Martin Shaw
Western Thunderer
If your railway interests extend beyond the shores of the UK then I can thoroughly recommend this largely pictorial but with some worthwhile text book about the 2' gauge Port Elizabeth to Avontuur railway in the Cape Province of South Africa. Whilst it has some historic background it really pictures the railway in the 60s and 70s when it was steam worked so masses of NGG16 Garratts and NG15 Kalaharis working limestone trains and the seasonal fruit traffic, and then the eventual decline as the SA government and SAR moved to dieselisation and actively encouraged road transport. It will never be seen again though thankfully the Sandstone Estates have a large collection of locos and eventually you will be able to ride behind a Kalahari along the Welsh Highland, I hope I will be able to. Sadly I had a slim chance of going to SA in the 70s which I didn't take the opportunity. The photos are in the glorious light that seems to exist in that part of the world, worth the £37.50 it cost from the Festiniog Railway who published it I feel.
Regards
Martin
PS sorry about the pic
Regards
Martin
PS sorry about the pic