The Great Steam Trek - C.P. Lewis & A.A. Jorgensen

The Great Steam Trek - C.P. Lewis & A.A. Jorgensen - 1978, first edition - C. Struik Publishers - 248p - Black & white and full-colour photographs, index - Hardcover and Dustcover in very good condition - Internally clean and tightly bound.

The Great Steam trek is more than a mere catalogue of engine types. While the enthusiast will appreciate the accuracy oft he text and the technical accomplishment of the 319 photographs (illustrating no less than 85 different classes of locomotive), the layman will be entranced by the beauty of many of the shots, and the anecdotes which pepper the text will give him an insight into an all but vanishing era. For anyone who has ever travelled behind steam, this very personal view of the history of steam power in South Africa will awaken a sharp nostalgia for the 'cinders-in-your-eye' days.

Introduction:

The Trans-Karoo Express. her 4-8-4- freshly watered at Orange River, moves purposefully up the grade to Witput, showers of cinders striking steel coach roofs. On the footplate are the regular crew and, learning the road, as old driver just transfered from Pietermaritzburg. He is accustomed to 1 in 30 grades on 5-chain reverse curves and has never been so fast on an engine in his life, but he's enjoying the bucking and swaying in a nervous sort of way.The gradient steepens to 1 in 100, the drag of 17 steel coaches matching the 3 000 hp of the engine as she settles down to a steady 40mph. The grinding of the stoker worm working hard can be heard above the roar of the engine cutting off at 45% with regulator wide open.

Suddenly a violent acceleration of the stoker motor indicates a snapped worm, and coal delivery ceases, causing consternation in the cab. When this happens, a crew would not normally be blamed for throwing in the sweat rag and calling for a replacement engine; 70 square feet of  grate takes a lot of keeping hot. But the old driver from Pietermarirzburg is no ordinary soul. He despatches the fireman to the tender to trim coal towards the shovel-plate, picks up the scoop and rhythmically hand-feeds the huge firebox. He never hurries, but makes each scoopful count, Nor does he stop shovelling, for by the time he has done one round of the grate it is time to start the next. For over an hour he is on his feet, feeding the firebox and making it look easy. The train draws into Kimberley on time, her sleeping passengers unaware of the exertions of the three men up front. But the figures tell the story: 800 tons of train have been brought 70 miles, mostly uphill, in 90 minutes, and in that time over 5 000lbs of coal have been manhandled into the firebox.

Countless such stories could be told of the daily feats of steam men and their trains, for they are a unique breed. Year in and year out they spend up to 100 hours a week on the footplate, and yet find time to polish and care for their engines.

Much has been written about the early 19th century Voortrekkers and their achievements, but the Great Steam Trek is as important in the history of SouthAfrica as the Great Trek by oxwagon. When one considers that 100 years ago steam trains were hauling 200 tons of goods at 20mph (as compared with two tons at two mph for an oxwagon); that the first railway electrification was not until the twenties; and that the first effective national road network was only started in the thirties; it becomes clear that while it was the Voortrekkers who opened up South Africa, it was the steam locomotive which enabled the country to be developed.

This book is a pictorial tribute to the unsung heroes of the Great Steam Trek - the men who keep the train rolling, and their locomotives.

Contents:

Cape Province:

1. The Cape Main Line

2. Some Western Cape Byways

3. The Garden Route

4. Midland Rail

5. The Eastern Cape

Orange Free State:

1. The Free State Main Line

2. Free State Trunk Routes

Natal:

1. Natal, the Garratt Province

2. South Coast Narrow Gauge

3. Along the Indian Ocean

4. North Natal Coal Lines

Transvaal:

1. Western Transvaal Highveld

2. Eastern Highveld and Escarpment

3. Witbank Coalfields

4. North from Pretoroa

Glossary

Photographers

Index