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Railway

harlan trammell schrieb:

> still looking for any info on the railway , south africa iron.
> all is appreciated. p.s. is this even documented or know of?
> meteorite/wrong?, etc..

Hello Harlan and List,

Railway is part of the Gibeon meteorite strewn field! Here is some info
on "Railway":

BUCHWALD V.F. (1975) Handbook of Iron Meteorites, Vol. 2, pp. 584-593:

Gibeon, Great Namaqualand.
Southwest Africa
Approximately 25° 20' S, 18° E; 1,000 m

No.  Name        Coordinates           kg
77  Railway   26° 35’/- 18° 10’     47

Railway, no. 77, is no doubt a typical Gibeon mass, although Frick &
Hammerbeck (1973) listed it as an independent meteorite: South African
Railways.

No. 77, Railway (A)

According to the accession papers of the South African Railway Museum,
Johannesburg, this - and possibly the following mass No. 78 - was found
near the main railway line Keetmanshoop-Mariental, i.e., in the Gibeon
or Berseba district. It was allegedly seen to fall by railway personnel
on the train, so on the return journey they stopped, searched near the
line and excavated the meteorite from a hole almost two feet deep. It
weighed 47 kg and was in 1943 donated to the S.A. Railway Museum by Mr.
G.H. Dawson, then the system manager of Windhoek. About 1965 (?) it was
donated to the Geological Survey Museum, Pretoria, where it has now been
divided for research purposes. The sections go through some of the
hemispherical cavities which are so typical of Gibeon specimens, and
also display the severely twisted, bent and overfolded textures very
well; compare, e.g. Figures 781 B and 2077. The report that the 47
kg mass was seen to fall cannot be accepted. The railway personnel may
have seen a fireball and by coincidence on their searching stumbled over
the meteorite - or else, the entire story may be invented, as has
repeatedly been met with in meteoritics.

No. 78, Railway (B)

In the South African Railway Museum, Johannesburg, there is presently
(1974) displayed another Gibeon meteorite, originally of 71 kg, and
recovered from near the railway line under similar circumstances as
Railway (A), No. 77. The mass is roughly ellipsoidal, with dimensions of
32 x 26 x 24 cm and has the museum number 2042. At the slightly pointed
end two portions have been removed by a blowtorch and one with a
hacksaw, so that the mass now weighs about 66 kg. Apparently no portions
have been made accessible for analysis or metallographic examination.


Best regards,

Bernd

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