South African Railways Train Placard with the insignia of th...

Hammer

£1,350

South African Railways Train Placard with the insignia of the Railway painted on wood and written in pencil on the back W17S, from a South African Railways Class D 2-6-4T made between 1898-1900, this was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal and used by the British during the Boer War, Between 1898 and 1900, the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway placed six 55 Tonner 2-6-4T "Adriatic" type tank steam locomotives in service. During the Second Boer War, the Transvaal government took possession of the railway and it was operated as part of the Netherlands-South African Railway Company, until the Imperial Military Railways took over all railway operations in the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. At the outbreak of the war, control of all railways in the Cape of Good Hope and Colony of Natal was taken over by the invading British military. It was operated by the IMR, which was established on 7 October 1899 upon the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel E.P.C. Girouard KCMG DSO RE as Director of Railways for the South African Field Forces. While Girouard largely left control of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) and the Natal Government Railways (NGR) in the hands of the civilian staff, the railway lines of the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen (OVGS) in the Orange Free State and of the NZASM and its recently seized PPR in the ZAR came under the IMR's control as possession was obtained of their lines. A stunning piece