| WANKIE COLLIERY (HWANGE) Approximately half way between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls is Hwange Colliery - formerly known by the more Anglicised name of Wankie Colliery. This huge industrial undertaking formerly provided all of the coal used by Rhodesian Railways and latterly by National Railways of Zimbabwe and has its own railway system with empty wagons being worked up from Thomson Junction and loaded wagons worked back down the hill to the exchange sidings. The company has its own fleet of Garratts and North British 4-8-2's but in August 1999 only one of the surviving 4-8-2's was in use with all other locomotives withdrawn or awaiting overhaul and Garratt Class 15A No.410 had been hired from the state railway to overcome the motive power crisis. Just prior to our visit No.3 pit was closed, dramatically reducing the rail network although in mysterious circumstances a locomotive and wagons did find their way over the old lines during the course of our visit. This is a private operation and all photographs were taken with the kind permission of the Hwange Colliery Company whose staff were wonderfully helpful and co-operative. |
| Henschel 4-8-2 No.4 (built 1952) stands in the engine shed at Wankie Colliery. This was the only operational 4-8-2 during our visit. |
| Standing rather forlornly in the yard was Henschel 4-8-2 No.5 with rods removed and in generally poor overall condition |
| The bulk of the work throughout our two visits to the colliery was undertaken by Class 15A 4-6-4 + 4-6-4 Beyer Garratt No.410 which had been hired from the state railway and which was normally based in Bulawayo. It is seen here in the yard at Thomson Junction having just brought a train of loaded wagons down from the washery. |
| Tucked away behind the main shed No.2, another of the 4-8-2 Henschels looked in a sorry state and seemed unlikely to turn a wheel again for some considerable time (above) "The Smoke That Thunders", or "˜Mosi-oa-Tunyaâ" as the Kololo people living in the area in the 1800's described it, is the name often given to the Victoria Falls. It is also the title of A.E.Durrant's definitive book on the locomotives of the former Rhodesian Railway and is the source of much of the technical information given on these pages. Perhaps the late ˜Dusty" Durrant had in mind scenes like the one on the left as Class 15A No.410 storms up the bank from exchange sidings at Thopson Junction with a long train of empty wagons bound for the colliery. By this time we were on good terms with most of the locomotive crews and shed staff and the driver had promised a spectacular. As can be seen, he certainly didn't disappoint his waiting audience! |
| The power of the Beyer-Garratt can be clearly seen as No.410 hauls a long train of loaded wagons out of the washery and sets off for the exchange sidings at TJ as the locals referred to Thomson Junction. |
| W.C.Co. No.4 stands outside the shed at Wankie being prepared for the day ahead. |
| The romance of steam may be fine if you are an observer but the actual job of servicing and operating a steam locomotive is hard graft and involves a considerable amount of dirty and unpleasant work not least amongst which is emptying ash pits. A capricious wind can quickly swirl grit and dust over the surrounding area and those who are working in the shed environment |
| Another day - another loaded coal train leaving Wankie Colliery behind No.410 running bunker first. |
| After several days enjoying the action at Wankie we decided to catch up with the "Train De Luxe" which at that time ran weekly from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls behind steam. This was a tourist only train but at least it provided us with opportunities to photograph steam on the main line and the results can be found elsewhere on this site. Having driven up to Victoria Falls we returned again to Wankie only to find that the two locomotives were sitting in light steam outside the shed and that the washery was closed for maintenance. We were greeted warmly by Cliff, the regular driver of No.410 (seen right) who had grown used to the sight of us chasing around the yards photographing the engines. but it seemed we were in for a day of disappointment. With nothing to see or do Steve and I retreated to the offices of the traffic manager and gently proceeded to distrub and disrupt his work. After an hour or so it was clear the ploy was working and in desperation he decided to see if there were any empty wagons awaiting collection at Thomson Junction but to no avail. It was at this point that Cliff innocently(?) enquired as to whether any empty wagons had been left behind at the old No.3 colliery following its recent closure. Seizing the opportunity to get us out of his office the traffic manager suggested to Cliff that perhaps he ought to go and check. We discretely waited at the first level crossing beyond the colliery until the engine arrived before climbing onto the footplate and heading for No.3 colliery. "This job ought to take us about half an hour", remarked Cliff, "but somehow I think it might be going to take a little longer." Three and a half hours later and with our own private charter concluded we dropped off the footplate again just before the washery and headed back to the hotel and a cold beer or two. Mission accomplished! |
| Even the bulk of the Garratt is dwarfed by the enormous coal loading facility at the old No.3 colliery. Note the fireman looking for any wagons that might have been left behind! |
| This was perhaps the shot we were most desperate to achieve. The baobab tree is a symbol of this part of Africa and makes the perfect frame for the shot. The tree itself bears the names of countless photographers who have made their way to this spot over the years. |
| Having rounded up a few stray wagons No.410 makes its slow way back to the colliery - a journey made considerably slower by the need to perform several runpasts at each decent photographic spot along the way! |
| The huge and now abandoned open-cast workings at Hwange can be seen in the background as a slightly underburdened No.410 heads up the hill towards the washery. |
| The following day was business as usual and No.4 is busy shunting loaded coal wagons at the washery. |
| A final shot before departing from Hwange to make the return journey back to Bulawayo. We left the colliery with one less bottle of whisky than when we arrived and bade farewell to Cliff and the traffic office who had done so much to give us an unforgetable few days in the heart of Zimbabwe. A final memory ....... standing in the bar of the Baobab Tree hotel in the middle of the African night phoning my daughter in England to hear that she had passed all of her GCSE's with A's and A*s. Sometimes happiness just can't be measured! Nice one Joanne! |