Locomotive of the “Friends of the Rail” organisation in Pretoria
For steam train enthusiasts one of the most enjoyable things to do in Pretoria is to go on an excursion of the Friends of the Rail (FOTR) organisation.
FOTR has been running excursions and working to preserve the steam train heritage of South Africa for more than a quarter of a century. It is based at the old South African Railways station Hermannstad in the north west of Pretoria.
Loco 3664 pictured above was the first loco allocated to the FOTR. It is a Class 24 loco built in 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland and was in service in the South African Railways in the Eastern Cape, based in Port Elizabeth, until the mid-1980s.
Going through the “poort” on the “Tshwane Xplorer” pulled by loco 3664
The FOTR runs a number of excursions which are open to the public from Hermannstad Station. In addition trains can be hired for special events. Their website is here.
Another article about the Tshwane Explorer is here.
Fire box of the 3664 loco
© Text and photos copyright Tony McGregor 2011
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