFRICA.COM
ROLLING STOCK | PERWAY | INFRASTRUCTURE | SIGNALLING | OPERATORS | COMMENT
Please complete all the blocks below - Incomplete forms will not be accepted.Once we have received your completed subscription form an invoice with payment details will be sent in return. On confirmation
of payment, your details will be added to the mailing list and the magazines will be posted to the specified postal address.
Please Fax/Email the completed form to us at:
Fax: +27 86 665 5330
Email: [email protected]
Banking Details:
Account Name: Railways Africa, Standard Bank Braamfontein
Account No.: 003349497 Branch Code: 004805
Please select your options: REMAINING 2012 ISSUES (ISSUE 4-6) 2013 ISSUES (ISSUE 1-6)
South Africa (Residents Only) R 150.00 R 300.00
Africa R 200.00 R 400.00
Overseas R 425.00 (incl. Foreign Exchange) R 850.00 (incl. Foreign Exchange)
Quantity per Issue:
Company Name:
Designation:
Fax:Tel:
Email:Mobile:
State/Province:City:
Country:Postal Code/ZIP:
Name:
Surname:
Other:Dr Mr Mrs Miss
Postal Address:
SUBSCRIPTION FORM
Railways Africa is proud to announce, due to popular demand, we are once again printing our magazine! If you would like to receive copies of our magazine please fill in and return the Subscription Form below.
Mine Lines in Cameroon 16
Sena Capacity to Quadruple 17
Africa Update
RAILWAYS AFRICA / CONTENTS
ContentsContents
LINE OPTIMISINGEvaluating High Production Mechanised Track Maintenance Machinery in Terms of Line Optimisation Productivity and Effi ciency 6
PLASSER SOUTH AFRICABallast Cleaning 10
Features 6
16
20
TFR Service to Agriculture 20
Plaque at Salt River 22
SA Rail News
Reefsteamers, Germiston 28
Umgeni Steam Railway, KwaZulu Natal 29
Railway Heritage
Ted Hamer 30
Obituary
Locos of Namaqualand 32
Book Review
5Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
by introducing shorter or fewer maintenance windows - in order
to complete the required maintenance cycle - by employing high-
production mechanised maintenance machinery.
The focus of this article is to show how the use of high-production
machinery can achieve this objective, at the same time saving
costs and resources.
What is the Real Effect of Maintenance on Train Operations?Any increase in traffi c on a railway line requires an exponential
increase in the preventative track maintenance intervention
frequency; in other words, shorter maintenance cycles or time
between maintenance interventions, to ensure that the line
remains reliable, available, maintainable and safe. However, the
more trains there are in the system the less time will be available
for mechanised machinery to occupy the track for maintenance
purposes.
The Sishen to Saldanha iron ore line is used here as an example
due to its fi nancial importance to Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and its
unique characteristics in terms of:
• it being a single line of 861km;
• with high traffi c density;
• heavy axle loads (30 ton);
• 20 crossing loops at approximately 40km intervals;
• high-value trains; and
• 342 wagons per consist.
With the current targeted 90 million gross tons of traffi c on the
ore line, the tamping cycle can be calculated at approximately
fi ve months using empirical formulas. In other words, the 861km
line must be tamped from one end to the other within fi ve months
before the next cycle starts again. With a 650mm sleeper spacing,
1,325,000 sleepers must be tamped over this fi ve-month period.
This of course excludes the loop lines, turnouts and yards which will
be disregarded for purposes of simplicity in this analysis, which will
use time-based maintenance for its linear maintenance cycle (and
not condition-based, for the same reasons).
If for example one tamping machine with a nominal tamping rate
of approximately 19 sleepers per minute is used, working for four
Firstly, during his state-of-the-nation address in parliament on 9
February 2012, President Jacob Zuma confi rmed that Transnet is to
spend R300 billion in its capital-expansion programme.
As a result:
• coal exports will increase from 68 to 97.5mtpa;
• iron ore exports will increase from 53 to 82.5mtpa;
• container volumes handled through the ports will increase from
4.3 million to 7.6 million twenty-foot equivalent unit containers
(TEUs); and
• rail volumes will increase from approximately 200 to 350 million
tons per annum.
There were also various media reports of rail expansions, new lines,
upgrades etc. These reports include:
• consideration of a number of potential high-speed lines across
the country;
• the doubling of the eastern corridor from Pretoria beyond
Mamelodi and the introduction of bi-directional signalling;
• a new 146km line into Swaziland from South Africa;
• plans for upgrading the Eastern Cape’s Kei Rail network to allow
trains to travel between Durban and Cape Town; but
• one of the more detailed publications is the Transnet
Infrastructure Plan (TIP) 2011 which forecasts a growth in the
national total freight for all modes of transport from the current
750 million tons per annum (mtpa) to around 1,800mtpa in
2040. In terms of the Rail Development Plan section of the TIP,
Transnet is putting in place strategies to move commodities
better suited to rail but currently transported by road, back to
the railway.
All these expansion programmes and plans, if implemented, would
make Transnet Freight Rail the world’s fi fth biggest rail-freight
company. However, this would result in an increase in traffi c beyond
the current rail infrastructure traffi c limit, leading to system failure
on a large percentage of South Africa’s main-lines as illustrated
in the TIP. To cope with the increase in traffi c, new infrastructure
would be required by means of doubling lines or building new
railways. Noticeable from the TIP is not only the number of lines
where system failure has already started but the many others that
are expected to fail within the next few years – failures that are
already too late to be prevented, if one considers the time required
for feasibility studies, design and construction.
The only remedy in the short term would be improvements to
optimise the usefulness of such lines, to achieve higher traffi c
volumes. In Zuma’s state-of-the-nation address he actually said
that “signifi cant productivity and effi ciency improvements will
be expected in rail and port operations”. This is a very important
statement for those of us in the railway supply chain and
maintenance environment since we will be playing a very large part
in achieving this objective. As infrastructure maintainers we can
improve optimisation, productivity and effi ciency of a particular line
Figure 1: 08-16 Low-production tamping machine.
6 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
LINE OPTIMISING
Evaluating High Production Mechanised Track Maintenance Machinery in Terms of Line Optimisation Productivity and Effi ciencyA few very important recent announcements and publications are bound to shape the future of the railway.
Therefore, for every window of at least six hours per day required
to carry out maintenance, three slots must be train-free in both
directions as illustrated by the blue diamonds (A, B and C) in
Figure 3. This will allow approximately four hours’ working time per
window per day. From the fi gure it will be seen that the chosen
maintenance window covers an extended distance, basically from
loop 12 to Sishen, but the maximum time available would be in the
middle of the window, diminishing in time in both directions.
As a result of the crossing-train-free slots, default windows (AB, BC
and CD) will appear, though only at night. There is however only
one window per day and one at night and if the tamping machine
described earlier is used, at least three of these windows will be
required - or all three machines will have to work in the one window.
This is possible but has its own set of complications and strategic
disadvantages.
It must be remembered that tamping is not the only maintenance
activity on the line. Other activities that cannot be performed
between trains, for which purpose occupations would also be
required, are rail replacement, ballast offl oading, ballast regulating,
rail de-stressing, overhead track equipment maintenance, etc. In
addition, these may make it diffi cult for maintenance equipment
such as tamping machines to work in the same occupation, even
more so if more than one tamping machine is required to work in
the same window.
That means that at least one more window per day (green diamonds
E, F and G) would be required somewhere else on the line, to
achieve an additional three train slots in both directions per day.
The result is many default windows that appear all over the network
as can be seen from the train grid in Figure 4, more than would be
required for effective maintenance. The effect on train operations
would be severe - to the extent that the targeted traffi c throughput
would be virtually impossible to realise.
Further, the reducing of maintenance would only bring relief for a
short while. Eventually, an accumulated shortfall in maintenance
would have a knock-on effect, reducing the availability and life
of the track to the point where the line would have to be closed
completely, so that extensive rehabilitation work could be carried
out in order to guarantee the safety of traffi c.
This explains why an increase in traffi c will ultimately exceed the
line’s traffi c limit if the infrastructure remains the same; and/or
maintenance methods, machinery and strategies are not adapted
to accommodate the increase.
hours per day - for which an occupation of approximately six hours
would be required during a 20-workingday-month - an average
of 91,200 sleepers per month will be tamped1. One machine will
therefore take 14.5 months to tamp the entire line2. At a required
fi ve- month tamping cycle, three of these machines will be required
with three occupations along the line.
In the case of an 861km line, three machines along its length may
not sound like a problem. However, the train-free slots they require
have a major effect on train operations. This can best be explained
using a typical train grid for the Sishen to Saldanha line (Figure 1).
At the top is the time of day and day of the week and down the side
are the 20 loops on the line where opposing trains are crossed.
The blue lines on the grid represent full trains leaving Sishen for the
harbour in Saldanha. At current traffi c volumes, trains may leave
at intervals of nearly four hours, giving some degree of fl exibility.
However, in a scenario where traffi c is expected to increase
substantially, the intervals may reduce to around two-and-a-half
hours (rounded off to two hours for the sake of simplicity in this
explanation) and arriving in Saldanha approximately seventeen
hours later. The red lines represent the empty trains returning from
Saldanha - also at just over two-hour intervals - but they take twenty
hours to reach Sishen because of the need to enter and wait in
loops so that full consists may cross without stopping.
In practice it is not realistically possible to have so many train slots,
due to ineffi ciencies, unavoidable and unplanned occurrences
(such as the occasional breakdown), and of course maintenance.
As is clear from the grid, there would be very little time available
for maintenance between trains due to the long distances between
loops (the only places where machines can be moved out of the
way) and regulations that permit only one train at a time in any one
section – and maintenance machines are classifi ed as trains.
Figure 2: Typical train grid - iron ore line.
Figure 3: Train grid with train slots occupied for maintenance.
Figure 4: Train grid with two maintenance windows and resultant
default windows.
7Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
LINE OPTIMISING
The problem of many maintenance windows can be alleviated
with the use of high-production machines.
To increase the required maintenance cycle to match the increased
traffi c without uneconomically and impractically increasing the
number of maintenance windows and machines working on the
line, the performance, production and durability produced by
mechanised maintenance machines must increase too.
Mechanised machinery is available today for nearly every track
maintenance activity including ballast-cleaning, ballast regulating
and dynamic stabilising machines, rail-carrying trains, turnout
placement, formation rehabilitation and rail-welding machines,
material-conveying wagons, overhead electrifi cation maintenance
machines and many more. Over the years the technology employed
on all this machinery has improved vastly, increasing productivity
and durability, and so keeping up with the demands of ever
increasing traffi c volumes, high speeds and high axle loading.
Lifting, levelling, lining and tamping of the track is the most
frequent of mechanised maintenance activities and it is therefore
not surprising that the advances made in this technology have
been substantial. In 1953, Plasser & Theurer developed the VKR01
tamping machine (Figure 5) which revolutionised mechanised
tamping. It was capable of tamping approximately four to eight
sleepers per minute.
Following a succession of technological advances, Plasser &
Theurer introduced the world’s fi rst continuous action tamping
machine in 1983. This separated the continuous moving mainframe
from a satellite to which the tamping units were mounted, thereby
permitting much higher production rates than was possible
before. In 1996 Plasser & Theurer raised the bar, being the fi rst
to introduce a three-sleeper continuous action tamping machine,
the 09-3X (Figure 6) of which there are two in South Africa, these
achieve a maximum of 60 sleepers per minute. In 2005, the 09-4X
continuous-action four-sleeper tamping machine was introduced.
This is still the fastest machine of its sort in the world, producing in
excess of 70 sleepers per minute.
Table 1 explains why the use of higher production machines will
alleviate the need for many maintenance windows by comparing
three typical machines of three typical production capabilities. The
table continues with the example that was used above in terms of
traffi c and maintenance requirements on the Sishen to Saldanha
iron ore line. Thus, if the tamping cycle is fi ve months, the line must
be tamped 2.4 times per annum which means that the 1,325,000
sleepers must be tamped 2.4 times which is a total of 3,180,000
sleepers that must be tamped per annum (the required production
per annum).
As can be seen from the comparison, and as would be expected,
if higher production machines are used, it will be possible to
complete the annual maintenance cycle with far fewer occupations
since these will be able to tamp so much more in a four-hour
working period. This means that only one machine will be required
as opposed to three lower production machines, if the number
of available working days is considered, and therefore also one
maintenance window per day as opposed to three maintenance
windows. Referring back to Figure 3 and Figure 4 above, the
impact on train operations would be severe if more than one
maintenance window per day were created, reducing the traffi c
limit of the line beyond its traffi c targets.
Undoubtedly, the problem of many maintenance windows can
therefore be alleviated through the use of high-production machines.
On high-capacity lines, high production track maintenance
machines save money in terms of direct and indirect maintenance
costs.
The direct costs of mechanised track maintenance include:
• The contract costs of the machine.
• The cost of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) personnel for every
occupation consisting of:
• A permanent way Inspector
• Trackmaster
• Flagmen
• Overhead track equipment linesmen
• A signalling technician
Figure 5: Plasser & Theurer VKR01, 1953.
Figure 6: 09-3X continuous-action, three-sleeper tamping machine, 1996.
Machine A Machine B Machine C
Production
(Sleepers/Minute)20 40 60
Production in 4 Hours/Day3
(Sleepers)4,800 slp 9,600 slp 14, 400 slp
Production in 230 Days/Year4
(Sleepers)1,104,000 slp 2,208,000 slp 3,312,000 slp
No. of Occupations Required5 663 331 221
No. of Machines Required 2.9 1.5 1
Table 1.
8 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
LINE OPTIMISING
• Labour, vehicles and tools for each occupation
• A diesel locomotive, a train driver, his assistant and a shunter:
The combined cost of this can be conservatively estimated at
R30,000 per day. For some types of maintenance activities,
more than one locomotive and other rolling stock may also be
required.
There are also indirect costs that should be considered such as
opportunity costs, ie the loss of revenue due to the occupation for
every train not running. Especially in the future, with higher traffi c
volumes envisaged, lost train slots will never be recovered, due to
the congestion on busy lines. A quick internet search reveals that
the commodity value on the international market of each ore train
can be as high as R40 million (based on fi gures used in http://
www.indexmundi.com/commodities). Conservatively estimating
that the income for the railway is 10% of the commodity value, each
train slot that is used for maintenance therefore has the opportunity
cost of R4 million!
If three train slots are required for every occupation, the loss of
income to the mines and the South African economy would be
approximately R120 million per occupation, and the loss of income
to the railway R12 million. If three maintenance windows are
required for lower production maintenance machines, all of these
fi gures must be multiplied by three - and the cost of maintenance
soars.
Continuing with the above example, Table 2 compares the use of
lower production to high-production machines in monetary terms.
The annual contract price of a low-production tamping machine
with a production rate of around 20 sleepers per minute would be
approximately R11,5 million per annum, whereas a high-production
machine with a rate of around 60 sleepers per minute will cost
approximately R18,5 million.
The higher production machine may be R7 million more expensive
than the lower production model, but if one considers that three
lower production machines would be required to produce the same
result as one high-production unit, it is clear that – in contract
price terms - the high-production model would cost half as much as
the lower production machine.
However, this is insignifi cant compared to the opportunity cost of
maintenance. If one considers that three train slots are required
per day at R4 million potential income per train, one can see that
despite Machine C being R7 million more expensive per year on
the contract cost than Machine A, the high-production machine
would bring about over R5 billion more in income and that even
excludes other direct costs such as TFR personnel costs per
occupation. Even were the number of practical train slots to be
halved, the fi gures would remain signifi cant.
It is therefore clear that on high-capacity lines, high-production
track maintenance machines save money in terms of direct and
indirect maintenance costs.
One recognises that not all lines have a traffi c density where
production might make such a large difference in terms of
opportunity costs and that the doubling of lines might alleviate
the situation to some extent. But even if the fi gure of R4 million
in income per train has been overestimated, the saving brought
about by employing higher production machines will still be
signifi cant if other direct expenses such as TFR staff, equipment
and locomotives are taken into account.
Machine A Machine B Machine C
No. of Machines Required 2.9 1.5 1
Contract Price/Annum R11,5 million R14 million R18,5 million
Machine Contract Costs7 R33,3 million R21 million R18,5 million
No. of Occupations Required 663 331 221
Opportunity Cost
of Maintenance8 R8 billion R4 billion R2,7 billion
Table 2.
FOOTNOTES:1 19 slp/m x 60 min x 4 hrs/day x 20 days = 91,200 sleepers tamped
per month.2 1.325,000 sleepers ÷ 91,200 slp/mth = 14.5 months.3 Production in 4 hours/day per machine = Sleepers/min x 60 x 4 hrs/day.4 Production in 230 days/year = Sleepers/min x 60 x 4 hrs/day x 230 days.5 No of days/occupations req = required production/annum ÷ production
in 4 hours/day.6 No of machines required = no of occupations required ÷ 230 working days7 Total machine contract costs = no of machines required x contract
price/annum.8 Opportunity cost of maintenance = no of occupations required x 3 train
slots x R4mil/train.
FOLLOW US ON@RailwaysAfrica
9Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
LINE OPTIMISING
bed and 100% fouling would be approximately 70mm from the
bottom of the sleeper.
For example, the ballast bed in Figure 1 is approximately 20%
fouled and the ballast bed in Figure 2 is approximately 120%
fouled. The ballast bed in Figure 2 will clearly have no resilience
and no drainage ability. It is noteworthy that the ballast looks clean
in the upper levels and in the cribs of Figure 2. If the area below the
sleeper, the load-bearing area, is not inspected, the illusion can be
given that the ballast is clean.
The ballast grading envelope (Figure 3) is a more scientifi c
measurement of ballast fouling. New ballast of which the grading
follows the blue curve would be classifi ed as 0% fouled whereas
the red curve represents ballast which is 100% fouled. Using
this grading envelope in practice is however very diffi cult due to
irregular results that will be obtained in trying to take a
representative sample. Should some of the larger stones in Figure
3 roll down when the sample is taken, a skewed ballast fouling
fi gure will be obtained.
2. REQUIRED BALLAST STONE CHARACTERISTICSThe ability of the ballast to perform its function (as detailed in
the previous article) is controlled by the stone characteristics.
Good ballast material is considered to consist of stones which are
angular, broadly graded, abrasion and wear-resistant.
The ballast bed should also be free of fi ne material, that is, the
ballast should not be fouled. Ballast fouling is caused by:
• Internal degradation of the ballast bed caused by ballast
fracture and abrasion due to –
– traffi c induced loading, especially dynamic loading caused
by fl at rolling stock wheels with fl at spots and rail surface
defects such as skid marks;
– tamping; and
– chemical weathering.
• External infi ltration of alien fi nes –
– from the surface (wind-blown or washed in during heavy
rain); and
– dropped from trains.
• Infi ltration from underlying granular layers –
– Sub-ballast particle migration from inadequate gradation;
and
– Sub-grade infi ltration.
This fi ner material will start to fi ll the void spaces between the
ballast stones from the bottom of the ballast bed (on top of the
formation) and gradually build up to the bottom of the sleeper. The
height to which the ballast bed is fi lled with fi ne material is a direct
measurement of ballast fouling. As a rule of thumb and the easiest
and very effective method of measuring ballast fouling would be
to create a template as seen in Figure 1. The template can be
marked where 0% fouling would be at the bottom of the ballast
Figure 3 : Ballast grading envelope (general freight lines).
Figure 1: 20% fouling.
Figure 2: 120% fouling.
10 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
1. INTRODUCTION
In the previous article the focus was on the ballast bed cross-sectional profi le and the importance and methods of maintaining this. The focus now shifts to the ballast stones themselves in terms of their size, grading and the importance and methods of maintaining the ballast grading.
BALLAST CLEANINGPLASSER SOUTH AFRICA
is mud pumping, also called a mudhole. These mudholes usually
extend 300 to 400mm under the ballast and cover a distance of
maximum 120 metres. If the mud pumping is visible for more than
120 metres, this can be regarded as continuous formation failure
rather than a mudhole.
The pumping mud usually consists of a clayey soil. It is due to the
presence of the clayey soil that maintenance becomes ineffective
on mudholes and total rehabilitation becomes necessary.
In Figure 4 the mud pumping has reached an advanced stage.
Total rehabilitation of the formation now becomes necessary.
Rehabilitation is a very extensive and expensive process. It is
also a great contributor to speed restrictions on the South African
rail network.
3.3 Fouled ballast inhibits the resiliency of the trackFine material in the void spaces reduces the elasticity of the ballast.
In addition, if the fi ne material becomes wet and is allowed to dry
again, the ballast bed can be cemented into a rock-hard layer.
The resultant lack of resiliency will cause refl ected shock waves
which are likely to cause rail corrugations and traffi c noise. These
shock waves will also cause damage to sleepers, fastenings and
rolling stock.
In Figure 5, the effect of centre binding due to the cementing of
the ballast can be clearly seen. The weight of traffi c will force the
sleeper to bend over a hard centre. The concrete will crack in the
middle due to the stress and expose the reinforcing which will
corrode and weaken the steel as well as cause further cracking of
the sleeper. These sleepers will not be able to hold the gauge for
very long and could cause a derailment.
3.4 Fouled ballast reduces resistance against vertical, lateral and longitudinal forces
If the fi ne material in the ballast becomes saturated, it will have a
decreased resistance to shear deformation due to the clayey or silty
particles and water present at the ballast contact points. The fi ne
material will act as a lubricating agent which leads to a decrease in
track support and geometry.
3.5 Poor durability after maintenance inputsThe lack of void spaces due to ballast fouling will restrict the
effective rearrangement of the ballast stones during tamping. The
track will revert to its original geometry in a very short time. This
To ensure that the ballast bed performs in accordance with
requirements, it must be cleaned (screened to remove the fi ne
material) before it loses its functionality. This point is called the
critical fouling point. The critical fouling point (as described by
Esveld) is at the point which the fi nes in the ballast are likely to
cause an unacceptable loss of geometry retention, an inability to
tamp effectively, or, due to water retention by the fi nes, damage to
the ballast and formation.
Very often, fouled ballast goes hand-in-hand with other deviations
from the required design criteria of ballast, such as too little ballast
depth, rounded and smooth stones etc. The result is that damage
will be caused and geometry retention lost long before the ballast
has reached 100% fouling.
The critical fouling point is therefore a unique value for each of the
different track standards:
S1 ==> 70 - 75% (S1 lines are the coal line and the iron ore line)
N1 ==> 75 - 80% (N1 lines are main lines on 57kg rails)
N2 ==> 80 - 85% (N2 lines are lines on 48kg rails)
When ballast fouling has reached these measures for a specifi c
track standard, ballast screening must be a high priority to
guarantee the integrity of the ballast bed and the whole track
structure.
3. THE EFFECTS OF FOULED BALLAST
3.1 Fouled ballast prevents effective drainage and the movement of particles through the ballast
As the void spaces between the ballast stones start to fi ll with fi ne
material, the drainage capacity of the ballast bed decreases. The
fi ne material will retain the moisture which will lead to a wet ballast
bed and ultimately a wet formation.
Research by Professor Selig showed that clean ballast to full depth
can drain rain water at a rate of 150mm per hour, whereas if the
entire ballast bed is uniformly fouled, it would only be able to drain
1.5mm per hour. After a hard spell of rain the ballast bed will
therefore remain wet for a very long time.
3.2 Fouled ballast leads to the formation of mud spotsIf the ballast bed remains wet due to the absorbed moisture by the
fi ne material in the void spaces, the formation will also become
saturated. This will cause failure of the formation. When the
formation fails, slurry from the sub grade, together with the fi ne
material inside the ballast, will start pumping through the ballast
and will be visible on the surface of the ballast bed. The result
Figure 4: Typical example of a mudhole.
Figure 5: Broken sleepers due to centre binding.
11Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
PLASSER SOUTH AFRICA
would require the tamping machine or gang to return to the same
spot repeatedly, thus negatively affecting train operations.
Even if the ballast can be suffi ciently rearranged to remove the
track memory, the fi ne material clinging to the ballast surfaces will
still act as a lubricant, thereby reducing the friction between the
stones, resulting in poor durability of tamping input.
Where gangs are used to tamp by hand, using pick-axes and
hand-held vibratory tampers, the repeated tamping will damage
the sleepers as can be seen in Figure 6. These sleepers will have
to be replaced since they will have very little resistance against
displacement. Replacing these sleepers would require a full
occupation, once again negatively affecting train operations.
3.6 Saturated fouled ballast dramatically reduces the production rate of the ballast cleaning machine
Experience with the RM74 ballast cleaning machine has shown
that at low moisture contents (below 18%), the ballast cleaner
achieves high production rates in excess of 350m3/hour. This
relates to approximately 200 to 300 metres per hour or 800 to
1,200 metres per day screened.
However, when the moisture content increases, the production
rate dramatically decreases to as little as 50m3/hour. This relates
to only 36 metres per hour. See Figure 7.
Not only does it become expensive to clean ballast at such low
production rates, but the effectiveness of the process also
decreases dramatically. This would mean that the ballast cleaning
cycle will reduce, resulting in another occupation for the ballast
cleaner to return only a few years later.
3.7 Line speed restrictionsFouled ballast with the results that have been discussed above will
cause line speed restrictions resulting in:
• Late deliveries or arrival of goods or passengers which
damages the image of the railway. Customers lost to the roads
are diffi cult to recover. This is an indirect cost which is very
diffi cult to measure.
• Lower rates – Customers use slow deliveries as a bargaining
tool for lower freight rates, further reducing the income of the
railways.
• Opportunity cost of volumes – Slower moving volumes have
an opportunity cost of higher volumes on busy lines.
4. SCREENING OF BALLAST USING BALLAST CLEANING MACHINES
To avoid the negative effects of fouled ballast, the fi ne material
in the ballast bed must be removed. Ballast screening is one of
the track maintenance activities that cannot be effectively done
by hand.
Mechanised ballast cleaning started in South Africa in 1973
when Plasser South Africa introduced the RM62 ballast cleaning
machine. Ballast cleaning machines are able to clean under
the sleepers (where this is most important) while reinstating
the required formation cross-fall at very high production rates
compared to hand screening and at a quality of production which is
impossible to equal with any other method.
In 1979, Plasser South Africa introduced the more advanced
RM74 ballast cleaning machine (Figure 8), which, due to its
reliability and quality of work is still used today. These machines
were kept up to date with technology and innovative modifi cations
and are capable of high production rates of 350m3 per hour or
more. The production rate refers to the volume of ballast material
that can be excavated and screened per hour, in order to remove
fi ne material from the reusable stone.
In 2006 Plasser South Africa introduced the RM900 ballast
cleaning machine (Figure 9) with its high screening production
of 750m3 per hour. This is still the highest production ballast
cleaning machine available on the 1,067mm track gauge.
Figure 7: Ballast cleaner production.
Figure 6: Damaged sleepers due to repeated hand tamping.
Figure 8: The RM74 ballast cleaning machine.
12 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
PLASSER SOUTH AFRICA
Specialists in refurbishment, repair and upgrade of wagons and major supplier of new wagons to the heavy haul
coal and iron-ore fleets with tare ratios as high as 5:1, as well as wagons for cement, car carriers, intermodal
and fuel tankers.
WAGON BUSINESS
Tel: +27 (0)12 391 1304 Fax: +27 (0)12 391 1371 Email: [email protected]
GM
515
_T
RE
Pre
ssli
nk
When the occupation starts, an endless excavating chain, consisting
of scraper plates with fi ngers, is connected inside the cutter bar.
The chain breaks up the encrusted ballast down to formation level
and transports it to the vibrating screens via the up-chute for
separation.
A lifting unit lifts the track to ensure there is adequate space for the
height of the chain, so as not to cut into the formation.
The vibrating screen box (the RM900 has two screen boxes) is fi tted
with screens of different mesh sizes. The screens will separate the
fi ne material from the reusable ballast stones. The fi ne material
will be spoilt either to the side of the track or into MFS material
conveyor wagons in front of the ballast cleaner, for removal to
suitable spoil sites.
Both machines work on the same principles, with a few differences
that bring about their difference in production capabilities.
Before the occupation starts and before the ballast cleaning
machine arrives on site. The cutter bar is inserted under the track.
The cutter bar width can be changed for ballast cleaning under
turnouts or for restricted width of tunnels, platforms etc. The cutter
bar is a casting which guides the excavating chain underneath
the track, electronically controls the cutting depth and provides
a smooth longitudinal formation surface at the required cross-fall.
This is an important feature that prevents water from ponding on
an uneven formation and the rails from copying the uneven
formation during settlement.
Figure 10: A level formation visible behind the cutter bar.
Figure 11: Ballast cleaning package.
Figure 9: The RM900 ballast cleaning machine.
14 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
PLASSER SOUTH AFRICA
• Stabilising machines – The track behind ballast cleaning is
not consolidated and will show reduced resistance to lateral
displacement. Stabilising machines are used to consolidate
the ballast which allows the track to be opened at normal
section speeds directly behind the ballast cleaning operation.
6. CONCLUSIONThe ballast is a very important component of the track structure
with various functions that are critical to sustain safe passage of
traffi c.
It is most important that the ballast be maintained in an
acceptable condition before deterioration starts to damage
other track components. This means that the ballast must be
inspected for fouling and ballast cleaning undertaken timeously.
Neglecting this will cause damage to the track which will result in
unnecessary maintenance occupations and high maintenance cost.
The reusable ballast will be returned to the track and spread evenly
by the distributor conveyor and a plough.
Due to excessive dust generated by the process in dry areas, dust
suppression systems may be used which consist of a water spray
system located at the cutter bar.
5. THE BALLAST CLEANING PACKAGEThe ballast cleaning machine does not work on its own. It needs a
number of other machines to support it and collectively they are
referred to as the ballast cleaning package. These machines are:
• MFS material conveying wagons – These wagons are used
where spoiling of the fi ne material next to the track is not
allowed or possible.
• Ballast wagons – Due to the removal of the fi ne material,
which to a large extent consists of crushed ballast, the ballast
bed must be replenished with additional stone to ensure the
required ballast depth and volume.
• Ballast regulating machines – The returned ballast behind the
ballast cleaning machine and the new ballast offl oaded by
ballast wagons must be profi led to the required ballast bed
cross-sectional profi le. For this purpose, ballast regulating
machines are used.
• Tamping machines – These machines lift, align and tamp the
track to the required geometry.
In the next article in this series on track maintenance we will look at methods of removing the fi ne material
that was spoiled by the ballast cleaning machine from the ballast cleaning site. In the past the fi ne material
was spoiled right next to the track but this had various disadvantages. Today material conveying systems are
used to remove the contaminated spoil material to environmentally approved spoil sites.
REFERENCES:
1. SELIG Professor Ernie & WATERS John. Track geotechnology and
substructure management.
2. PRETORIUS F J: The state of the art of ballast fouling and screening
maintenance systems –
Section A - Technical report on the concept of ballast fouling, Jan
1993.
Section B - Manual on practical evaluation techniques for measuring
and classifying in-track ballast layer conditions, Feb 1993.
Section C - Screening maintenance systems, May 1993.
15Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
PLASSER SOUTH AFRICA
from a point east of Luacano in Moxico province to connect with
Zambia’s Lumwana line, currently under construction. This will
provide a direct connection with the Zambian rail system, bypassing
the present route through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Caminhos de ferro de Moçamedes is to be linked with the Namibian
rail system at Oshikango by way of an extension to be built from
Cuvango south of Cassinga, on the existing branch from Dongo
junction, 500km east of the port of Namibe.
Caminhos de ferro de Luanda (CFL) is to have a northern branch
serving the provinces of Bengo, Uíge and Zaire, extending to a link
with the Congo-Ocean Railway and Cabinda (which would require
a lengthy bridge across the Congo River). No detailed intentions
concerning this line have been revealed.
CAMEROONMINE LINES IN CAMEROONAfferro Mining has been talking to the Cameroon government over
its possible participation in the fi nancing of the special purpose
vehicle being set up to develop the railway being built to serve
Sundance Resources’ Mbalam iron ore project. According to
Afferro, the Cameroon authorities have said third party access to
the line will be allowed. Afferro, which is negotiating with potential
strategic partners in the development of its fl agship Nkout project,
is to revise the preliminary economic assessment to take account
of the “potential infrastructure enhancement”. Affero CEO Luis da
Silva is quoted saying: “This represents a signifi cant step in the
development of the rapidly emerging iron ore district that covers
the south of Cameroon and the north of the Republic of Congo.”
ANGOLAPRIVATE INVOLVEMENT IN ANGOLA’S RLYSThe Angolan government intends to merge the country’s railway
companies - Caminhos de ferro de Benguela (CFB), Caminhos de
ferro de Moçamedes (CFM) and Caminhos de ferro de Luanda
(CFL – into one authority and to concession their operation to
private initiative.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Luanda
government, “plans to sell off commercial and operational aspects
of the railways to private companies, whilst keeping a controlling
stake“ in a new company called Caminhos de Ferro de Angola.
The state is to retain ownership of the infrastructure; operating
companies will manage the actual services.
CFB LUENA STATION READY BY JUNEThe new Caminhos de ferro de Benguela (CFB) station at Luena in
Moxico province, 990km from Lobito, was expected to be fi nished
by June. When Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos visited
the town in April, minister of transport Augusto da Silva Tomás said
the line would be complete as far as Luau, 334km from Luena, by
December. He expected the fi rst train to arrive in Luena by August.
INTERNATIONAL LINKS FOR ANGOLAN RAILWAYSThe Angolan government has approved a plan entitled Development
of the Integrated Railroad System, which envisages the construction
of new international links from each of the country’s three main
railways.
Caminhos de ferro de Benguela (CFB) is to have a new branch
AFRICAN RAIL SUMMITThe inaugural African Railways Summit is to take place in Johannesburg on 18 and 19 September. According to the organisers,
it “will concentrate on rail strategies for the African continent. Case studies, panel discussions and networking opportunities
with experts and industry leaders will give delegates a platform to interact, learn and collect business intelligence and strategic
insight… The African Rail Summit has engaging sessions designed to provide a holistic purview on the rail developments in
the region”.
CFB’s impressive new station at Huambo. Photo: Anton van Schalkwyk.
The metre-gauge national railways of Cameroon are entirely separate
from the mining lines currently under construction. Pierre-Noël Rietsch
photographed CC 2213, a Bombardier-built MLW MX 620, at Yaounde some
years ago.
16 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
AFRICA UPDATEAFRICA UPDATE
AFRICA UPDATE
increases dramatically, which in turn depends on a sustained
period of economic recovery and growth in Zimbabwe.”
WAGES UP 6% IN MOZAMBIQUESpeaking on behalf of the government of Mozambique, deputy
fi sheries minister Gabriel Muthisse says all state employees
(including those on the railways) are to receive a 6% fl at-rate wage
increase in 2012. This will apply across the board to all categories.
State pensions will also increase by 6%.
BEACON HILL PROSPECTIVE USER OF SENA LINEBeacon Hill Resources started mining coking coal at Moatize in
Mozambique during the last week of March 2012, and expects to
despatch its fi rst shipments by mid-year. The cargo will have to go
by road to Beira but Beacon Hill is confi dent it will be allocated a slot
on the Sena railway when upgrading work is fi nally complete. The
company previously started production of thermal coal at Moatize,
but coking coal is of higher quality and commands a better price.
MOZAMBIQUE WILL NEED 3,000 COAL WAGONSPeter Cona, General Manager Wagon Business at Transnet Rail
Engineering (TRE), told FTW that the Mozambican coal lines are
going to need some 3.000 wagons. He was speaking at a media
conference to mark the loading of the last of a 200-wagon order
for use on the Moatize-Beira line. Designed and made in TRE’s
Uitenhage works, the wagons were delivered in eight months from
order through design, prototyping and testing, according to Cona.
TFR has set itself a production target of 50 wagons a month. TRE
has also delivered wagons to Botswana, Tanzania and Ghana, with
further orders on hand.
NAMIBIATRANSMANIB PARTS WAYS WITH CEO AND COOAccording to a press release from TransNamib Holdings, the
group “parted ways” with its two most senior employees - Chief
Executive Offi cer Titus Haimbili, and Chief Operations Offi cer
Charles Funda. “The Chairman, on behalf of the board explained
that the action taken was in the best interest of the company.”
General Manager Finance Noel Mouton was appointed acting CEO.
Haimbili and Funda applied subsequently to the Labour Court
in Windhoek, asking that their former employer be forced to
reinstate them. According to their advocate, they were dismissed
without fair hearing. Haimbili claims that under his management
TransNamib’s fi nances improved dramatically but the company
says its fi nances deteriorated sharply during the year ending
GHANAGHANA CROSSING SYSTEMSThe WEGH group is to supply complete systems for level crossing
protection on the recently rehabilitated line between Accra and
Tema in Ghana, including components such as barrier arms,
trackside and road signals and control boards. The contract with
WEGH was signed on 23 December 2011.
KENYA KENYA PENSION ASSETS QUERIEDThe board of trustees at the Kenya Railways Staff Retirement
Benefi ts Scheme insists that property sold was transparently
managed and represented value for money. The trustees
caretake assets valued at more than Sh20 billion. According to
the Retirements Benefi ts Authority (RBA), quoted by The Nation,
disposal of estates by the scheme to pay retirees is “shrouded in
controversy” and “threatens to halt their monthly payments that
amount to about Sh56 million. Scheme Chair Ms Beryl Odinga
says due process was followed throughout.
She claims that RBA inspectors did not give trustees adequate time
to prepare for the inspection or produce documents in response to
issues raised, and complains that the inspectors took only two days
drawing up their report. All the necessary documentation is now
available, she says.
KENYA RAILWAYS DENIES MAKONGENI ESTATE PLANSMedia reports suggesting residents are to be evicted from the
Makongeni estate in Nairobi have been strongly refuted by Kenya
Railways staff retirement benefi ts scheme (Krsrbs) Chief Executive
Offi cer Nicholas Kikuvi. The scheme owns the property in question.
Kikuvi denied rumours that architects had been appointed to
redevelop plot number 209/6823 in the Makongeni estate, prior
to demolishing buildings and redeveloping. “We read mischief,
propaganda and intentional malice in the media reports since no
contact was made to our media liaisons or offi ces to clarify the
matter,” Kikuvi told the press. He conceded that his predecessor
CEO had asked for a Makongeni redevelopment feasibility study in
2010, but pointed out this in no way constituted any fi rm intentions,
nor was any contract discussed.
MOZAMBIQUESENA CAPACITY TO QUADRUPLEAccording to Mozambique Deputy Fisheries Minister Gabriel
Muthisse, the government intends to lift capacity signifi cantly on
the Sena line from Moatize to Beira. At present the route cannot
carry much beyond 3 million tonnes of coal per annum. Once
current work between Beira and Dondo is fi nished in July or August
2012, it is expected that capacity of six million tonnes a year will
be achieved.
Muthisse is quoted saying this fi gure is to rise to 12mta by the end
of 2012. This seems optimistic, to say the least.
BEIRA-ZIMBABWE LINESpeaking on behalf of the government of Mozambique, deputy
fi sheries minister Gabriel Muthisse says rehabilitation of the railway
from Beira to Machipanda, on the border with Zimbabwe, is well
advanced. The aim is to double the present capacity of three million
tonnes per annum to six. He added that the transport ministry is
looking into the possibility of raising the capacity of the Machipanda
line to 25 million tonnes a year in the longer term. “This however
will only make economic sense if Zimbabwean use of the line
Caminhos de ferro do Moçambique (CFM – the state railway & ports):
Diesel-multiple-unit photographed at Maputo by Roderick Smith in
August 2011.
AFRICA UPDATE
17Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
March 2011. By the end of that month, TransNamib’s accumulated
losses amounted to almost N$578 million, the court was told.
STUDIES NEEDED IN NAMIBIAA proposal in parliament for new rail lines linking Windhoek to
Rehoboth and Okahandja, in order to reduce the death rate on the
roads, could not be followed up without a comprehensive feasibility
study to determine fi nancial and economic viability, says the
Namibian ministry of works and transport, which points out there
are existing lines along these routes.
NIGERIAONITSHA METROPOLITAN MONORAIL, NIGERIAAt a ceremony at Government House in Awka, Anambra State
Governor Peter Obi recently signed an agreement with Globim
Corporation chairman Dr Jude Igwemezie for the construction of
the Onitsha metropolitan monorail in Nigeria. The project is to be
a public-private partnership (PPP). The planned monorail is to run
from Onitsha to Nkpor and Obosi.
Governor Obi was quoted saying that the monorail would solve the
problem of road traffi c congestion and enhance the movement of
people in the area. Commissioner for special duties and transport
Robort Okonkwo said the feasible study (carried out by Globim)
confi rmed that the project was feasible and viable.
MORE ROLLING STOCK FOR NIGERIAAccording to Nigerian Railways Corporation Managing Director
Adeseyi Sijuwade, the recently acquired tank wagons are only
part of the rolling stock that is needed. It is intending to order
more passenger coaches and container wagons, at the same time
rehabilitating existing coaches and wagons.
Sijuwade speaks of substantial demand for freight rail service from
potential customers, such as the Nigeria Flour Mills, Dangote Group
and Lafarge Wapco.
Lafarge Wapco is already moving products from Lagos to Ilorin
and plans to establish a large depot in Minna, to be the hub of its
distribution network in the north.
“It’s not just tank wagons,” Sijuwade says. “We are talking about
procurement of more passenger coaches, more container wagons,
and the rehabilitation of more coaches and wagons. There is quite
a lot that is required to enhance the level of service.”
Stressing the importance of the railway amendment bill currently
before the National Assembly, Sijuwade says government
partnership with the private sector is indispensable for the new
NRC to develop.
NIGERIA TO TRANSFER TWO LINES TO LAGOS STATEThe federal government of Nigeria is considering the transfer of
two of its fi ve rail tracks in Lagos State to the state government,
for use in the current light rail project. President Goodluck Jonathan
announced this at the sixth Lagos Economic Summit. Keynote
speaker Ms Razia Khan (vice-president, Africa Region, Standard
Chartered Bank, London) said Africa’s transformation was largely
dependent on Lagos State, due to the growth recorded in the past
few years. She was quoted saying: “If Nigeria sustains its growth
rate, it is going to overtake South Africa as sub-Saharan Africa’s
largest economy by 2018. It is clear that Nigeria is on course to
emerge as Africa’s largest economy.”
[Nothing like a spot of optimism to keep the fl ag fl ying. Check this
page in 2018 to see how things work out. – Editor Railways Africa.]
NIGERIAN TRAIN WELL FILLEDTwo additional coaches had to be added to a train on the newly
rehabilitated line from Lagos to Ilorin on 6 April as the seven
originally provided could not accommodate all the thousand
travellers that turned up. This surprised the management, as fares
were charged (by contrast, the inaugural train on 5 April had been
free). The fares asked for train travel are considerably lower than
those applying on buses.
PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIAN RAILThe Nigerian government is considering repealing the Nigeria
Railway Act of 1955. Transport minister Senator Idris Umar explains
that this would make it possible for individual states and the private
sector to participate in rail-related business. It would mean that
private sector investors would be able to build and operate railways
in Nigeria. This is prohibited in terms of the existing Act. “Nigeria
used to take pride in its railways network”, says the Nigerian
Tribune, commenting on the proposal. “Comatose for the last three
decades [It was] the largest on the continent at independence. “
[Oh come on. The Nigerian railways measured a fraction over
3,500km at independence. The South African rail network exceeded
20,000km. – Editor Railways Africa.]
TANZANIATAZARA TOP BRASS SUSPENDEDAccording to the Tanzania Daily News (published in Dar es Salaam),
fi ve departmental heads in the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority
(Tazara) have been suspended. They are the chief mechanical
engineer, the managers of marketing, traffi c, fi nance and
information/communication. They stand accused of “occasioning
loss to Tazara and administrative irregularities that perpetuate
protracted animosity between the management and workers”. The
decision was taken after minister for transport Omar Nundu visited
Tazara headquarters where he convened an emergency meeting
with the administration and later addressed workers on measures
taken by the government to address their problems.
Chairman of the Tazara board Omary Chambo was quoted saying
that Managing Director Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika and his
deputy Damas Ndumbaro remain “untouched” until further notice,
pending consultation with relevant authorities. The suspension of
two more offi cials has been ordered – the commercial head and
the senior freight offi cer.
TransNamib GE U20C (previously South African class 33). Note characteristic
SA-design points indicator. Photo: John Batwell.
18 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
AFRICA UPDATE
According to Chambo, all offi cials implicated in allegations of
misuse of funds are to be disciplined.
TUNISIANEW ELECTRIFIED SERVICE IN TUNISIAElectric trains have started running from the southern suburbs of
Borj Sedria and Riadh into the Tunisian capital Tunis. The new sets,
which will work 158 trips daily, replace 30-year-old diesel rolling
stock. They can attain 120km/h and the new schedules reduce
commuting times by 26%. Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer
Tunisiens (SNCFT - the Tunisian National Railways) initiated the
project as a step towards reducing the fuel dependence of Tunisia’s
trains and at the same time help preserve the environment. It is
estimated that maintenance costs will be cut by 75% and outlay on
energy by 45%.
ZAMBIAZAMBIA ALLOCATES FUNDS TO TAZARAChinese consultants are studying the operational problems at the
Tanzania-Zambia Authority (Tazara) which reportedly include low
staff morale, reluctance among some staff to work with colleagues
on the other side of the border, and a shortage of serviceable
wagons.
According to Zambian communications and Transport Minister
Yamfwa Mukanga, the government has allocated $US8 million from
this year’s budget to help Tazara, as it is anxious to have the line
fully operational.
ZIMBABWENRZ STATSAccording to the Zimbabwe Financial Gazette, wagons of the
National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) “have long gone beyond their
economic lifespan of 40 years. Only 13 of the 168 locomotives are
within the lifespan, with six years remaining. The state fi rm owns
a fl eet of 309 coaches but only 130 were said to be in service
but are in a deplorable and unsafe state. The railway fi rm owns
8,682 wagons of which only 3,427 are operational, transporting
over six million tonnes of goods per year. The tonnage moved by
NRZ in 1992 was 12 million.” The country’s parliamentary portfolio
committee on transport and infrastructural development “has
noted that NRZ management has no clear strategy on how it is
going to turnaround the parastatal in the event that government
decides to inject fresh capital. MPs fear that if funds are availed
without ‘visionary’ management, the resources may go to waste.”
Tunisian passenger train at Bir Bou Regba. Photo: Rikard Ågren.
Station scene on the Tazara line. Photo: Paul Ash.
19Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
AFRICA UPDATE
To rebuild rail infrastructure to meet the
needs of the South African agricultural
sector, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has
created a new business unit with this
special focus.
In the early nineties, the railway was
moving nine million tons of produce
annually. In twenty years this fi gure has
dropped to a dismal two million. Addressing
an agribusiness indaba in Johannesburg,
Transnet CEO Brian Molefe said studies
show “ huge potential” to increase this
traffi c over the next twenty years.
Molefe conceded that old rolling stock,
underinvestment and lack of maintenance
had made the railway unreliable and
unsuited to agricultural requirements. In
assessing what could be done, lines that
have been abandoned are among avenues
being explored in meeting the needs of
agriculture, particularly in the sugar, maize,
wheat and fruit-growing regions.
TFR SERVICE TO AGRICULTURE
Transnet Freight Rail train at Ancona in the
farmlands of the OFS. Photo: Jacque Wepener.
NGCURA MANGANESE TERMINAL GOES AHEADTransnet has confi rmed that plans to relocate its manganese
terminal from the harbour at Port Elizabeth to Ngqura are going
ahead. All manganese export traffi c is to be routed through the
new deep-water port.
NEW BLUE TRAIN COMMERCIALSOn 5 May, two new commercials advertising the Blue Train were
screened for the fi rst time on SABCTV channel 2 between 20:04
and 20:16. Each segment lasts 30 seconds and depicts dramatic
shots both inside and outside the express.
20 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
RAIL NEWSSOUTH AFRICAN
SA RAIL NEWS
PRASA ROLLING STOCK TENDER Prospective bidders from Europe and Asia were prominent among
over 60 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who took away
tender documents for the R120bn rolling stock fl eet renewal
programme by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) which
welcomed the response. According to Prasa CEO Lucky Montana,
quoted by Business Day, “That is at least 70% of the manufacturers
that participated in our earlier market engagements, which means
that companies are showing real interest and paying attention to
our programme.”
In evaluating bids, Prasa is applying a 15% weighting to local
content development and 85% to price competitiveness. This has
been criticised by France’s Alstom, which is quoted saying: “It’s
more expensive to build here than to import (the coaches), so it
would be better if they had given a higher weighting to the economic
development component, We think we shouldn’t be penalised
twice because of the local content requirements and then still have
to compete on price.”
PRASA ROLLING STOCK & BEEThe Black Business Council (BBC) says the rolling stock acquisition
programme of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)
estimated to be worth R123 billion, must involve black business
as empowerment partners in preparing tender submissions
and not only at the end of the process. BBC says it has “serious
reservations” about the way Prasa is going about things.
SPECIAL SA PASSENGER TRAINSSpecial passenger trains were scheduled to and from Durban from
10 May in connection with the tourism “indaba”.
The Rovos Rail “Indaba Special” was scheduled from Pretoria at
11:00 on Thursday 10 May, overnighting at Elandslaagte and getting
to Durban at 17:30 on Friday. Lunch and dinner trips operated to
the South Coast on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The train left
Durban on Tuesday 15 May at 09:00, arriving back in Pretoria at
14:00 on Wednesday 16 May.
A special Premier Classe train was timed to leave Johannesburg
on Friday 11 May at 20:12, arriving in Durban on Saturday at
08:30. The set was planned to do a side trip to Umkomaas on
Sunday 13 May, then return from Durban to Gauteng at 17:30,
arriving back in Johannesburg at 06:30 on Monday morning.
A recent photo by Jacque Wepener of the Blue Train south of Klerksdorp,
behind two class 14E dual-voltage locos.
International Trade Fair for Transport TechnologyInnovative Components · Vehicles · Systems
18 – 21 September · Berlin · Germanywww.innotrans.com
InnoTrans 2012
The future of mobility
Messe Berlin GmbH Messedamm 22 · 14055 Berlin · GermanyTel. +49(0)30/3038-2376 · Fax +49(0)30/[email protected]
www.railwaysafrica.com
COAL LINE SHUTDOWNThe annual Witbank to Richards Bay coal line planned shutdown
for concentrated maintenance procedures took place between
17 and 25 May 2012. Emergency personnel remained on standby
and maximum safety precautions were in place throughout the
operation. Activities undertaken included ballast tamping and
screening, rail and sleeper replacement, overhead electrifi cation
refurbishment and many others. Transnet Freight Rail’s Sandile
Simelane told the press: “This shutdown was planned way in
advance with our customer base. We run a heavy-haul service on
this line and huge tonnages are transported on an hourly basis.
Therefore maintenance on the line is paramount.”
HEADACHES FOR RAILTOUR OPERATORS In their April 2012 Newsletter, JB Tours referred to many service
improvements promised by Shosholoza Meyl, to take effect from
1 April 2012 - but none eventuated. Also, JB Tours were only informed
in the fi rst week of May that certain trains were to be cancelled
from 1 June. The running times and days of the Johannesburg to
Cape Town “tourist class” train were affected as well. This service
now runs only twice a week. JB Tours had to re-schedule many of
their 2012 tours and all booked passengers had to be informed
accordingly.
Undaunted, the operator assures customers: “JB Train Tours are still
committed to rail tourism.”
The success of the enterprise is clearly demonstrated in the
bookings. For instance, train-based tours to the rugby tests
between the Springboks and England in Durban and Port Elizabeth
respectively during June 2012 were fully booked.
The annual train tour with runners and supporters from Gauteng to
Durban to attend the Comrades Marathon on 3 June 2012 was also
fully booked.
PRASA PLANS FOR MOTHERWELL In terms of government’s Strategic Integrated Infrastructure
Project 7 (SIP7), the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)
plans to provide commuter train services between Port Elizabeth
and the vast Motherwell residential complex north of Swartkops.
According to CEO Lucky Montana, this would be extended to the
Coega Industrial Development Zone in the second phase of the
project.
[Commuter trains to Motherwell have been promised now for almost
30 years. The project involves building a branch off the main-line to
the north, which is currently only single track across the Swartkops
River and beyond. – Editor.]
N
Uitenhage
Despatch
Redhouse
Coega
Ngqura
Swartkops
Port Elizabeth
Main-line to Johannesburg
5Km2Km
1 : 200 000
0
Motherwell
Swartkops River
Transnet Rail Engineering’s (TRE) workshops at Salt
River, Cape Town are celebrating 150 years of service.
They are believed to be the oldest in the Southern
Hemisphere. On 15 May 2012, public enterprises
minister Malusi Gigaba unveiled a commemorative
plaque. “Salt River’s history,” Gigaba said, “mirrors
that of South Africa, with periods of rapid growth
and expansion slowed by economic depressions and
political developments, which required it to adapt
to new circumstances and fi nd ways to meet new
challenges. And to its credit, it always succeeded -
emerging stronger and better equipped to fulfi l its
obligations. With TRE Salt River currently going
through another rebuilding phase, it is a good time to
take inspiration from those that came before and to
build on their proud legacy.”
The facility’s main purpose currently is to support the
Sishen-Saldanha iron ore heavy-haul export corridor
– operating trains 7km long - and Transnet Freight
Rail’s general freight business division (GFB) in the
Western Cape.
PLAQUE AT SALT RIVER
Celebrating 150 years from left to right: Transnet Rail Engineering’s Chief Executive, Richard
Vallihu; Transnet’s Group Chief Executive, Brian Molefe; The Department of Public Enterprises
Minister, Malusi Gigaba and Chairman of the Transnet Board, Mafi ka Mkwanazi.
Photo: Transnet Rail Engineering.
22 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
SA RAIL NEWS
TRANSNET’S “OWN COAL TERMINAL” CONCEPTSpeaking at the Coaltrans conference in Johannesburg, Transnet’s
Diveysh Kalan said the group is pursuing the idea of creating its
own coal terminal. The concept is being explored parallel to
negotiations with Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), Grindrod
- which manages the Navitrade Richards Bay terminal - and the
Matola terminal in Mozambique, regarding export allocations for
black economic empowerment (BEE) companies. Among possible
sites identifi ed, Kalan said, was the old venue for the South Dunes
Coal Terminal. Known in the coal industry as the “ANC Terminal”,
the envisaged new facility might be located adjacent to Navitrade
at Richards Bay.
BONNIEVALE DEMOLISHEDDie Burger on 14 May reported that the Bonnievale station
building was being demolished. The article stated that 300 more
South African stations are to be broken down. A commentator
reminded those responsible that buildings more than 60 years old
may not be demolished legally without a government permit, but
another pointed out that if the building were left vacant, it would be
a ruin anyway within a matter of months.
TRE EYES AUSTRALIAN MARKETA long succession of negative sentiments towards South Africa’s
“narrow gauge” heritage (with Gautrain and DoT “experts”
prominent among the doomsayers) is undergoing a dramatic
wake-up. Queensland Rail National (QR), Australia’s largest freight
rail company, happens to use the same 1,067mm gauge and
hasn’t let this cramp its style. QR is in heavy-haul coal in a very
big way, its “narrow” gauge notwithstanding. In 2011 it moved 10
“REVIVING” THE QUEENSTOWN-MTHATHA LINEThe Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has announced
plans to “revitalise” rail passenger connections between Mthatha
and Queenstown. CEO Lucky Montana is quoted by The New Age
saying: “There used to be a line that travelled from Mthatha to
Queenstown, so we want to revitalise that line and build a number
of stations so that people from the villages will be able to connect
at these various stations. The second part is to fi nd a better
connection for people to travel from Mthatha to Queenstown and
East London. We think the route will be quicker than Kei Rail.”
The single use crucibleRail Welding
Thermitrex (Pty) Ltd
Tel: +27 (0)11 914 2540
Fax: +27 (0)11 914 2547
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.thermitrex.co.za
PO Box 6070,
Dunswart,
Johannesburg,
Gauteng
South Africa
1508
The single-use crucible reduces the risk of human error. It is made from a bonded refractory material inserted in an easy-to-handle five-litre container. Welds are more consistent. As there is no drying or pre-heating, weld times are much shorter. And the single use crucible is safer and minimises environmental impacts.
Mbashee River
INDIAN OCEAN
Bityi
Umtata
Viedgesville
Munyu
Idutywa
Mpuluse
Butterworth
Ndabakazi
Springfontein & Johannesburg
Cookhoue & Port Elizabeth
Spiral
Komga
Bianey
King Williams Town
Amabele
EAST LONDON
Great Kei River
Kei Mouth
250 50
Km
N
Queenstown
One or two inaccuracies in this story. The only line north of East London
into the Transkei is the one shown here. There never was a line from
Queenstown to Mthatha.
SA RAIL NEWS
23Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
million tons, a fi gure it aims to quadruple by 2014. Offi cials from
QR have been looking at Koedoespoort in South Africa (which is
currently turning out diesel-electric locomotives that meet 80% of
QR specifi cations), and the viability of Transnet Rail Engineering
building locomotives for Australia.
CTC BETWEEN KROONSTAD AND BLOEMFONTEINIt is understood that centralised traffi c control (CTC) is to be
installed between Kroonstad and Bloemfontein. Current work
between Leeuhof (to the south of Vereeniging) and Kroonstad is
scheduled for completion in October. It is understood that the new
equipment is not compatible with that put in originally between
Bloemfontein and Springfontein in 1963.
GLEN HARMONY BRANCH
The 9km branch line to Glen Harmony, opened in 1954 from Virginia, 133km north of Bloemfontein on the main-line to Kroonstad and Johannesburg, has been
closed and much of the track lifted. Sheltam, which operates interchange traffi c from Glen Harmony, now has to use mine-owned lines by way of Welkom, a
substantial detour. Photos: Jacque Wepener, May 2012.
About seven years ago, part of the 18km section between Orkney and Vierfontein, on the cross-country link from Kroonstad to the Cape Town-Johannesburg
main-line, was washed away during heavy rains. The line was closed and the remaining track lifted. In early 2012, work on reinstating the line commenced,
with work expected to fi nish by September at an estimated cost believed to be about R32 million. The fi rst consignment of rails was despatched on 12 April.
Photos: Jacque Wepener.
VIERFONTEIN-ORKNEY
24 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
SA RAIL NEWS
by Metrorail at a halt called Loftusversfeld
Park (formerly known as Colleges), which
adjoins the stadium – Editor Railways Africa.]
GAUTRAIN FARES RISEGautrain single-journey fares rose by R2 to
R49 during June 2012. Seven-day passes
now cost R438 and 35-day tickets R1,712.
Parking charges at Gautrain stations
went up from R10 to R12. Spokesperson
Dr Barbara Jensen says the increases
were made “in full consultation with the
provincial government”.
TAXPAYERS MEET GAUTRAIN ANNUAL OPERATING LOSSDuring construction, there were strong
hints that Gautrain revenue would cover
operating costs. Some 110,000 daily
passengers were confi dently expected.
Barely a third of these has eventuated
so far unfortunately, so taxpayers have
to meet the defi cit, currently running
at around R280 million annually. This
represents a “patronage guarantee” in
terms of the Bombela concession contract.
The customer shortfall is blamed partly on
the highway e-tolls that didn’t happen and
the line to Park station that couldn’t open
because of tunnel leaks.
Well, the line to Park station opened on
7 June and road tolls it seems will come
sooner or later. Hopefully pessimism about
train ridership reaching 100,000 daily
users will be proved wrong eventually.
Anyway, the Gautrain Management Agency
says the 110,000 was never expected
immediately – not maybe for fi ve years.
WATER IN THE GAUTRAIN TUNNEL The dispute over water leaking into the
Gautrain tunnel has been set down
for arbitration in September. Gautrain
Management Agency CEO Jack van der
Merwe says the rate of water running in
still exceeds specifi cation and he wants
that corrected. Apparently the extent of
leakage beneath the track has been dealt
with but he says the walls remain a problem.
While the work done has been suffi cient
to allow train operation to start, he points
out that the tunnel has to last 100 years
and he doesn’t see this happening unless
leakage is brought within the specifi ed
limits. In one place, ingress is said to
exceed this four times. Van der Merwe is
also concerned about the demands placed
on the pumps that have to deal with the
water, which could shorten their life-
expectancy. Apart from that, permanently
damp conditions cannot be good for
sophisticated electronic equipment.
There are other potential concerns - the
water table could drop, prejudicing the
environment and vegetation above the
tunnel. Clay conditions might cause
instability. If, for instance, golf courses
GAUTRAIN AIRPORT SERVICE The Bombela concession company, which
operates the Gautrain system, recently
improved service on Sunday afternoons.
Trains now run every 20 minutes until 20:30.
Commenting on criticism about weekday
starting and fi nishing service times, which
do not provide for early and late fl ights at
the airport, the management says extended
schedules would be costly to implement.
GAUTRAIN MAY BE EXTENDED IN PRETORIAThe provincial government might announce
plans to extend Gautrain lines in Pretoria “as
early as April 2013”, Gautrain Management
Agency CEO Jack van der Merwe told
reporters on 30 May. A “loop” through
suburbs around the Pretoria central business
district is envisaged. In this general area, two
universities, 48 government departments,
six hospitals and 30 schools are located. A
route extension to the Menlyn area is also
a possibility.
[The existing Gautrain line to Hatfi eld passes
right by the University of South Africa, which
is served by Mears Street halt on Metrorail’s
parallel line. However, no Gautrain station
was provided. Similarly, both Gautrain and
Metrorail lines run right past four prominent
high schools yet again – curiously - there is
no Gautrain station. The schools, as well as
the campus of Pretoria University, are served
GAUTRAIN NEWS
25Issue 3 // 2012 Railways Africa www.railwaysafrica.com
SA RAIL NEWS
were detrimentally affected, the provincial
government could be exposed to claims.
GAUTRAIN BUSES STILL CURTAILEDBombela spokeswoman Kelebogile Machaka
is quoted saying about 11,000 passengers
are carried on Gautrain feeder busses daily,
but the service is only running between
06:00 and 18:00.
[This curtailment follows a long-running
dispute with bus drivers, who complained
they were not provided with transport for
early starting and late fi nishing. The situation
is diffi cult to understand. For decades, it has
been the practice for major bus operators
to provide out-of-hours transport for their
drivers. Lawyer Kevin van Huyssteen, who
represents their interests, is quoted saying
that the Basic Conditions of Employment
Act forbid the employment of people before
06:30 and after 18:00 if no transport is
provided. - Editor: Railways Africa.]
Footnote: Gautrain bus drivers are employed
by Megabus, a subcontractor to the Bombela
consortium.
ADVERTISERS MAKING BOODLEAccording to The New Age newspaper,
there are concerns that while taxpayers
have to subsidise Gautrain operations, a
private company is “raking in advertising
revenue” from billboards and posters at
Gautrain stations. Kelebogile Machaka,
spokesperson for Bombela, was quoted
explaining that Strategic Partners Group
(SPG), a 25% shareholder in the Bombela
Concession Company, holds the advertising
rights to the Gautrain system.
[Not to be confused with Super Group
(also SPG) which posted a 63% increase in
headline earnings for the six months ended
December 2011. Bombela’s SPG is its black
empowerment component - Editor: Railways
Africa]
SACP HATES (& LOVES) GAUTRAINThe South African Communist Party (Sacp)
repeatedly reminds us that Gautrain is an
“elitist” project which benefi ts the wealthy
but does absolutely nothing for the poor.
Sacp deputy general secretary Jeremy
Cronin was anything but enthusiastic about
the project when he chaired parliament’s
select committee on transport. Later, as
S A deputy minister of transport, he had
to be more circumspect with his words,
though Gautrain was still far from being
his favourite endeavour. Meanwhile (1), the
Mail and Guardian, which has been digging
again, fi nds that the Sacp’s investment
vehicle, Masincazelane, has shares in
the J & J Group and that J & J bought 8%
of Bombela in 2008. So the Sacp doesn’t
have a direct fi nancial interest in Gautrain.
However, assuming that it doesn’t bracket
itself with the wealthy, Gautrain seems to
be benefi ting at least some of the poor –
albeit indirectly.
Meanwhile (2), Cronin has been sidelined
from the transport ministry. His perceptive
words will be missed at conferences.
GAUTRAIN PATRONAGEGautrain Management Agency CEO Jack
van der Merwe was quoted in early June
saying that between 32,000 and 35,000
people were use thing system daily,
including 8,000 travelling to and from the
airport, which “exceeds forecasts”. This
was prior to the opening of the line from
Rosebank to Park station.
SA RAIL NEWS
Reefsteamers, GermistonAs mentioned in the previous Railways Africa, a donations’ drive
for the repair of class 15F no 2914 is in place. By early July over
R65,600 of a projected target of R70,000 had been pledged. To
pledge please contact Lee Gates on: [email protected] .
The work necessary on this 15F –
• Firebox needs plating repairs (work has been under way since
April). On completion the boiler must undergo mandatory re-
certifi cation;
• Smoke-box requires seating repair, also bad leaks at the front
door to be fi xed;
• Repainting.
As the boiler and fi rebox comprise a fi re-encasing pressure vessel
that runs up to 1,450kPa, the repairs can only be done using the
fi nest quality boilerplate. The work demands a high standard of
workmanship, with the repair patches installed by a certifi ed welder.
The tender needs some plate work as well, to stop leaks.
The class 12AR 4-8-2 no 1535 has been out of service again –
eight tubes need to be replaced – so class 15F no 3046 has been
the club’s only operational locomotive. The group has initiated an
“Around Johannesburg” pie-and-chips ramble similar to the Pretoria
club Friends of the Rail’s long-standing Sunday afternoon “Xplorer”
operations. A winter Open Day was held on 28 July.
Sanrasm, KrugersdorpClearance of the North Site is virtually complete. It was proposed
that the track on site would be moved to Friends of the Rail and
the machinery to Reefsteamers during June. After that, Sanrasm
only had to have the site detoxed and restored. There is an upside
in terms of costs-saving, since security on the site is no longer
necessary.
On the South Site, good progress has been made with repairing
and repainting rolling stock. Type A-18 dining car no 161 Phantom
Pass has been fi nished, no 15001 has been completely repainted
and a start made on repainting kitchen car no 282. The eventual
relocation of salvageable motive power to other preservation sites
is being planned.
Progress with fund-raising comprised running revenue trains
to Magaliesburg in April and May, in conjunction with the
Reefsteamers’ club. These trips were described as “reasonably
successful” and feedback from passengers was generally good.
Friends of The Rail, PretoriaDuring the week-end of 9/10 June, North British class 24 no 3664
was used out of Cullinan for a photographic shoot organised by local
photographer David Benn. The cold conditions made for some very
pleasing photography. The Fathers’ Day run the following week-end
saw the use of the class 19D no 2650. An Open Day took place on
24 June. Two further private drivers have completed their practical
time on the footplate – they are Tony Attwell and Gabor Kovacs.
Ingwe Council, KwaZulu NatalWinter passenger workings have been operated out of Creighton-
Riverside. In early May, Ingwe Council’s class 19D 4-8-2 no 2669
- from Creighton - undertook a special trip for the Pietermaritzburg
Council when it hosted the visiting Indian prime minister on a
“Gandhi Experience” working. (Gandhi, a London-trained barrister,
made news when he was thrown off a “whites-only” fi rst-class
coach at Pietermaritzburg, in 1893).
After the event, on 10 June, the 19D was relocated to Creighton
from Mason’s Mill, hauling two coaches to provide braking
assistance (the loco has steam brakes only). Tickets were sold for
the one-way trip to Creighton.
It is reported that the Sisonke-Stimele luxury train used out of
Creighton has been taken over by a third company with German
connections and experience in rail operations. Hopefully this will
bring stability to the project. It seems that the previous operator
tried to run things more on the lines of a hotel than as a train.
Friends of The Rail’s class 19D domeless 4-8-2 no 2650 has returned to
service out of Pretoria. Photo: D Knott.
Class 15F 4-8-2 no 2914 is being restored to working order by the
Reefsteamers’ club in Germiston depot. Photo: P Braithwaite.
28 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
Preservation is A Preservation is A Vital Part of The Picture Vital Part of The Picture
By John BatwellBy John Batwell
RAILWAY HERITAGE
Umgeni Steam Railway, KwaZulu NatalThis group has adopted a “sponsor-a-sleeper” fund-raising campaign
to help fi nance current projects. At R100 a sleeper, purchasers
get a “sleeper number” which goes into a draw. The grand prize
is a cruise next April on the MSC Sinfonia from Durban to Cape
Town and a trip from there on Rovos Rail to Pretoria. Any applicable
air fares in order to take advantage of the prize are included.
Work needed on the group’s class 19D no 2685 has proved more
extensive than anticipated. In June, the boiler stays had all been
removed and were being replaced, new super-heater elements
installed and the wheel and motion bushes serviced and replaced.
It is hoped to return the loco to service during September
or October.
Atlantic Rail, Cape TownIn May, a boiler breakdown at Nampak in Epping left the plant
facing potential “millions” in working losses. An approach was
made to the Atlantic Rail operation, requesting the loan of class
24 no 3655 for use as a temporary stationary boiler. This was not
practicable as the engine was needed for scheduled passenger
trips out of Cape Town. Ian Pretorius was able to negotiate a
mutually satisfactory arrangement in terms of which the group’s
class 16DA no 879 stood in as the stationary boiler, and Nampak’s
agreed to sponsor the loco’s subsequent return to service. The
engine was relocated to Nampak on 9 May and quickly acquired a
three-year boiler certifi cate.
Ingwe Council’s class 19D 4-8-2 no 2669 - from Creighton - undertook a
special trip for the Pietermaritzburg Council in early May when it hosted the
visiting Indian prime minister on a “Gandhi Experience”. Photo: C Baker.
Class 16DA Pacifi c no 879, used as a temporary stationary boiler since 9
May at Nampak in the Western Cape. Photo: Atlantic Rail.
www.railwaysafrica.com
Born in Lichfi eld, England, and educated in Croydon, Ted was an
enthusiastic visitor to local engine sheds as a boy. Initially he
thought of a career in the medical world but in 1964 went to work
in the district engineer’s drawing offi ce at Taunton, in British Rail’s
Western Region.
From 1972 he spent six years in the Rhodesia Railways chief civil
engineer’s drawing offi ce in Bulawayo. He then took up biblical
studies in England. In 1981, his Steam Locomotives of Rhodesia
Railways was published. Nearly twenty years later, Locomotives
of Zimbabwe & Botswana appeared. In the years between, Hamer
documented a variety of Rhodesia Railways anecdotal material in
a small soft cover entitled Sidelines. More recently, he was the
editor of the Permanent Way Institution Journal in Britain.
As well as a church minister, Ted Hamer was a Science and English
schoolmaster. It was during his ministering and teaching period
back in the new Zimbabwe in the small rural Midlands town of
Kadoma that he became a serious collector of railway memorabilia
and turned his hand to preservation. Two Rhodesia Railways’
Garratts – a class 14 and the initial class 15 (signifi cant for its
haulage of the Royal Tour of Southern Africa in 1947) – were
rescued from Bulawayo and plinthed in the town. A narrow gauge
0-4-2T Peckett from the Selukwe Peak Light Railway, east of Gweru,
was added to the static exhibition as well as a wooden, balcony
3rd class saloon from the Rhodesia Railways.
Former Selukwe Peak Light Railway 1914-built Orenstein & Koppel
0-6-0T named Elsa (at one time or another in industrial use in
both Zimbabwe and South Africa), was a feature in Ted Hamer’s
school-house garden at Jameson High School in Kadoma during the
early eighties. The loco accompanied the Hamer family when they
went back to the United Kingdom and is to be returned to steam
according to Ted’s hands-on son David.
Ted Hamer is survived by his wife Diane and four children – and
there is another manuscript, still to be published.
- Based on notes by John Batwell
The late Ted Hamer – rail author who documented in great
detail the former Rhodesia Railways’ operational days.
Saved for long-term preservation in England – a 1914-built Orenstein & Koppel narrow gauge 0-6-0T which saw industrial service in both South
Africa and the former Rhodesia.
30 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
OBITUARY
TED HAMERTed Hamer, who died at 69 on 16 May 2012, was well known for documenting and publishing defi nitive works – as well as much other writing - on the motive power of the Rhodesia Railways, later the National Railways of Zimbabwe.
he late Ted Hamer rail author who documented in great detail the former Rhodesia Railways’ operational days
for uch ays,
We offer proven rail products with strong after sales service and support in the key markets of:
Our locally manufactured and assembled product offerings are further enhanced by reliably engineered
products supplied through strategic alliances with leading international and locally based Original G
M59
2_Pr
essl
ink
Quite a few people - including well-known authors like Jose Burman
(To the end of the line, 1969) – have written about Namaqualand’s
unique little railway - mainly in the form of magazine articles.
Now, in attractive hard-cover format, Peter Bagshawe has
produced a profusely illustrated and beautifully printed book. As
spelled out in the title, it concentrates on the locomotives – like the
unbelievable 1886 condensing engines - but this could only make
sense in the context of the line itself, whose history is recounted
in fascinating detail.
In his foreword, Charlie Lewis writes: “Having closely observed
Peter’s diligence with the books of Alfred County Railway for nearly
thirteen years, I can say with confi dence that he is not only the
ideal railway accountant, but also a really reliable railway historian;
for he would never let a single fact, no matter how trivial, go astray.
Neither would he let it be published without being cross-checked
and verifi ed from several sources.
“This is an extraordinary book about the locomotives of a little-
known but quite romantic railway that last saw activity throughout
its length about seventy years ago (although a tiny fragment of it
remained in use at Port Nolloth until recently). The text is enriched
by detailed accounts of incidents that happened throughout the
working life of the railway, such as the attempted blowing up of
O’okiep by Boer Commandos in May 1902 (with the aid of a
stolen Namaqua Copper Company locomotive and a wagonload of
dynamite!). The unearthing of particulars of some of the rarest of
locomotive builders, such as Lilleshall of Shropshire and Dick, Kerr
of Kilmarnock, has lent fascinating body to what could have been
bland locomotive lists. It is thanks to Peter’s tenacious research
that we not only know the critical dimensions of most of these
engines, but what loads they handled and the operating problems
encountered as a result of brackish water, desert sand and extreme
heat that prevented the condensing apparatus of the early Kitsons
from functioning effectively, as well as how all of these problems
were overcome.
“Without doubt, Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and
Copper Mines is destined to be the defi nitive work on the subject
and an essential component of our railway literature.”
Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway & Copper Mines
ISBN 978-91-7266-179-0
Obtainable from the author at:
P O Box 12128, Sunwich Port, 4230,
R165 plus R29-50 Postage & Packing (RSA)
In 2000, the late D R Bell photographed Kitson 0-6-2 loco no 4 Clara
(dating from 1890) preserved at Nababeep.
The incredible Kitson condensing loco of 1886, with side shields to keep sand out of the motion. The copper condensing coils look like an overall roof.
32 Railways Africa Issue 3 // 2012 www.railwaysafrica.com
LOCOS OF NAMAQUALANDBOOK REVIEW
Specialists and leading supplier of maintenance, repair, upgrade and manufacturing services in Southern Africa
for AC, DC and diesel-electric units.
LOCOMOTIVE BUSINESS
Tel: +27 (0)12 391 1304 Fax: +27 (0)12 391 1371 Email: [email protected]
GM
51
4_
TR
E P
ress
lin
k