Active Garratt Locomotives 2023/4
At any time, the number of active Garratt locomotives will be quite small. Trevor Heath tries to keep track of them and this is his assessment of the situation for 2024 (9th January 2024,).
The 2 FCAF Garratts in Ushuaia are in daily service with record numbers of passengers arriving off cruise ships. No recent progress has been made on the third Garratt. Management states it will be completed in order to allow the other two to rotate into the workshop for overhaul. The death of Shaun McMahon in early 2022 from Covid was a huge loss to the steam preservation movement in all of Argentina, indeed the World but especially to the FCAF in Ushuaia where Shaun maintained his home and expected to retire.
ASG G33 at Queenscliff in Victoria continues to make solid progress towards a first steaming with the front power unit overhaul completion getting close. Over one hundred boiler stays have been removed for replacement. The new stays have been delivered. An initial steaming is hoped for by December 2024.
AD60 6029 now part of the NSWGR collection based at Thirlmere, returned to service in 2022. It only operates in the Australian winter months as during the Australian summers due to it being coal fired, there is a line-side fire setting risk. It is expected to operate for about 10 days per year for the foreseeable future with its next outing planned for March 2024 a double header with 3801 into the Blue Mountains.
NG/G16 129 is in regular use on the Puffing Billy Railway, usually on the heavily loaded Saturday lunch time train but recently it has been in daily service due to the NA tank reliability issues.
G42 also on the Puffing Billy Railway has now been formally withdrawn from traffic and placed in the Menzies Creek Museum “for a period of at least five years” while waiting a major overhaul.
NG/G16 127 the last steam locomotive to operate on the Alfred County Railway in South Africa and delivered to the PBR in March 2012, is currently displayed inside the same museum awaiting a decision on funding for a rebuild to operate on 2’6” gauge. It has however received a recent coat of original color black paint to replace the sun faded green applied in South Africa.
Broad gauge N class 81, restored in 2006 and again in 2018, was last recorded in steam on September 22nd 2019 at the Kharagpur locomotive works in Bengal. Operating authority now rests with the catering arm of India Railways. There are no plans and no current funding for it to operate.
The 59th 5918 remains stored in the main works in Nairobi. 5930 was moved from the museum to the Uhuru Gardens for display leaving the museum without a 59th class. There are however, three other Garratt’s in the museum including the modern 60th 6006. There is some activity in country to revive “two or three” locomotives but it is not thought a 59th or any other Garratt is involved due to the high operating costs and low revenue potential. It is not known if the activity is for tourism or film work or both. The recent Paramount series “1923” chose to use the USR near Durban in South Africa and it’s non period 19D locomotive for the railway scenes with Kenyan scenes added using CGI rather than activate the operational and period correct Kenyan locomotive 2409 and film in country.
RR 14A 509, is looking very tidy, stored under cover in grey primer and basically complete, no major work has been done to for over three years in Plimmerton save fitting of all the number and builders’ plates plus a few other smaller items. This is due to other projects but mainly involving the refurbishment and official inspection of a passenger car fleet for main line operation which has become a ten-year project in itself. It is unlikely after the news that the regulators are calling for more inspections, that 509 will be made ready for main line operation. There is still the possibility that it will be steamed in the yard at Plimmerton if the air brake and oil firing conversion work is completed.
The GMA/M 4083 has been moved to Mercer south of Auckland where the trackwork has been modified to give main line access while site clearance, filling and leveling continues for a new museum. Last steamed in an Auckland yard in 1997, there is no possibility of 4083 operating on the main lines of New Zealand due to its size.
RR 15A 398 based with Steam Incorporated at Paekakariki is being slowly worked on after the decision was made to return it to steam for use only in the yard at their depot. There is no published scope or timeline for this work, enquiries drew a hostile response. The locomotive was, in theory, in operating condition when it arrived in New Zealand in 2011. A full boiler exam and overhaul will be the minimum requirement from any insurance company, even for yard operation.
Creighton is now under new management. GMA/M 4126, the only Cape Gauge Garratt in operating condition in the entire country has been cosmetically refurbished and a new boiler ticket issued but no notice of use has been seen. The local farmers Co-op has now got involved and is casting around for a train operator. GCA Garratt 2621 acquired from Transnet Heritage at Waterval Boven in 2016 has not to date seen any overhaul activity.
Paton's Country Railway at Ixopo under the same new management as Creighton. The privately owned NG/G16 116 has not operated since completion of its boiler overhaul in March 2017. The NG/G11 52, the boiler is off the cradle in pieces waiting funding for overhaul after completion of a full examination and estimate to repair was provided. However, independent boilersmith, Keith Stevens now retired, finding both the money and the skills to rebuild the boiler from its component pieces will be difficult.
Sandstone which had operated on just two long weekends a year in recent times - unless a private charter was booked. After the November 2023 event, Sandstone management made an announcement that due to road access conditions, all future public events would be cancelled. Within a week of this announcement, the local authority started a re-paving program. Sandstone at the time of writing, has not updated its statement. FarRail, the German charter company stated in reply, that they would still go in June 2024 for their private photo charter saying “the roads in India were worse”. The mountain section of the Sandstone track has been lifted due to continual washouts and high maintenance. Usually, NG/G16 88 and 153 are used but in November 2023, 113 got an outing. The newly rebuilt 16A 155 has now also been used on occasional passenger trains. Additionally, Sandstone has also consolidated its Cape Gauge locomotive collection at the estate with GMA/M’s 4079 and 4114 on display (only) at the farm.
At Humewood Road, Port Elizabeth, the death of Nerina Skuy from Covid 19 caused a huge setback to the operation. The overhaul of NG/G16 131 still owned by the THF will be a decision for the winners of the perpetually open public tender to operate the railway to decide upon.
There is a major survey of all THF owned locomotives in progress and all those not leased to third parties for preservation (with new rules on the condition they must be kept in) or not on the official preserved list such as those at George Museum or stored in Bloemfontein yard are expected to be auctioned off, potentially for scrap in 2024. This includes many Garratts and may total 100 steam locomotives albeit mostly hulks today after theft of all non-ferrous metals including journal boxes which prevents movement from where they stand.
At Paddock, the last two NG16, 139 and 151 that were saved from the mass scrapping in 2017 were to be restored on site. They “disappeared” earlier in this year. Enquiries have not revealed any accurate information. The two were previously offered for sale for 75,000 USD each. There is speculation they were scrapped but no confirmation has been received.
Garratt locomotives 282F-0421 and 462F-0401 were stored out of use for many years then evicted from their base in Lleida. They have now been transferred by rail about an hour south to the museum at Mora La Nova where it is hoped at least one will be put back into operating condition.
The prototype Garratt K1 is now based at the Statfold Barn Railway near Tamworth in central England where it is used occasionally.
At the Welsh Highland Railway NG/G16 87, 130 and 143 were in service all season in 2023. 138 requires a full overhaul and is not expected back in service for several years due to a desire to spread out the ten-year boiler ticket expiration dates. 140 the boiler and power units in particular, are a source of rotatable spare parts. The railway is in need of replacement power unit frames for 87 and may overhaul a later set for the purpose. Freshly overhauled NG15 134 is expected to enter service in 2024 and will of course, while providing variety, eliminate the certainty of finding a Garratt at the head of a regular passenger train.
At the Vale of Rheidol Railway NG/G13 60 entered service in late 2021 and has seen some use in 2023. There is/was some speculation about it visiting the Welsh Highland Railway for a charter where it will be “welcome but expensive to move”.
NG/G13 50 remains in operating condition and is used occasionally at Hempstead in Texas.
RR 14A 523 in excellent condition, is in regular service for Bushtracks in Livingstone making it the only Cape Gauge Garratt actually in use Africa, in fact, in the World today. 520 also rescued from Botswana and then 516, stored at the Bulawayo Railway Museum since 1995 are due to follow into operating condition. 512 will be broken up for spare parts (to be used primarily on 516) due to a condemned boiler after 25 years of continuous service in private ownership. No timeline is available due to the almost total loss of revenue in 2020 and 2021. Bushtracks, operates on both sides of the border with Zimbabwe at Victoria Falls again after their dispute regarding track access fees with NRZ was resolved.
Two Garratts are nominally serviceable 613 and 395 but did not see any use in 2023. 414 and 519 are both “withdrawn” for re-tubing. Various parties claim the steam shed is now officially closed. The above four Garratts are kept in the old P15 shed. Additionally, it was claimed that there are currently no passenger coaches available for use. NRZ has been casting around for a foreign third party to invest in their steam program, none has stepped forward. (separate from their efforts to find investors for their national rail network). There have been no passenger trains of any kind operating in Zimbabwe since the start of the Covid Pandemic in 2020 except Bushtracks at Victoria Falls.
The Bulawayo Museum exhibits are now in dire condition.
A mass scrapping of the more than 50 hulks laying around the old steam shed can be expected.
At Hwange, all the steam locomotives have been sold for scrap.