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#1
24th October 2013, 01:49
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Hello from Canada
Hello to all,
I am a retired radio journalist whose job has taken him to a fair number of far flung places. One journey included a long train ride from (then) Lourenço Marques to (then) Salisbury via Bulawayo. I couldn't swear to it but I rather think the locomotive was a Beyer-Garratt. I grew up in a naval family and soon developed a passion for ships. Battleships particularly impressed me because of their wonderful combination of raw power and imposing elegance. It was these qualities that led me to appreciate the steam locomotives of my youth; be they The Lord Nelsons and King Arthurs or the A1/A3s or the Stanier pacifics. I am no engineer. Facts and figures tend to adhere to me like sticky notes on a monitor screen. But I do enjoy listening to others far better versed than myself explain the virtues of their favourite locomotives. With best regards, Tim H 
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#4
24th October 2013, 16:53
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Hello Tim welcome to the Railway Forum. I worked the line between the boarder town of Villa De Minica in Mozambique to Umtali in Rhodesia (now Matire, Zimbabwe), and between Umtali and Headlands. There used to be 16th class Beyer-Garratt's working that section of the line, but it was all diesel by the time I was posted there in 1968, from the Victoria Falls section. I learned to fire on Garratt's and drove them for a short time before being transferred to Umtali. I left Rhodesia in 1969 for the UK. Not sorry when I saw what happened to the country and its ordinary people. The line between Machipanda (near Villa De Minica) and Umtali was known as Christmas Pass and there was a 200m climb between the two stations which were about 4.26 miles apart as the crow fly's. (There was also a road called Christmas Pass just out side Umtali)
The Google Earth address for Matire is 18 Degrees 59mins 75sec's South, and 32 Degrees 39mins 48.30sec's E The Google Earth address for Machipanda is 18 Degrees 59mins 33.86secs S, and 32 Degrees 43mins and 39.52secs E If you follower the line on from Matire towards Harare, you will see Headlands about 2/3 of the way.
__________________
The Old Git, Syd
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#5
24th October 2013, 20:57
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A warm welcome from me too Tim. Hope you enjoy our company on the best forum by far. Everyone is really helpful and friendly.
All the best Phil
__________________
Member of the LMS Patriot Project Member of the GCR railway
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Chris G6 UXU Station Manager.
