Overseas Tour Group - Friday 13th July 2007

[John Ashworth]

On Friday 13th July FOTR hosted a group of seven UK rail enthusiasts. They were the advance guard of a larger party organised by railway tour operator Geoff Cooke of Geoff's Trains. The rest were due to arrive the next day for photography at Rooiwal power station before proceeding to Zimbabwe, but this little group, as well as Geoff himself, arrived a day early and FOTR provided a "shed experience" for them.

Class 24 number 3664 was lit up on Thursday night. On Friday morning she was put on the inspection pit and serviced. By the time the group arrived around midday she was ready for action. After a safety briefing and the issuing of high-vis vests, the group were able to observe shunting manoeuvres and to interact with FOTR members who were carrying out the operations. After a tour of Rovos Rail, they returned to watch the loco being coaled. In the evening there was a braai.

The visitors slept in our regional manager's saloon and our main line sleeper coach, which had both been shunted to a convenient position next to the blue coach. We managed to get the lights working on both vehicles. The guests were also invited to get up and accompany our qualified firelighters to experience the ambience of a loco simmering quietly in the middle of the night - I left after the braai and didn't get to see how many took up that offer!

They expressed great appreciation for this unique opportunity to spend time in a shed environment and to witness routine operations. The coaling operation was of particular interest, as there are probably few places in the world where locos are still coaled from a full-size genuine coal stage. The afternoon sun was perfect for photography.

Two of the visitors were railwaymen from UK heritage lines, one a fireman (and former professional railway engineer) and the other a signalman (Train Control Officer in South African parlance). In discussions with them on health and safety we learned that they both had a UK national rail safety qualification called Personal Track Safety (PTS), which requires a two-day course. A third member of the group owns five preserved coaches, including a Pullman and one of the vehicles used in Winston Churchill's funeral train. All were experienced railway photographers and we had a good time with them.

We feel that this "shed experience" is something we can offer to small groups of enthusiasts again. Geoff expressed an interest for his future tour groups.

FOTR members who worked during the day were Johns A and D, Steve S and Tom, with Adrian, Joseph and Lucas. We were joined in the evening by Cliff A, Nathan, Chris J and Jane.