Class 24, 3697, Springs-Nigel, Nov 1974

[Steve Appleton]

Posted for the photographer, Dennis Mitchell:

Just a couple of workings that I thought were "different".
This branch line 2-8-4, class 24 No 3697, is on the last steam suburban line in the Witwatersrand area, the Springs - Nigel line in November 1974.
I think it's somewhere around Dunnotar, but I could be mistaken. Anyway, the masts tell us steam has not long to go.
By the way, Nigel had a railway manufacturing company called The Sub Nigel Limited, that was a subsiduary of Commonwealth Engineering in Australia, but it was about ten times the size of the parent company. It basically supplied the electrical needs for the South African Railways 3 electric suburban systems (CapeTown, Durban, and Johannesburg - Pretoria - Springs - Randfontein, i.e. the Witwatersrand) as well as pumping out about 100+ electric locos per annum.

[Nathan Berelowitz]

This line was the reefs version of the Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage local's. Very busy and mostly worked by the class 24. They were actually fitted with cow catchers at both ends. Very nice train to ride.