Windhoek, Namibia, steam locomotive at Museum Alte Feste

July 1972 - Locomotive in the garden at the Alte Feste in Windhoek - this photo courtesy of Mike Wattrus.
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These pictures were taken before sunrise one morning in 1972. Location - near the "Alte Feste" Museum in Windhoek. At that time this train was displayed in a public area, but it has since been moved to be inside the museum boundaries in the interest of preserving the train from vandalism.


The locomotive and tender.

OMEG #56 on the Otavi line, Henschel works number 7625 built in 1906.
0-6-2T

The Otavi line initially belonged to O.M.E.G - the Otavi Minen- und Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft and was constructed by the firm Arthur Koppel & Co from Berlin, Germany.


The locomotive is from the class Hb 0-6-2T. Of the 15 locomotives built by Henschel for the Otavi line between 1905 and 1908, six were absorbed into the SAR. The engines had Allan valve gear and often ran with an auxiliary tender attached (see photo above), which contained both coal and water.


The train was nicely displayed in a bit of a cutting!


Way back in 1960 my father Hennie Conradie photographed this same narrow gauge locomotive in Usakos alongside a standard Cape gauge diesel electric locomotive.


Also my father's picture taken in 1960 in Usakos. The restored narrow gauge train all ready to be transported to the museum in Windhoek.


On 28th Aug 1964, the Windhoek newspaper "Die Suidwes-Afrikaner", reported a small mishap, when the locomotive was unloaded at it first plinth, near the Alte Feste, as shown in the first series of pictures above. Fortunately the sandy earth halted the loco from going down hill all the way into the streets of Windhoek. This scan kindly provided by Konrad Schüllenbach.

The locomotive and train behind it, were displayed here for some 12 years, and then in January 1976, the historical display was moved to its current location next to the Alte Feste building.

Photo in the Windhoek newspaper "Die Suidwester" dated 22 January 1976. This scan kindly provided by Konrad Schüllenbach.


Subsequently the Windhoek newspaper "Algemeine Zeitung" had this picture of the locomotive on its new plinth. This scan kindly provided by Konrad Schüllenbach.


date and photographer unknown

Later the train was moved to a position on the inside of the museum fence.


20 Dec 2005 - photo posted to Panaramio by unknown photographer.


On 5 Aug 2008 Duncan Burnett and his family visited the Alte Feste Museum and took these photos. You can read more about his visit here.


photo: Duncan Burnett


photo: Duncan Burnett

Unfortunately in 2009 someone informed me: "I am afraid the train carriages outside the Alte Feste in Windhoek are in a poor state of repair. Indeed one carriage has been burnt, possibly by arsonists. The engine could also benefit from a little restoration."


photo taken by Louis Conradie on 31st Jan 2009
2’0” gauge Class Hb 0-6-2T OMEG #56 Henschel worksnumber 7625/1906 at Alte Feste Museum, Windhoek


photo taken by Louis Conradie on 31st Jan 2009


photo taken by Louis Conradie on 31st Jan 2009

This is the shocking state of the conductor's car. At present it is unknown when it was turned into this condition. Most probably street people slept in the van, and caused the unfortunate fire. Compare with the once proud little train as pictured in 1960 in the Usakos rail yard!

At the end of July 2012, Konrad Schullenbach, Curator of the Transnamib museum in Windhoek, kindly informed me of the exciting new phase in the history of little train at the Alte Feste. On July 30, the train was loaded on low bed trailers and transported to Arandis, where students of the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT), a technical institute focusing on training skilled industrial workers, will restore the train to as close as possible to the original appearance. The restoration work is expected to take about a year to complete. It is not yet known where the train will be put next for public display.

On 31 July, all the newspapers in Windhoek took notice of this event, illustrated with photos.


The Namibian (scanned image courtesy Konrad Schullenbach)

The Namibian 01.08.2012
Historic train preserved for posterity

By: TANJA BAUSE
A TWO-YEAR project to restore the train that has been a historical landmark at the Alte Feste in Windhoek was set into motion this week when it was moved to the Namibia Institute of Mining Technology (NIMT) outside Arandis.

Eckhard Mueller from NIMT and Antje Otto from the National Museum in Windhoek have been working together for the past two years on a plan to move and restore the train. With the help of Wesbank Transport and AWH Engineering, Rigging and Rentals, this became a reality on Monday.

The locomotive, is a Henschel Hb 56, weighs close to 20 tons.

The locomotive and its wagons were in use between Usakos and Tsumeb between 1906 and 1959.

The South African Railways then donated it to the museum and in 1964 it was placed in front of the Alte Feste, but it was too close to the Reiterdenkmal and was moved in 1974 to the southern side.

The train consists of the locomotive, a coal wagon, a closed goods wagon, a passenger coach for first and second class and a wagon in which the conductor travelled with the postbags, milk and cream cans that were picked up along the route.

The passenger coach could transport 16 passengers. The first-class passengers could sit on upholstered seats while the second-class passengers sat on plain wooden benches. The two classes were divided by a small washroom.

The conductor’s wagon was destroyed in 2007 when it was set alight by a homeless person who slept in the train and made a fire.

Another open goods wagon in which livestock were transported is still parked at the old Camel Stables in Windhoek.

The boilermaker and carpentry students at NIMT will renovate the train.

"We will keep all the original components of the train, even if they are rusted or burnt, and they will be placed with the renovated train as they are part of its history," said Ralf Bussel, the principal of the engineering department at NIMT.

The renovations will take about a year. It is not clear yet whether the train will be returned to the Alte Feste after its facelift.

REPUBLIKEIN (Afrikaans language) (scanned image courtesy of Konrad Schullenbach)

31.07.2012 (REPUBLIKEIN)
TREINTJIE WORD HERSTEL

Die stoomlokomotief wat langs die Alte Feste museum in Windhoek staan, is gister (30 Julie 2012) vir herstelwerk gelaai. Die lokomotief sal vanoggend douvoordag na die Namibiese Instituut vir Mynbou en Tegnologie (NIMT) vervoer word waar die ketel- en skrynwerkstudente met die herstelwerk sal begin.

Die NIMT-studente sal soveel as moontlik van die bestaande hout en ander dele van die trein gebruik maak om dit so oorspronklik as moontlik te behou.

Dele soos die gebrande hout wat nie gebruik kan word nie, sal by die herstelde trein uitgestal word. Die stoomlokomotief is vanaf 1906 tot 1959 op die Otavi-spoorlyn gebruik en is deur die Suid-Afrikaanse Spoorweë aan die museum geskenk.

Me. Antje Otto van die Nasionale Museum en mnr. Eckhard Muller (NIMT) lei die projek, terwyl AWH Engineering en Wesbank Transport die oplaai en vervoer van die lokomotief kosteloos uitvoer. 

REPUBLIKEIN se fotograaf, Marlize Rautenbach, was op die toneel om dié “reddingsoperasie” te dokumenteer.















This image provided courtesy of Konrad Schullenbach

ALGEMEINE ZEITUNG 

Algemeine Zeitung part 1 (German language)


Algemeine Zeitung part 2(German language)

Algemeine Zeiting  web page or pdf document.

Otjiwarongo, Namibia, steam locomotive built by Henschel

THE PHOTOS FOLLOWING WERE ALL PROVIDED BY MY BROTHER LOUIS CONRADIE, unless stated otherwise:

#41 in class Hd (also SAR class NG 2-8-2

My brother Louis visited this locomotive in Namibia at Otjiwarongo station on 26 August 2007.

This locomotive is #41, sister of #40 plinthed further south at Usakos station.


This plate states the date when the locomotive was unveiled. Narrow gauge operations ceased in 1960 after conversion of the Usakos-Otavi line to the Cape gauge standard.


In 1912 Henschel built three 2-8-2 tender engines #40, #41 en #42 for the Otavi line for use on the Swakopmund-Karabib section. Like many other SWA locos they had dust covers to protect the motion. The carrying wheels were arranged as radial axles. As there were no separate boogie truck, the axle boxes were guided in such a way that the wheels could move radially with respect to the frame.


These boys from Windhoek were playing the roles of driver and with the stoker applying the emergency brake!

An interesting feature was the use of air brakes on the train, a feature that has not yet had wide spread application on the SAR.


The plate proves that the SAR classed #41 as belonging to the narrow gauge class NG 5.

The white boards states in German that both the factory and the Otjiwarongo men's choir were involved in arrangements to get #41 plinthed in 1960 when the narrow gauge was broadend to standard Cape gauge.


Information about the builder and the year built.


View from #41's tender end(!)


This badge appears on the backside of the tender on this plinth. Interestingly, this number #76 belongs to another locomotive in the class NG. The NG5 class consisted of 6 locomotives similar to the class Hd of number #41, were also built by Henschel for use on the Otavi line. The main difference was that the Hd was fitted with air brakes, while the NG5's were fitted with vacuum brakes in keeping with SAR practice.

More information on class Hd and NG5 here


A 1985 stamp showing one of the Henschel Hd Locomotives. "Smalspoor" is Afrikaans for "Narrow Gauge".


Unknown date and photographer.


2008-06-29 - Image by unknown photographer.


2009-02-26 Photo by Date Jan de Vries.

All three locomotives 40, 41 and 42 were in use until the Narrow-gauge railway line was replaced by in 1960 by 1,067 track. The 2-8-2 design needed a long fixed wheel-base, which caused a great deal of friction on the wheels. On the stamp the locomotive can be seen with just one steam dome. Originally they were delivered with one steam dome and a sand dome. For practical reasons the sand dome was removed, and sand boxes were fixed to the locomotives running-boards.


2012-07-23 - The locomotive again would appreciate a bit of a re-paint. Image courtesy of Alan Middleditch.

Windhoek, Namibia, steam locomotive plinthed at station building

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This picture taken in June 2002 shows the plinthed #154A class "Zwillinge" locomotive under a roof in front of the Windhoek station building.


Also in taken in 2002 this is about the best picture one can take of the locomotive without getting obstructions in the picture.


October 2003: Photo courtesy of Jacque & John Wepener.


#154A class "Zwillinge" 2 feet or 600 mm gauge

The picture above was taken in 1961 by my father Hennie Conradie when he was a teacher for one year in Windhoek. The little engine was already plinthed in front of the Windhoek station building.

No 154 was built in 1900 by Henschel & Sohn Gmbh, Kassel, Germany as works number 5376. NOTE: The monument plate on the locomotive (see below) is incorrect where it states that loco was built in 1903 and taken into use in 1904.
0-6-0T

Much confusion seems to exist about the maker, and year built. The bronze monument plate on the loco provides no builder name, and says it was built in "1903" and put into use in "1904, which appears likely to be incorrect, when checked against the historical background of the railway line.

Earlier publications - e.g. (Namib Narrow Gauge - Moir & Crittenden 1982) and (Helmut Schroeter and Roel Ramaer "German Colonial Railways THEN AND NOW" published by Röhr-Verlag GmbH, in 1993.) only mention Krauss, Jung and Link-Hoffman plants as builders of the Class "Zwillinge". However, Schroeter was not able to list a Krauss works no or a year for the Class "Zwillinge" road no's 141-154 (including the Windhoek plinthed loco), so some information was missing in the sources which were consulted.

John N Middleton, Compiler of "Railways of Southern Africa - Locomotive Guide - 2002 Edition", has intimate knowledge of the origin of this Feldbahn locomotive - my warm thanks to him for kindly sharing the following:

"The identity of 154A was a mystery, for many years, the main problem being, that SAR records do not show the builders details, so when the locomotive was plinthed, they used rather generic details for the plaque."

"Secondly, the available reference sources, such as "Namib Narrow Gauge", and some German language publications from the 1960's, were incomplete as regards Zwillinge lists (especially locos that came secondhand, as we think, 154A did)."

"In recent years, the full builders lists, from German builders, have become more widely available, enabling us to build up a more complete picture of Zwillinge deliveries."

"However, we may never know the full story, as these "Feldbahn" locomotives were also used in other German colonies, and some came secondhand to SWA, including, we think, 154A."

"A few years ago, I decided to make a concerted attempt to identify this loco, and with museum permission, I had a good go, including scraping the frame, to find stamped numbers; "5376" is stamped on many components, including the Boiler Back Plate - here's the record confirming this from the Henschel list:"

D* 5376 1900 Brigadelok Cn2t 600 neu Deutsche Feldbahnen

"154 A" /1904 Südwestafrika /19.. Denkmal, Bf Windhoek (05.2000 vh) [Stw][JM-00-12-06]

The pictures following were taken by myself on slide film around 1972 before this little engine was put under a roof where it can still be visited to-day. This picture shows one half of the original back-to-back twin locomotives.


#154A class "Zwillinge"
0-6-0T



Although intended to be worked in a back-to-back pair as a single unit, all the controls were, however, duplicated on both engines. Each locomotive pair or "Zwillinge" (Twins) had a single number and the individual locos had a suffix A (high-cab roof) or B (low-cab roof). They were some times operated singly and referred to as "Illinge" (Singles).


The monument plate on the locomotive is incorrect where it states that loco was built in 1903 and taken into use in 1904. No 154 was built in 1900 by Henschel & Sohn Gmbh, Kassel, Germany as works number 5376.

Over 50 pairs of semi-permanently coupled tank locomotives were supplied to the Swakopmund-Windhoek Staatsbahn between 1899 and 1905 by the firms of Krauss, Henschel, Schwartzkopf, Egestorf, MBA Breslau and Jung.


Only one engine, #154A (picture) was absorbed into SAR revenue earning stock.

This little work horse was put into service at Swakopmund in 1904, and was finally withdrawn from service in 1939 after steaming around for a distance of about 371000 miles.

At one stage time it was on display at Essenlen Park Railway College near Johannesburg, and was then returned (at least before 1961) to the then South West Africa for display in front of the station building in Windhoek.


In 1985 the Zwilling locomotives appeared on a special postage stamp. The Zwilling locomotive pictured on this stamp is marked 2A and 2B.

The name of the Otjimukoka station (see signboard on stamp) was changed to Johann Albrechtshöhe in 1903, and later to Albrechts.

The Philatelic Services provide this information: The first large consignment of Zwilling locomotives arrived in Swakopmund in 1898/99. They were called "Zwilling" (Twin) because they could be coupled together back to back at the cabs. The footplate staff of two could thus service both engines.



The engines had Allan valve gear.



They were numbered in pairs and were marked A and B. A's cabin roof fitted over B's. They could be uncoupled and used separately, and were then called an "Illing" (Single). By 1906 there were more than 100 Illing locomotives in use.


Namibia Archives photo: Okahandja Statation 1903

Namibia Archives photo: Jakkalswater (Jakalswater) 1903

Namibia Archives photo: near Pforte 1898

Namibia Archives photo: near Okahandja 1902

Namibia Archives photo: Johan Albrechts Höhe


This photo is only titled "Bahn ins Innern" (Railway in the Interior). It appears to show loco's 178A & B heading the train. The first truck is the water tender, of which two examples can be seen today at the Rehoboth Museum here.




On 15 Feb 2009 Louis Conradie provided photos to enable these manipulations. Click on the image for a larger version



Clearly the little workhorse has been given some cosmetic restoration in recent times - this face lift has done wonders for the locomotive's image and the restorers deserve recommendations for the results! A little paint of the right colour goes a long way ...


Wide angle view provided by Louis Conradie in May 2009.


2009 night view at the station - provided by Louis Conradie

The following pictures detailing the locomotive were also kindly taken by Louis Conradie on 15 February 2009.






















Also see this Henschel 5376/1900 webpage with German text for more pictures.

Resources:

1. German WWI 60cm steamers in Narrow Gauge Railroad Discussion Forum
2. Zwilling [heeresfeldbahn] (German text)
3. Henschel 5376/1900 [heeresfeldbahn] (German text)
4. GERMAN MILITARY RAILWAYS
5. Feldbahn Locomotives
6. The Zwillinge
7. Brigadelok
8. Trench Railways (Wikipedia)
9. Zwillinge [Locomotives] (Wikipedia)
10. The First 100 Years of State Railways in Namibia by Brenda Bravenboer and Walter Rusch - 1st Ed 1997 - published by TransNamib Museum, Windhoek.
11. Namibia Archives (old Photo's)
12. Der Bildbestand der Deutschen Kolonialgesellschaft in der Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main (old Photo's)
13. The Namibian Railways section in the NAMIBIA LIBRARY OF DR. KLAUS DIERKS
14. personal communication: John Middleton
15. personal communication: Konrad Schüllenbach, curator of the TransNamib Museum in Windhoek.