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NGG16 No.129 Ex-South African Railways Beyer-Garratt locomotive |
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No.129 was dismantled
for assessment upon arrival at the Puffing Billy Railway in 1996.
The 2-6-2 engine units are
seen here stored on NQR flat wagons near Emerald station.
The arrangement of the
driving wheels inside the frames is apparent, while the counterweights are
external to the frames.
This photo was kindly contributed by Stefan Rebgetz and dates
from approximately 1998.
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Builder |
Manchester UK |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
7430 of 1951 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
2-6-2 + 2-6-2 |
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No. in class |
34 |
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South African Railways
narrow gauge & the NGG16 class: The
South African Railways operated a number of 2’ gauge railways that were
somewhat analogous to the Victorian Railway’s narrow-gauge (2’ 6”) railways as
they were built as developmental lines, often in difficult country, as a way
of opening up areas while avoiding the higher construction costs of the ‘Cape
Gauge’ (3’ 6”). Some of the South African narrow gauge lines were later
converted to Cape Gauge, while others eventually closed due to falling
traffic and road competition. Notable among the 2’ gauge lines was the Alfred
County Railway, a private railway which took control of the Port Shepstone to
Harding narrow-gauge branch line from the South African Railways and remained
in operation for freight until 2001 and passenger operation until 2005. The Alfred
County Railway ran a fleet NGG16 Beyer-Garratts and even rebuilt two examples
(No.141 & No.155) with various ‘gas producer’ boiler, firebox and exhaust
modifications to improve efficiency. An
interesting selection of tender and tank locomotives from various
international builders were used on the South African Railways 2’ gauge
lines. Beyer-Garratt articulated locomotives proved very successful with the
South African Railways and accordingly the type was also applied to their
narrow-gauge lines, starting with the NGG11-class of 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 ordered in
1914 (but delivered in 1919 as a result of World War 1 delays). The final
development was the NGG16 type, 34 examples of which were constructed by
various builders. Incredibly, the last batch NGG16 locomotives were constructed
as late as 1968. A
treasured book in the webmaster’s library is ‘Railways of Southern Africa 150
Years’ by Jean A. Dulez; this weighty tome is a fabulous reference of
information and photographs covering the many public and private railways and
locomotives that operated in Southern Africa. The following summary of
Beyer-Garratts used on the South African Railways narrow-gauge lines is
distilled from J.A Dulez’s book:
The NGG16
class were developed from the earlier NGG13 design with improvements
including the addition of roller bearings on the axle-boxes. They were
constructed in 4 batches over a period of more than 30 years, with some
differences between the various batches and manufacturers. Also referenced from
J.A. Dulez is this summary of the NGG16 locomotive batches:
All
34 members of the NGG16 class still existed as late as 2011, including examples
shipped to the UK and restored to operation for the Welsh Highland Railway.
Alas some derelict class members in South Africa have recently been scrapped
by Transnet, the successor to the South African Railways. (The sea air in the
seaside town of Port Shepstone contributed to the rapid decay of the NGG16
locomotives that remained stored there, following closure of the Alfred
County Railway.) NGG16 No.129: No.129
is one of the 1951-built batch of NGG16 locomotives supplied by Beyer Peacock
& Co. This locomotive was acquired by the Puffing Billy Railway from the
Alfred County Railway and imported to Australia in 1996. Upon arrival it was dismantled
to facilitate assessment, design and planning for regauging and rebuilding to
2' 6", with the major components stored at various Puffing Billy Railway
sites for a decade. Rebuilding
and restoration of NGG16 No.129 began in earnest around 2006, in response to
the demand for a powerful steam locomotive to augment G42 on the heaviest passenger trains on the Puffing Billy
Railway. Restoration accelerated in 2011 following the formation of a dedicated
team of volunteers and workshop staff, culminating in NGG16 No.129’s first
fire being lit on 26 September 2019, followed by its first movement under its
own power on 6 November 2019. A double-headed run with G42 to Menzies Creek followed
on 6 December 2019, and I understand the locomotive is now available for
general traffic. As I write
this I am housebound due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, and hoping
that the future will permit a visit to Melbourne and the Dandenong Ranges to
see this fine locomotive in operation. In the meantime, I would greatly
appreciate the contribution of photos showing NGG16 No.129 in operation at
the Puffing Billy
Railway, following its recent return to service. In order to provide views
of NGG16’s in operation, some images of sister locomotive No.143 in steam on
the Welsh Highland Railway are shown below. These images are copyright to
Barrie Hughes and originally appeared on his excellent Welsh Highland Railway
pages, and are reproduced with permission. |
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A taste of things to come: sister NGG16 locomotive No.143 at Plas-y-nant on the Welsh Highland Railway on 12 September 2004.
This image is copyright Barrie Hughes and was taken on a Concord 3340z (3.1 Mega pixel) digital camera.
Image post processed using iPhoto Plus4 image correction technology and displayed at 96dpi
Another view of sister
NGG16 locomotive No.143 at work on the Welsh Highland Railway; this view is
dated 21 March 2004.
This image is copyright
Barrie Hughes and was taken on a Samsung Digimax 200 camera.
Image post processed
using iPhoto Plus4 image correction technology and displayed at 96dpi.
References
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a |
Dulez,
J.A., ‘Railways of Southern Africa 150 years’, Published
by VIDRAIL Productions, 2012 |
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b |
'Light Railways - Australia's
Magazine of Industrial & Narrow
Gauge Railways', Number 224, April 2012. Published
by Light Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. News item on page 35. |
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c |
'Light
Railways - Australia's Magazine of Industrial & Narrow Gauge Railways', Number 271, February
2020. Published by Light Railway Research Society
of Australia Inc. (Letters item
& photograph on page 36) |
Page updated: 12 April 2020
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