inspection and wheel drop pit

[Dylan Knott]

Anyone have drawings / plans for both an inspection and wheel drop pit?

[John Ashworth]

Yes, FOTR does, as we need to build these at our new site soon. I'm not sure exactly who has custody of the drawings and plans - maybe Steve Smith or John Dadford. I'm in Kenya at the moment so I can't follow up, but maybe Nathan or one of the other FOTR members who reads this can do so.

[Dylan Knott]

I am looking for drawings & photos of a loco inspection pit. Also estimate of how much it would cost to construct. Any ideas?

[John Ashworth]

Nathan has recently got a quote - I'll remind him to answer this post.

[Brendon Anderson]

USR's inspection pit (20 meter) at Inchanga was around R50 000. The concrete and rebar is the major cost.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Brendon - when was the Inchanga pit built?

[John Ashworth]

Brendan, I believe the latest price that FOTR was quoted was around the same figure - R 50,000

[Dylan Knott]

Photos and diagrams? R50k sounds fine as a pit is compulsory.

[John Ashworth]

Nathan and Steve S have the details but seem to be studiously avoiding this forum at the moment! I'll remind them again.

Compulsory - yes, and that's one of the main reasons we can't move our loco operations to the new site at Hermanstad yet. Our coaches are now based there and all our trains depart from there, but the loco has to go back to CPK.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

I see proof now that Dylan is a secret diesel fan..........

[Dylan Knott]

There are two ways a pit can be built.
a) First construct pit and then place tracks over it.
b) Lift tracks, construct pit and then replace tracks.

Must it be undercover? No problem there as we have 412m of track undercover, but does make it rather difficult to access.

Diesel Fan. Yes, actually anything that runs on a line from a 4 wheel diesel hydraulic to the new GT36CU's!

[John Ashworth]

At Hermanstad we're planning (a) as we haven't got any tracks to lift. Apparently it doesn't have to be under cover - our old pit at CPK is out in the open, exposed to the elements. But we plan to build a loco shed over the pit and adjacent roads at Hermanstad.

[Brendon Anderson]

The pit at Inchanga was built in the first half of 2007 and the first locos were staged their September 2007. The next major work at Inchanga is the construction of a wheel drop pit.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Thanks Brendon!

[Nathan Berelowitz]

I was cut off from internet for a few days so apologies for the delay. We, Steve Smith, has pit drawings we sourced from Ungeni Stean Railway. However, John Dadford got a whole lot of info from one of his railway connections and I will follow up with him soon. We were looking ath the type used at Tzaneen depot as it is more practical. Rovos had their pit extended to cater for lifting of coaches purposes and apparantly it cost a whack. I do believe a pit of about the length of a 25MC would cost about R50,000, at the last quote.