The Locomotive in South Africa: Reprinted from the SAR Magazine 1943 to 1948

The steam locomotive of South Africa has always held a fascination for many people, but, strangely, very little had been written about them before the last war, with the exception of the typical technical journalistic material in magazines such as Engineering, The Engineer, Railway Gazette and of course, our own South African Railways magazine. The demand for a definitive treatment of this alluring subject became apparent. Early in 1943 Theo J. Espitalier, a draughtsman in the offices of the Chief Mechanical Engineer (C.M.E.) was advised by Dr. M. M. Loubser (C.M.E.) that Mr. C. M. Hoffe (General Manager, SAR) wanted him to compile a history of the locomotive in South Africa. Espitalier was at the time, involved with the recovery of “Natal” (the locomotive which hauled the first public train in South Africa in 1860). Espitalier then began his research on the history of locomotives in South Africa, of which he already had a vast knowledge and in June 1943 the first in a series of articles was published in the South African Railways magazine. W. A. J. Day, who in 1940 retired from the position of Assistant General Manager (Technical), co-authored this remarkable series. The series included the periods of the 4ft 8in gauge, the Cape Government Railways, the Natal Government Railways, the N.Z.A.S.M., the Imperial Military Railways, the Central South African Railways and the South African Railways up to 1948.

*Cover handling marks; corners curling; store stamp on first page*