I travelled on this line from CT to Botrivier when it was still up and running during the earlygb 1960s, and once from Lebanon siding or Grabouw to CT in early 1967. I was a pupil forester at Lebanon forest st. about 20 km east of Grabouw and was travelling officially to George to study forestry at the foresters college. It took more than 5 hours to reach Cape Town. From there I took the "milk train" to George, slept on the train overnight and arrived the afternoon of the following day. That was the steam train era. Today they would call it laid by. But looking back it was a wonderful era. The landscape was not nearly as built up as today. The steam locos regularly ignited fires in the Grabouw forestry plantations in summer, in spite of spark arrestors.
I travelled this route from Cape Town to Elgin on an S&V Camp in 1955, and it was pulled by a single steam loco. Why did this trip have to incorporate the assistance of TWO DIESEL-ELECTRIC units (or so it would seem)? I am now eighty years young, and am still loving everything to do with steamers!
I travelled on this line from CT to Botrivier when it was still up and running during the earlygb 1960s, and once from Lebanon siding or Grabouw to CT in early 1967. I was a pupil forester at Lebanon forest st. about 20 km east of Grabouw and was travelling officially to George to study forestry at the foresters college. It took more than 5 hours to reach Cape Town. From there I took the "milk train" to George, slept on the train overnight and arrived the afternoon of the following day. That was the steam train era. Today they would call it laid by. But looking back it was a wonderful era. The landscape was not nearly as built up as today. The steam locos regularly ignited fires in the Grabouw forestry plantations in summer, in spite of spark arrestors.
Ah yes, the golden age of steam. Wish I could've been around to see it.
Interesting, I always wondered when passengers still went on that line.
I travelled this route from Cape Town to Elgin on an S&V Camp in 1955, and it was pulled by a single steam loco. Why did this trip have to incorporate the assistance of TWO DIESEL-ELECTRIC units (or so it would seem)? I am now eighty years young, and am still loving everything to do with steamers!
The diesel units are used as the steam loco itself doesn't have enough power to make it over the gradients on Sir Lowry's Pass. Thanks for commenting.
My father would have loved this video He passed 8/8/23
Thank you. May he rest in peace 🙏
Why does it carry the oil thing behind its tender ( l don’t know what it’s called) ?
It's a water tanker. It stores extra water so that the engine can refill at Elgin.
I was thinking it was that because the The Flying Scotsman had it
@@Cool123nt Yes, although Flying Scotsman's one is designed to look like a second tender.