International Railroad Discussion > Zimbabwe: Thomson Junction, Colliary and Zanguja

On day 5 we returned to Thompson Junction and worked with 16A class engine #611, which is currently assigned to the colliery. This is the last steam worked freight in all of Africa and aside from the occasional charter and steam special, is the only reason the steam program in Zimbawbe is kept alive at all.

The 16A class is a 2-8-2+2-8-2 configuration. The second photo is a record shot that gives a side profile of this larger engine.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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The small steam shed that used to be active at Thomson junction is in a state of advanced decay. I spent some time exploring the ruins while we were waiting for the loco to do some shunting.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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A few more of the water plug at the Thomson Jct. steam sheds.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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To get to the mine branch, the locomotive passes through a large upper yard which was completely empty. One can image it full of coal wagons not too long ago. The complex at Thomson is huge, and mostly unused at this point but track is still in good shape.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Photo 1: a dirt level crossing a half mile up from the yards.

Photo 2: this is a brand new coke plant likely built by the Chinese around 8 years ago.

Photo 3: approaching the colliary yards.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Thanks for more photos. So sad to see the decay at TJ, where I spent many hours in the 1980s watching the action. chris uk

The colliary complex is long disused and the coal is now shipped off site for sorting/prepping. But the train runs through it to get from the rear yards to the front yards.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Here is a clean picture of the colliery complex.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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We borrowed the engine and ran it up to Zanguja, where there are some nice S-curves and hills to climb up on for photos. The first shot is one of the nicer shots from the trip.

We had the steam loco and freight for photos, and a diesel hauling passenger coaches as our own train. The diesels smoke as much as the steam engines. When travelling between locations, the entire consist was lashed up together with the diesel pulling everything. The steam engine was not used for general transport to conserve water. There are very few remaining working water plugs on the line between Thomson and Vic Falls. Also in its current mechanical condition the engine was not suitable for pulling the entire train long distances. It was a good thing we had some great high speed running with the 14A to Cement with no diesel. It really sounded wonderful.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/17 11:12 by Harlock.

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Really good to see 611 in action. Some great photography. Here's a shot back in 1986 at Thompson Jnc, which was always busy with coal trains. I worked at the power station which was fed by conveyor from the colliery. Very occasionally a trip would work in with chemical tanks from RSA. I got class 15 381, Ingwe (Leopard), returning to TJ. chris uk

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Here is some example trackwork. In the yards the sleepers were the stamped steel variety. On the main it was concrete. I looked at the dates on some of the rails and most are from the 1960s. They are largely in good shape, with some excess wear on curves here and there. The articulated engines no doubt helped to reduce overall wear on the line.

Only switches used wood ties, and I believe they used ironwood, an extremely dense hardwood. Soaked in creosote, they appear to keep the termites at bay.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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55002 Wrote:
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> Really good to see 611 in action. Some great
> photography. Here's a shot back in 1986 at
> Thompson Jnc, which was always busy with coal
> trains. I worked at the power station which was
> fed by conveyor from the colliery. Very
> occasionally a trip would work in with chemical
> tanks from RSA. I got class 15 381, Ingwe
> (Leopard), returning to TJ. chris uk

Thanks again Chris for the historical photos. It puts a good perspective on everything.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

Couple of random images - the coal breaker atop 611, a large water tower at Thomson, and broken bricks atop coal-dirt near the Thomson loco shed.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Some of you who have stayed in the Hwange region no doubt have experience with the Baobob hotel. It sits atop a hill that overlooks one of the main lines. They are in the process of rennovating it, and it is shaping up a little but it has a ways to go. For Zimbabwe standards it is passable, although the can of bug spray left in our room spoke volumes. :) The restaurant food was apalling (shoe-leather steak, and one hour to get it) but one night they did a BBQ outside and it was terrific. Go figure.

The hotel primarily caters to the coal industry.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

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Mike, just curious, did your or any of the other people on this trip come upon any snakes at the photo locations along the railway? Did they warn you about snakes or other poisonous critters?

Great series!

lynnpowell Wrote:
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> Mike, just curious, did your or any of the other
> people on this trip come upon any snakes at the
> photo locations along the railway? Did they warn
> you about snakes or other poisonous critters?

I was wondering the same thing......

66

lynnpowell Wrote:
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> Mike, just curious, did your or any of the other
> people on this trip come upon any snakes at the
> photo locations along the railway? Did they warn
> you about snakes or other poisonous critters?

Not a single one. It was the dry season. I saw a total of two mosquitos in Victoria Falls. No ticks.

We tramped through so much dry brush around Hwange and elsewhere, and not a single little critter or bug anywhere.

Plenty of bugs in some of the hotel rooms though. :)

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

Harlock Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some of you who have stayed in the Hwange region
> no doubt have experience with the Baobob hotel.
> It sits atop a hill that overlooks one of the main
> lines. They are in the process of rennovating it,
> and it is shaping up a little but it has a ways to
> go. For Zimbabwe standards it is passable,
> although the can of bug spray left in our room
> spoke volumes. :) The restaurant food was
> apalling (shoe-leather steak, and one hour to get
> it) but one night they did a BBQ outside and it
> was terrific. Go figure.
>
> The hotel primarily caters to the coal industry.


Good to see the Baobab Hotel. It looks in rather good condition. My house was about 200 yards from here, and boy did we have some good times there. Back in the 1980s it was great enjoying the pool, great waiter service and listening to the Garretts pounding round Baobab Hill. Thanks for the memories. Chris U.K.

Stop sending these!!! So jealous! Shocking the condition of the railway and infrastructure since my last visit. Well, that's Africa.