Anna Nel

Mrs. Anna Nel works side-by-side with Lukas, her husband, at the Sandstone Heritage Trust Steam Refurbishment Workshops in Bloemfontein.
Anna, who raised two boys and who is now a Grandmother, ran her own transport business for many years. However, in her own words, she describes how she saw so little of Lukas because of his dedication to his work in the steam workshops. When Lukas is retubing a boiler he does not stop to go home at night – he just carries on until the job is finished. She felt that if she was to see more of him she needed to adopt the same interest as him. She therefore took the decision to work side-by-side with him in the steam workshops and is now an accomplished fitter in her own right. Because of Anna’s caring personality she has also taken the whole team under her wing and handles the HR responsibilities, which has brought greater stability to the labour force in the workshop.

Many a steam enthusiast has had to do a double take when walking into the workshop to find Anna tackling heavy work. She always looks immaculate and has done much to make the visit to the steam workshops a more interesting experience.

Anna, thanks for your dedication and for your love of steam. You are truly, like your husband, a one off personality.