A grumpy railway inspector on the prowl
South African Railways’ Prieska run in the northern Karoo was notorious for the antics of the employees manning the big steam locomotives that thundered through the veld. After Britstown, everything and anything seemed to happen.
One irresistible temptation was the hotel at Omdraaisvlei. The woman who worked the telephone exchange in the Post Office next to the hotel took coded orders from thirsty railwaymen, who phoned in before they left De Aar, Upington and other towns.
The code was ‘eggs’ for beer, ‘white bread’ for whisky, and ‘brown bread’ for brandy. Six eggs and a
