Driver's Eye View Plus - Steam in South Africa at Sandstone Estates with Avonside 0-4-0T “Xanthe”

After taking photographs and shooting video film around the Sandstone Estates railway for two days, it was time to ride one of the trains and the locomotive crew were kind enough to allow me to attach a camera to their engine. I have used text from the excellent “The Sandstone Steam Railway – the story continues” book compiled by David Richardson to tell the story behind the railway. One of the dilemmas facing the Sandstone Steam Railway was the diversity of their locomotive fleet ranging from Heavy Garratts weighing in at over 60 tons to diminutive little sugar cane locomotives coming in at under 2 tons. As a result of safety issues arising from running locomotives of such differing sizes on the same line, it was decided to build a separate line for the smaller engines and sugar cane waggons were converted to carry passengers. This new line is refereed to as “Seb's Childrens Railway” leaves the main farm, railway and museum complex at Hoekfontein to run through open savannah down to and around an attractive lake where it crosses the dam holding back the lake water before entering a natural forest from which the train emerges to complete its circuit around the lake before heading back to its starting point at Hoekfontein station. Please join me for a ride behind Avonside 0-4-0T “Xanthe”. Map at 00:47 - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb... To find out more or maybe to arrange your own visit, please click on this link - https://www.sandstone-estates.com/ Tour arranged by FarRail - https://www.farrail.com/ Locomotive featured - Avonside 0-4-0T “Xanthe” Track gauge - 2ft (610mm) Tour date - 17th July to 1st August 2024 Recomended reading - https://sandstone-estates.com/index.p...