International Railroad Discussion > Zimbabwe: Diesels at Thomson

I do not know much about these, except photo #2, the 1607, was our diesel for hauling the passenger cars around on our trip. There were also some blue painted units from South African Railways which were manufactured in Brisbane, Australia. Don't think I got any pictures of those.

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



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/17 11:26 by Harlock.

---

---

---

I do like my diesels and back in 1986 there was the evening Coal Liner from TJ to the steel mills hauled by at least 3 DE10s. They are basically SD40s and the sound in the still evening air was unforgettable whilst downing a few Lions at the Baobab. Happy days!!! Chris uk

RM30-12 was built in South Africa by Grindrod Locomotives Pty Ltd, it is an RL30SCC-3, plate L13M0073 built 12/2013 (so the 73rd RRL/Grindrod built mainline loco). It is basically a GT26CU-3 clone built with a mechanical/electrical kit supplied by NRE

Hired to Transnet till June 2015, then transferred to Grindrod Locomotives hire pool

With the closure of Grindrod Locomotives Q2 2017, RM30-12 is said by SA sources to have been transferred to GRP Leasing Africa Pty Ltd, a JV between Grindrod Freight Services Pty Ltd (GFS) and private equity funds, GRP is Mauritius resident. https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/southern-africa/2014/01/20/joint-venture-set-to-broaden-african-rail-leasing-trade/

As Zimbabwe is a kleptocracy run by former Marxist guerrillas, most serious expat capital fled the country decades ago. RM30-12 will probably be leased by the Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (BBR). BBR in turn is owned by New Limpopo Bridge (PVT) Ltd (NLPI), a company based in Mauritius, in turn controlled by Grindrod Mauritius Pty Ltd. BBR is a BOT which runs until 2029, so is currently beyond the control of Oom Robert. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beitbridge_Bulawayo_Railway

Don't assume that the Australian expat locos you sighted in Zimbabwe painted blue, with an AR&TS logo, are actually owned by that company (a SA loco hire operator and rail fleet manager). AR&TS are the manager and maintenance contractor for these locos in Zimbabwe

These truncated forms of loco financing/ownership are not as silly as would appear. The chaps who kick in the boodle mainly via private equity funds, and actually own the assets, utilise holding companies resident in low tax regimes, so are paying under 5% corporate tax (as opposed to the 28% charged in SA). More importantly (with the ANC being a black nationalist/Communist/Union coalition), this model of offshore ownership makes it virtually impossible for the SA (or a neighboring) Government to either nationalise or seize the locos, as SA is a signatory to both the aircraft and rail protocols within the Cape Town Convention on International Mobile Equipment, and the Zurich Convention on Mobile Assets. Arbitration under both of these Conventions is by Swiss courts

At the instigation of Transnet's employee unions, the SA Government implemented a moratorium on issuing further second hand loco import permits in Q4 2015 (all second hand goods imported unto SA require a permit). This was an attempt try and halt the flow of pre-owned locomotives into the country. A belated attempt to curb the activity of the mainly white owned, SA based loco hire/management contractors, and freight forwarders, in countries to the north. The concept of open access is abhorrent to Transnet's unions. The rail lines in northern Mozambique (and the TAZARA) are now open access, and there is a strong possibility that private operators will break into the Copper Belt, and divert freight flows east-west. Freight that has traditionally used the (Transet owned) port of Durban



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/17 18:37 by jmt.