Steam in South Africa- A Photographic Odyssey

Those of us who made the trip to South Africa did simply to get our fill of real railways, nothing political entered our heads. Instead we focused on lengthy freights and infrequent passenger and mixed trains. The latter were no longer known in the UK, but here they continued to serve remote dorps. Plus it seemed the sun shone all the time, too much at mid-day when the shadows were solid black and the reflected glare a pain in the lens; consequently we quickly learned to operate from pre-dawn to a late breakfast and again from about mid-afternoon to past sundown. The memories, the final shenanigans with empty stock being rattled about by weird combinations of locomotives far from their home sheds; the specials with the give-away refrigerator van tacked on the rear. What fun it had been, what memories these pictures bring back after fifty years. Give thanks to those who did it and who now often posthumously, share their goodies with us.