Nathan wrote:Today, the 7th March, Cliff Petzer started 50 years ago on the railways at Greyville depot in Durban. Although having left the footplate for a while to work on the mines, he has been with steam locomotives from that day. At present he still drives steam for FOTR and Rovos Rail.
Well done.
Cliff Petzer: 50 years on steam
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John Ashworth
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Cliff Petzer: 50 years on steam
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Mike Haslam
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Re: Cliff Petzer: 50 years on steam
Congratulations to Cliff!
And many more years to come too, I hope. Cliff is a great teacher too and has given many firemen the necessary skills to go on and become drivers. He is also great to work with on the footplate. He was driver on my very first 'official' outing as a new appie fireman, returning 3094 from Middleburg to Capital Park. I was shown how to work the stoker (mechanical) and was happily doing my best when we stopped. I asked Cliffie "why have we stopped?". "Because we are back at Capital Park", he replied! It seemed to me that we had only been traveling a short while, but in fact had been several hours. All the excitement and not knowing the road had compressed the day into a few minutes for me.
And many more years to come too, I hope. Cliff is a great teacher too and has given many firemen the necessary skills to go on and become drivers. He is also great to work with on the footplate. He was driver on my very first 'official' outing as a new appie fireman, returning 3094 from Middleburg to Capital Park. I was shown how to work the stoker (mechanical) and was happily doing my best when we stopped. I asked Cliffie "why have we stopped?". "Because we are back at Capital Park", he replied! It seemed to me that we had only been traveling a short while, but in fact had been several hours. All the excitement and not knowing the road had compressed the day into a few minutes for me.
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John Ashworth
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Re: Cliff Petzer: 50 years on steam
Likewise. Cliff is a superb teacher and mentor and has become a great friend to many of us. He has always instilled in us a respect for safety on the footplate. If the fire isn't so hot, or the water level not so high, or the needle on the pressure gauge is moving in the wrong direction, he doesn't bat an eyelid - he'll step in and rescue the situation when necessary, and teach you how to get it right next time. But if a fireman is not acting safely, then Cliff will make his displeasure known. Cliff's passion is for the preservation of steam and for passing that knowledge on to the next generation, both of which he has done selflessly for so many years. May he have many more years on the footplate!