QandAnswers

Are the tours suitable for photographers?
Yes. These tours are designed with photographers, both video and still, in mind.

Can we ride on the locomotives?
The National Railways of Zimbabwe have in the past permitted travel on the footplate of steam
charters provided you sign their indemnity form, which is a standard requirement for participation
on the tours. The tour hosts will operate a booking system to ensure fare play.

Are the goods trains mentioned in the itinerary for linesiding only or will tour participants be
able to ride on them?
Every train that we charter will have passenger accommodation. This will probably be in the
museum guards van number 2602 as well as other passenger coaches. Where appropriate, a
dining car will provide refreshments. In keeping with standard Zimbabwean practice, coaches will
be at the rear of the train, with goods wagons between them and the locomotive. This makes more
authentic photographs, but it may be necessary to walk some distance at runpast locations.

What colour will the coaches be?
We will use coaches from the Bulawayo railway museum, and from NRZ. They will all be in the
traditional chocolate / tan colours.

What meals will we get on the train between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls?
There will be a cooked breakfast, light lunch and three course dinner (All included in the tour price).
There will be a cash bar. Vegetarians can be catered for, but we should be advised you book.

What about washing facilities on the train?
The only coach that we will use that has a bath (should have hot / cold water) and shower (cold
water) is Private Saloon 754. We feel it is reasonable to accommodate the female enthusiasts
who have booked the trip in this coach as any alternative land based options may exclude them.
The remaining coaches all have two toilets, but no showers. Coaches 1058 and 2024 have a
wash basin (cold water) in each cabin. Coach 1045 is not so equipped. Hot water can be
requested from the dining car 644. Shower arrangements will be requested at Thomson Junction,
but these will be basic and cannot be guaranteed.

All of these coaches are subject to availability. They are museum coaches, and because of this,
facilities such as plumbing may fail.

Might it be possible to get inside the Hwange Colliery complex?
There should be time to visit Hwange Colliery. This will be an optional extra because it is very
difficult to get a price from Hwange Colliery in advance.

Are there currently any restrictions on trains on / across the Victoria Falls bridge? Is the plan
for the tour group to reach Livingstone by road or rail?
The Victoria Falls Bridge is safe, but ongoing maintenance could still impose restrictions. We plan
to run a number of trains to the bridge in July 2007, with one of them continuing to Livingstone.
Some of the exhibits that can be seen at the Livingstone museum can be found on this website.

Is it possible to photograph the train on the bridge from a helicopter?
This is possible to arrange, but there is no guarantee that it will work. There are restrictions on
how long the train can stand on the bridge, and before we can leave Victoria Falls Station we need
permission from Zambia Railways at Livingstone as they control this part of the railway. Your
helicopter flight will probably be booked for 12 minutes, when you will circle the bridge twice in one
direction, then twice in the reverse direction. This will probably be a fixed time booking, but the train
timing can be quite variable. Although we can set up communications between the helicopter
base, train crew and the photographers on the ground, there can be no assurance that the
helicopter flight will coincide with the train on the bridge. Helicopters are nowadays required to fly
higher and further away from the bridge than they did in the past, and this can also affect the type of
photograph you should expect to take. I do not want to dampen your interest, only express caution
that comes from 20 years of organising these events.

What about night photography?

We are planning to donate a portable electric generator to the Friends of the Bulawayo Railway
Museum. This will make it easier to provide reliable lighting on their coaches, but there is an extra
advantage that it can be also provide lighting for night photography. A few floodlights will be made
available for this, and we hope to make this a feature of the tour. Bring your tripods!

How much walking will be involved?

Quite a bit if you take part in all of the off-train activities such as runpasts. If you are uncertain about
your ability to cope, please talk to the organisers when you book.

If the tour manager considers that you are unable to keep up with the remainder of the participants,
or that you are at risk of injury, he may require that you do not take part in some activities.