Gallery 1037 - Steam locos on the Grahamstown branch, Cape Province

South African Railways (SAR) operated a large number of branch lines some with trains operating on only a few days each week. The Grahamstown branch was typical of many branch lines in South Africa. Joining the Port Elizabeth mainline at Alicedale, the line meandered through a variety of scenery to the regional town of Grahamstown. From here it continued to the coast at Port Alfred. Traffic was fairly heavy with a daily passenger train and a number of mixed trains. These scenes were taken in 1985 when the small fleet of 19D class 4-8-2s where well maintained. Some locos were allocated to a dedicated crew and their pride in the job was easy to see.

Click thumbnails for larger images.