Other Side of the Tracks

On the other side of the railway tracks of the Lindela Repatriation Centre is the Railway Preservation Centre. Not easy to see from the Krugersdorp and Randfontein main road but you can’t miss the Transnet Mill Site if you do a small detour pass Lindela. In between the long veld grasses you come across these rows and rows of rusting away old steam locomotives.

I was happy as a child in a sandpit on finding this treasure horde of toys but at the same time I felt this heaviness as I walked through the gloomily looking rusting hulks. I noticed most of the steam engines are dating way back to the mid 1920s and one had an old Sappi logo on the side. Now Sappi is a large Forestry company here in South Africa.

Now I am not sure if these locomotives are destined for the scrap metal dealers or they are going to be restored. Some are way too gone and one has been spray painted on the side “FOTR” which stands for Friends of the Rail, and another had "Do not cut - Reef Steamers".

This has been an interesting find on the other side of the track, and its brought back the taste for photo walking.