Chasing narrow gauge steam in Ostrich Country

In 1979 my brother and I worked our way north along the Indian Ocean coast of South Africa chasing 3'6" gauge steam. After George and Knysna we headed over Montagu Pass to Oudtshoorn, the center of ostrich country. On our first morning we caught the overnight passenger train from Port Elisabeth just north of Oudtshoorn. The train was headed by a hard working 19-D 4-8-2 on this frosty morning.



The ostriches did not seem to be particularly disturbed by the loud working of the 19-D or the passing of the train. We had gotten fairly chilled waiting for the train and envied the passengers having breakfast in the warm diner
.


The 19-Ds working north of Oudtshoorn carried extra long tenders due to the long distances between water tanks in this dry area in the rain shadow of the coastal mountains



At Oudtshoorn the 19-D came off and a GMAM 4-8-2 + 2-8-4 garrat took over for the climb to Montagu Pass and the long descent to the Indian Ocean coast







Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2020 10:15PM by Olaf Rasmussen.