This locomotive was built by Beyer Peacock in Manchester in 1956 for the South African Railways
For details of class GMA and GMAM go to Class GMA and GMAM.
It was one of the first members of the class to be sold to the Randfontein Estates Gold Mining (REGM) near Johannsburg where it carried the number R1. The railway there was extensive and many steam locomotives were based there until early 1995 when they were replaced by diesel engines.
The locomotive was acquired by the Sandstone Heritage Trust (SHT) in 1997 and has been given the name Lyndie Lou after the wife of a SHT trustee.
The locomotive was used to haul a number of trips between Ficksburg and Fouriesburg in the late 1990s and was then put into storage in the Sandstone facility at Ficksburg station.
In June 2005 it was placed on loan to and moved to Rovos Rail in Pretoria for use on their prestigious tourist trains.
In November 2010 the locomotive operated by Reefsteamers hauled its first trip from Germiston to Magaliesburg.
In February 2022 the Bedfordview and Edenvale News reported that the locomotive had been moved from Germiston following the closure of Reefsteamers at the end of 2019. What made the journey a first was that the locomotives were moved by road to Ficksburg, using nine lowbed abnormal load vehicles including a 152 wheel multi-axle trailer.
The locomotive is owned by the Sandstone Heritage Trust outside in the Eastern Free State where the locomotive is now based.
There are no plans to restore the locomotive to operate on the main line in the near future so the locomotive will remain as a static display. The 24km line at the farm is a different gauge to the locomotive.
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