A visit to the Puffing Billy Railway on Sunday 28th January 2024. Locos NA8 & NA14 were in charge of Menzies Creek and Lakeside services whilst the ex South African Railways Garratt NGG 129 was running the Gembrook train.
Fantastic to see such busy trains. When the purchase of the NGG16 was first talked about, I wondered why the PBR might need that sort of power. This clip certainly answered that question!! The gauge conversion actually suits the loco very nicely indeed. What sort of gradients are there? Some parts look distinctly steep.
There are several stretches of 1 in 30 grades, quite lengthy in places with lots of tight curves, quite an arduous line to work. The locomotives certainly earn their keep.
