From the assembly lines of Great Britain, Germany, the United States, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Italy and South Africa came the fascinating variety of locomotives which today attract thousands to one of the last strongholds of steam traction.
Enthusiasts from many countries visit South Africa to see a sight rare in other parts of the world: steam engines still in operation. Once rulers of the tracks, they have now been almost entirely replaced by electric units or diesels, even in South Africa, and within a few years the only place to see them will be in museums. They are all in these pages, from some of the largest and most powerful machines ever to run on narrow-gauge rails to the tiny four-coupled tank engines in the cane-fields of Natal the Garratts, Mallets, Meyers, 6 foot-drivered Pacifics and condensing 4-8-4s.
THE GREAT STEAM TREK is more than a mere catalogue of engine types, however. While the enthusiast will appreciate the accuracy of the 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 vanished era.
For anyone who has ever traveled 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.