No. 104 "Van Rensburg" a "46-tonner" of
the Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansch
Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NZASM).
This was later to become the Class B, of
which at least one has been preserved.
No. 104 was built by Emil Kessler in
1895 (works no. 2706).
Sue Lawrence (Holland, vol. 1 p.
117.) |
The picture was
taken at Heidelberg on 10 October 1895,
on the occasion of the
completion of the line from Natal.
The line had reached Charlestown, the
Transvaal border in 1891 which was
greeted
with a big ceremony attended, inter
alia, by Pres. Kruger.
Natal entered into agreements with the
Transvaal Republic to extend its
existing
line as far as Heidelberg to join the
NZASM railway which was to be carried
south from Elsberg junction.
On October 10, 1895, the last bolt was
fastened at Heidelberg and the following
January a full train service was in
operation.
Graham du Plessis |
No 104 was named
after Hendrik Petrus Francois
Janse van Rensburg.
Van Rensburg served President Kruger as
a member of the Second Volksraad
representing Heidelberg 1895 to 1898.
He then became a member of the First
Volksraad 1899 to 1900. At Heidelberg is
a dorp Rensburg and it is named after
him.
Andre van Rensburg
On the photo
of the two trains meeting,
Van Rensburg and his wife
are on the far left hand
side, he is wearing a top
hat.
Andre van Rensburg |
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