South African Steam: 25NC 3454 Bloemfontein to Bethlehem 

SPIRIT OF YESTERYEAR (1983) Many were the times I remember from the past As I lay there in the darkness of the night, Listening to the rhythm of your heartbeat passing by Like a restless ghostly spirit in its flight. I heard the haunting sound of your whistle in the dark And the far-flung echoes from it lingered on As you raced towards your destination far away, And I'd lie alone and listen till you'd gone. Clickety-clack, clickety-clack; Singing flanges on a moonlit track; Smoke-plume pouring from your squat smokestack; Vanishing dream of brass and black; Reflections of fires bring memories back Out of the long ago.... Oh, Great Spirit of Yesteryear, Too soon you have to die Along with a breed of men among men, Your generation are all passing by, Till nothing is left of a glorious past Of sweat and fire and steam; Of you and your men who built this land, You're almost a forgotten dream. But we will keep this dream alive So our children may not forget That you were once the King of the Road And that you may one day yet Be given the honour due to you In future times ahead, To show the world what you once were Before all dreams are dead.

Thank you SO MUCH for uploading and sharing all these fantastic videos bringing back valuable memories of the nineties when I criss-crossed South Africa on steamtrains even up to Victorai Falls

Very good video showing a superb loco at work.

My top favourite 25NC - this loco is an absolute sensation!!!

This is the train from Bloemfontein Mighty workhorse of the African plain

Excellent video! Marvelous machine!

More great footage Trevor. The four people who have disliked this film must be brain dead.

d5711, this loco is a simple 2-cylinder. It has a modified front end which apparently gave it increased power over a standard 25NC. The lower back pressure can be noted through its flat exhaust trail, hence the addition of extensions to the standard 25NC smoke deflectors.

0:15 - 25NC 3454 heads through Shannon on a cold Free State morning. 8:11 - 25NC 3454 slogs up the heavy grade to the summit at Ionia in the Eastern Free State.

Wonderful loco type.

OMG, Pat Abbott drives 3454 back in 1985 in the Return of the giants dvd.

Marvellous. I remember seeing this loco at the Orange River fire cleaning stop in 1991, and the fireman commented at the time how well it steamed. It had been modified to a gas-producer firebox if I remember correctly? SA used to be such a great place to see steam, completely buggered now of course.

This was on 14th August 1999. Not that long ago, but seems a lifetime in terms of operable steam there now...

I worked this loco many times and actually worked the final regular steam working out of Kimberley with her on 3rd April 1992. Only thing I hated about this loco was that she painted the crew black!! Due to twin exhausts she had less upwards throw but burnt the coal better and so it was more dust coming out and it simply dragged along the top of the boiler and into the cab painting us and everything else black. Other than that she was a fine machine to work on!!

This is his beloved SAR Steamer.

Great video mate! 25NC sure has a nice bark and looks beautiful, but her tender is most unusual. Those diesel locos in Bloemfontein loco seem to have a similar livery to what some of our diesels here in NSW, Australia, had, a very appropriate livery for "desert" running locos.

Its abit sad that this line got replace by diesel engine in 1987.

Struck2soon I don't think 3454 had any mods on the combustion side of things, just the front end mods - blast pipes, chimneys etc. I'll have to get Wardale's book out - he mentions in there what was done to 3454.

Trevor. Are they all running on oil or diesel for fuel instead of coal.

What year was this taken Trev??

Has this loco got three cylinders??