Thank you so much for sharing the Knysna sections - wonderful to see Garratts working on the line. The variety of locos and stock also really inspirational. One day someone might recognise and fund the potential of the line - there's nothing like it anywhere in the world that I know of.
@@steamfreak I would have liked to have seen them ‘in the wild’! South African steam classes are all incredibly well thought out design…. And I find ex SAR steam crew very willing to exchange comments and share their experiences. Definitely hospitable guys.
Top Trevor! Really super, super footage mate! Loved ever minute of it! Thanks for sharing! ;) The loads are nothing for the GL! The shots of the double-headed 7's was a real gem - magnificent!
Yeah I know how you feel! Fortunate to have experienced and filmed what you did! For the last 20 years I wanted to travel on that line and never was in a position to do so. When I went to visit my mother in JHB I had this nagging feeling that it was now or never and so managed to drive down to George and got on a train the day of leaving. Only a few weeks afterwards it was the end!
Great videos! I love it. As a child I often travelled on steam trains. Now I am "trying" to recreate the old routes on Train Simulator (Railworks 2014). The route from Pietermaritzburg to Ladysmith almost finished (though not an abandoned route this will be the first SA route on Railworks). Next in line is this George-Knysna route. Trying to get some photo and video footage of this route. Can never though recreate it as 100%. Trying our (Johansteam and I) best to recreate as best as possible.
Watched these 2 video's for the 3th time or so now, what a great event this was, a real Garrat Fest! I travelled this line myself in 1994, and it ranks in the top 3 of most beautifull routes I travelled on, sad that it is still closed (are there any plans to rebuild the washed away sections?) And altough we were just there to travel on the regular steam mixed service, at our return in George we were lucky to meet the same pair of class 7's that ends this video, preparing for a charter freight, so I got footage of the loco's shunting and departing George with the train, a real gem for me then as we had so much disappointments during our 7 week trip of services just being ended weeks or month before (Enyati, Vryheid) and being at the wrong places, in these pre internet days it was difficult to find the right and correct information about steam in SA from the Netherlands, I had to rely mostly on magazines that I had sent over from the UK. That GL was a real beast, haven't seen it in George, the museum wasn't up yet, but I have seen the one that resides in MOSI in Manchester, UK.
There’s nothing half baked about any South African design. Proper masters of the job and I have to admit, designed with more boldness than an awful lot of contemporary locomotives on Britain’s railway. Why on earth was Swindon building inside cylinder pannier tanks in the 1950s?!!!
@@steamfreak you're certainly right. it's a shame to see such a magnificent locomotive fall into disuse. however, I remain hopeful that old locomotive's fire may yet be stoked once more. while she has surely seen better days, I don't think all hope of restoration is lost. with care and diligence, her aging systems could be revived.
Thank you so much for sharing the Knysna sections - wonderful to see Garratts working on the line. The variety of locos and stock also really inspirational. One day someone might recognise and fund the potential of the line - there's nothing like it anywhere in the world that I know of.
Yeah I really hope it returns one day
Fantastic beasts those Garratts, hand fired too!
They are amazing machines!
@@steamfreak Even small two foot gauge Garratts are extremely impressive machines, for example on the Welsh Highland Railway (ex South Africa)
@@stephensmith799 Yes indeed! I've been there to visit those after originally seeing them in South Africa. Very impressive for 2' gauge.
@@steamfreak I would have liked to have seen them ‘in the wild’! South African steam classes are all incredibly well thought out design…. And I find ex SAR steam crew very willing to exchange comments and share their experiences. Definitely hospitable guys.
Thank you so much for up loading these two set's of the steam festival. some real cracking shot's you have.
Thanks. It is such a beautiful area, and the steam just topped it off!
Awesome thanks
Cheers!
Top Trevor! Really super, super footage mate! Loved ever minute of it! Thanks for sharing! ;) The loads are nothing for the GL! The shots of the double-headed 7's was a real gem - magnificent!
No worries Bryn. I've decided to drag some more tapes out. It's great to go through the old footage, but sad to think it is now all gone...
Yeah I know how you feel! Fortunate to have experienced and filmed what you did! For the last 20 years I wanted to travel on that line and never was in a position to do so. When I went to visit my mother in JHB I had this nagging feeling that it was now or never and so managed to drive down to George and got on a train the day of leaving. Only a few weeks afterwards it was the end!
Great videos! I love it. As a child I often travelled on steam trains. Now I am "trying" to recreate the old routes on Train Simulator (Railworks 2014). The route from Pietermaritzburg to Ladysmith almost finished (though not an abandoned route this will be the first SA route on Railworks). Next in line is this George-Knysna route. Trying to get some photo and video footage of this route. Can never though recreate it as 100%. Trying our (Johansteam and I) best to recreate as best as possible.
Would satellite images or even Google Earth not be helpful with the simulation?
I'll check out these routes, sounds great!
Watched these 2 video's for the 3th time or so now, what a great event this was, a real Garrat Fest!
I travelled this line myself in 1994, and it ranks in the top 3 of most beautifull routes I travelled on, sad that it is still closed (are there any plans to rebuild the washed away sections?)
And altough we were just there to travel on the regular steam mixed service, at our return in George we were lucky to meet the same pair of class 7's that ends this video, preparing for a charter freight, so I got footage of the loco's shunting and departing George with the train, a real gem for me then as we had so much disappointments during our 7 week trip of services just being ended weeks or month before (Enyati, Vryheid) and being at the wrong places, in these pre internet days it was difficult to find the right and correct information about steam in SA from the Netherlands, I had to rely mostly on magazines that I had sent over from the UK.
That GL was a real beast, haven't seen it in George, the museum wasn't up yet, but I have seen the one that resides in MOSI in Manchester, UK.
There’s nothing half baked about any South African design. Proper masters of the job and I have to admit, designed with more boldness than an awful lot of contemporary locomotives on Britain’s railway. Why on earth was Swindon building inside cylinder pannier tanks in the 1950s?!!!
Yes SA certainly had some magnificent locomotives!
do you know which number 19D was double heading with the GF? unique whistle
Yes it was 19D 2698 with GF 2401 on the loooong Choo Tjoe that day.
@@steamfreakOh very nice! Was lucky enough to see that loco at Voorbaai recently
@@fastvantage393 A derelict now I guess?
@@steamfreak you're certainly right. it's a shame to see such a magnificent locomotive fall into disuse. however, I remain hopeful that old locomotive's fire may yet be stoked once more. while she has surely seen better days, I don't think all hope of restoration is lost. with care and diligence, her aging systems could be revived.