Bellville Depot - Electrics!

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

Luca & I visited Bellville Depot this afternoon. I am sad to say the whole infrastructure there is crumbling. There are so many unservicable Loco's waiting to be cut up. This includes 3 14E's. These Loco's were only built in 1994. Apparently they don't have spare parts for these Loco's There were no spare 6E's in the yard as they were all out on the road, Just the 2 sets been prepared for the road. There was far more activity in Saldanha Loco Depot. At least we were not restricted in where we could or not go in the depot. Overall I was disappointed. I will post some Diesel Photos in the relevant section.

[fanie kleynhans]

Stefan, in the one pic you mention the 15h00 freight to JHB, do you know of any other freight time schedules to and from Cape Town?

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

No Fanie. The guy that took us around was the safety manager. His knowledge on the Depot was very limited. While we were there, a freight from north arrived at about 14h45 and then the one in the photos departed just before 15h00. Thats all I can tell you. Last year when we traveled Premier Classe to Joburg up to Beaufort West I counted 11 Freight going towards Cape Town.

[M. Hardy-Randall]

I noticed that the second loco has two different types of pantograph. Is that common please?

Malcolm

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

I forgot to add this one in

[Jez Smith]

Great pics as always, Stefan. I notice on this site, and others that the Western Cape sees to be treated like a poor relation by TFR - the CoaLink and OREX lines have new locos on the way, meanwhile the lines south of the 25kv Cape section seem to be struggling with the earliest remaining electrics with poorer suspension, and the earliest GE-built variants of classes 34 & 35 (I think these sound much better than the later EMD versions, though!)
Considering the vast tonnages of freight, and the Blue Train/Shoz services, I would have thought TFR would get some reliable traction down your way....

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

Hi Malcolm
I did respond to your question but I see it did not go through. The Diamond shape panto is old and been replaced with the single arm Panto. Apparently it is more durable. All our Loco's have been converted. This must still be an old one that needs to be changed. Oh yes, the guy that took us around said that there was a shortage of panto's.

[Stefan Andrzejewski]

Jez thank you. Yes compared to Saldanha which is a hive of activity Bellville looks like its ready to be shut down. Those 6E's (not the 6E1's) are 40 years old. They were brought out in in 1969 with E1146 the first. Judging by the unservicable Loco's piling up, we will not have many left here. I see "new" 6E1's around from time to time, like the freshly painted 1474. I hope that once they have completed Oryx and Coal lonk they will start bringing in new Loco's for the Western Cape otherwise we will have revitilise all the plinthed steam engines. That would be a nice dream.

[M. Hardy-Randall]

Thank you Stefan,

I had come across locomotives with different wipers on the two pantographs, but never a different pantograph at each end.

e.g. Locomotives that served the St Margareten to Lindau line in Germany were fitted with the DB width wipers on the Swiss pantographs. At first it seemd rather strange to sit behind a Swiss loco in a German station, and then travel through part of Austria and into Switzerland. The zig zag of the overhead changed to the Swiss system at the border.

Malcolm