The Mighty Red Devil - 3450 Rides Again! June 1999

[kaupunkimoukari]

How many horsepower?

[steamfreak3450]

It was recorded developing more than 4000hp sustained at the drawbar. Quite amazing for a 3'6" gauge loco!

[kaupunkimoukari]

@steamfreak3450 Quotation from wikipedia: Maximum recorded:

(4,490 hp) at 75.5 km/h (46.9 mph) Probable absolute: (5,030 hp) at 100 km/h (62 mph)

Impressive statistics on any loco on any gauge.

[SteffanLlwyd]

m a g n i f i c e n t

[1teaboy]

Loved the smoke ring at 3:21.........superb. 10/10 as always!

[ocrailfanner1995]

Where does this engine run

[steamfreak3450]

@ocrailfanner1995 it was most recently running in the Cape Town area of South Africa. It is currently stored out of service in Cape Town station, in a secure area. A local preservation group have been looking after the loco and keeping it clean. Not sure if/when it will see service again.

[Buemmo]

Why was it demodernized? I mean Wardales version was 30% more efficient and more powerful, it also was faster....

[steamfreak3450]

@Buemmo it was demodernised as it was "different" and required special parts and knowledge. Fitters did not necessarily know the loco's requirements and many standard parts were fitted back onto the loco. Some crews did not like the loco either due to her different requirements in driving and firing.

[trainbum]

Please can anyone tell me where i can get a DVD of this video. trainbum2001@yahoo.com

[daviator78]

I saw this loco in De Aar when we were kids... They were still using steam - like Class 25 Non Condensor's & Condensors - on the rails to the Cape & back from the Free State in those days, and that was the Eighties!

[420glass]

look at that baby go

[jeancdewandeleer]

I suppose we see here the significantly de-modernized 3450 and not Mr. Wardale's version ?

Does anyone have an answer ? Thanks in advance. Who is the present owner of 3450?

[steamfreak3450]

@jeancdewandeleer Yes, it is the de-modernised version. At this point she had standard grates in, standard 25NC superheater, no feedwater heater, secondary air inlets blanked off, no Herdner starting valves, standard pistons etc. etc. The dual exhaust remained - not much else. The loco is still owned by Transnet and is being looked after in Cape Town by volunteers.

[1teaboy]

Yep in a nut shell, they condensed their steam. The smoke box contained a small turbine driven fan to create a draught for the fire box etc and then the exhaust steam was fed to the tender that contained air -cooled condenser coils that recovered the water for return into the boiler.

They made an odd noise, a barely audible chuff under the whine of the turbine and the condenser fans that were the prominent noise.

Range on a single filling was in the order of 5-600 km unless water cart towed.

[4marbledog]

absolutely beautiful/ you lucky person

[LifeofRail]

Stunning shots Trevor. If only I could get my hands back on the controls of that beast again. Great stuff

Regards

Richard

[chrissun86]

Mama Mia playing on the radio towards the end of the video.

[garthvictor]

What a wonderful tribute to such an awesome locomotive.The video is very well made and I salute you for bringing back great memories of the glorious days of steam in South Africa.One day soon I'm sure we will once again see these mighty iron horses ride the rails.Especially this one!

[SP4449Warbaby]

Where is the 3450 "Red Devil"? I'm a US railfan and I'm so facisinated with SAR steam power, particularly the Class 25/26's.\

[jarl44]

A long time ago when the consumate rail buff .. My brother ws alive we use to watch this stuff all the time . Watching the red devil rip up the rails again on the screen brought back some fond memories of a simpler time in my life as a young teen.Thanx.!!!!!!

[1961sd]

Thanks for sharing Steamfreak! Anyone interested I just bought a 5 DVD set from Greg Scholl Videos of 1984 S,A. steam, HIGHLY recomended!

[africaadio]

I served my apprenticeship on steam locomotives, the world has lost a great machine. Pity about the inefficiencies of these coal burning beasts, or we may still have had them around

[pieman97405]

There are people working to redesign them so they can make a comeback. They already have designs for ones that are better then diesels.

[mabhekaphansi]

And it was a cold morning too! I remember these awesome machines .... I live in South Africa.

[Crosshead1]

Stunning, absolutely stunning. What more can be said. It's just so sad these days are gone. One of my greatest regrets is that I never saw South African steam in action, particularly the Class 25 Condensors.

[steamfreak3450]

Crosshead1, I share your regret re the 25 Condensers. I only saw a couple in storage, never running. I was fortunate to see a bit of steam when I was there.

[PetersTrainz101]

It's my favorite African Steam locomotive

[sgprailfan]

@steamfreak3450 pardon my ignorance but what were the 25 condensers?

[steamfreak3450]

@sgprailfan The 25 Class are the 4-8-4 loco that the Red Devil was built from. 90 of the original class were built as condensing locos - they recondensed their exhaust steam in a huge condensing tender to extend their range in the arid Karoo region. After teething troubles, they worked well, but required far more maintenance than regular steam locos.

[amtraklover]

Even though I'm from the U.S. the Red devil is one of my favorite steam locomotives. really interesting in how it works too

[omahas9000]

Trevor, thank you so much for sharing these great scenes of one of my favorite engines operating in one of my favorite areas, neither of which I'm likely to see first hand, ever. I so wish I could have been there in days gone by.

[steamfreak3450]

Hi Omahas9000, glad you enjoyed it. I'll upload a few more of 3450 as time permits...

[thesteamshed]

AAAh! Days that have long gone and been missing! Good stuff Trevor!

[cuzinitr]

5/5  Rich

[robmasterman]

Stunning images, and a joy to watch, thanks...5* Bob

[steamfreak3450]

No worries. I like to remember the Kimberley - De Aar line as in this video. It is now single track, electrified, no semaphores and of course - no steam...

[NN2Blue]

Excellent video - thank you for sharing! Mike