On the weekend of the 26 and 27th of June 2021, Umgeni Steam Railway ran their usual last-weekend of the month service, between Kloof & Inchanga - Durban, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. At the helm, class 19D No.2685!
Umgeni Steam Railway (USR) was formed by the Railway Society of Southern Africa (RSSA-Natal) in 1982, and was originally located at the Umgeni Power Station in New Germany. Soon afterwards, their base would move to Pinetown and eventually to their permanent home at Inchanga.
Umgeni Steam Railway are a non-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers! With aproximately 10 locomotives, 50 coaches and a variety of goods wagons in their care - USR take great pride in restoring, and maintaining South Africa's Railway history, and as of October 2021, USR are the only operational Cape Gauge club in the country.
Situated on the old Durban Mainline between Cato Ridge and Booth, USR run regular passenger trips between Kloof and Inchanga. The hour long trip showcases some of South Africa's most spectacular scenery, in particular, the 'Valley of 1000 Hills.' During the trip, the train is subject to some of the steepest gradients and sharpest curves in South Africa - which are expertly dealt with by USR's footplate crew! The bark of the exhaust a memorable experience for all passengers!
Currently, Umgeni Steam Railway has ex-South African Railway's class 19D No.2685 in excellent operating order! No.2685 was built in by Borsig Locomotive works in Berlin, Germany, It is hoped that in 2021, No.2685 will have sister class 3BR No. 1486 in steam too.
Be sure to watch to the end for footage from the footplate!
To book your ticket, visit:
www.umgenisteamrailway.com
Video by Anthony Attwell
Images & Edit by James Attwell
Music:
- AShamaluevMusic - African
- John Bartmann (johnbartmann.com) - Happy African Village
- DarkMoloko - Adventure (Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0):creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promote by Copyright Free Music: bit.ly/2VVosEz
© James Attwell Photography
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5 сен 2024
