Weekly Report – By Stephen du Preez
Stephan du Preez has submitted a report which will be of particular interest to visitors of our April event.
We are making good progress on all fronts and providing there is no extraordinary weather conditions we should be on track.
We have enjoyed considerable support from our technical personnel who are normally based at the Bloemfontein Repair Depot, and we would like to thank both them and the Sandstone staff for their diligence over recent weeks.
Stephan’s report is below for your interest:
Week Report
Rail Repairs
The repairs at Pandora and the length of rail from Pandora to Vailima have been repaired. Work has started at Vailima.
Below you can see some photos of the before and after the repairs have been done at Pandora.
Flood damage at Vailima
Below are some photos from the damage at Vailima. The holes have been filled with building rubble which will be bonded with soil crete to give it the required strength.
Postal wagon
Wouter is finished with all the damaged plates on the wagon and has started painting the frame and the roof of the wagon. I have given Peter the amount and colours of the paint needed for the body of the wagon he is busy getting quotes from some places.
Testing and repair of steam locomotives
Leon and Isack have been hard at work to get the locos ready for the event. They discover allot of work that will need attention due to lack of maintenance. I do my best to accommodate them in any way I can. They have steamed up NG17, Lawley 97(James Hall Lawley), NG4, and NGG16 (no.153 & no.49). Most of the locos have some valves and glands that are leaking. All the locos tubes are being washed out and problems fixed as they go on. They are concentrating on the biggest problems first. We are also making notes on all the problems on every loco. I am keeping book on the repairs and work that need to be done on every loco so we can know exactly what is wrong and no time has to be wasted to look for every problem.
The problems that have been fixed
NG4
- Regulator did not close
NGG16 (No. 49)
- Hole in supper heater fixed
- Regulator valve have been re-seated
- Lead plug replaced
- Safety valve seat replaced
- New copper dome gasket fitted
Lawley (BR)
- New pins fitted on brake gear
NG17
- Replaced broken water gauge glass
BSA Rail car
I have fitted all the bolts on the suspension with new bolts and lock nuts and washers. Some modifications have also been made to the sprocket on the rear axle. I test drove it and it did not give any problems.
