Mini Train - Round Table
2019
Bulawayo had an excellent miniature railway
system in Centenary Park operated by the local Rotary Club. The 10.25
inch miniature railway in Bulawayo's Centenary Park was opened on 18
August 1960 and was run by Bulawayo Round Table 3 club. The first
locomotive was a maroon painted 4-6-2 named King Arthur. The loco and
passenger wagons built by Mr. Baxter from Pietermaritzburg and shipped
to Bulawayo where the Rhodesian government insisted on an import duty of
nearly 300 Pounds even if it was to be used for charity. Eventually one
of the fuel companies paid the 300 pounds as a donation to the Rotary
club. In 1963 King Arthur was joined by Queen Guinivere. On page 98 of
E. D. Hamer's book on Locomotives of Zimbabwe is a photo of her. This
website contains some of Bulawayo’s mini railway as it was in 1962. The
old Durban and Pietermaritzburg locos was moved to Bulawayo in the late
60’s.
The one engine is a Royal Scot, illustrated in Purnell's Pictorial
Encyclopedia of Trains and Railways (1976), stated to be 10.25" gauge
and running in Bulawayo. Turn's out she's Queen Guinevere and
still on the Bulawayo Park Railway, though not currently operational.