CGR 1st Class 4-4-0 South African Class 01 4-4-0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Works picture of CGR 1st Class 4-4-0, c. 1879 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Cape Government Railways 1st Class 4-4-0 of 1879 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
The Union of South Africa is the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape Colony, the Natal Colony, the Transvaal, and the Orange River Colony. It included the territories that were formerly a part of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.
The Cape of Good Hope, also known as the Cape Colony, was a British colony in present-day South Africa, named after the Cape of Good Hope. The British colony was preceded by an earlier Dutch colony of the same name, the Kaap de Goede Hoop, established in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company. The Cape was under Dutch rule from 1652 to 1795 and again from 1803 to 1806. The Dutch lost the colony to Great Britain following the 1795 Battle of Muizenberg, but had it returned following the 1802 Peace of Amiens. It was re-occupied by the UK following the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806, and British possession affirmed with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814.
In 1878, the Cape Government Railways placed orders with the Avonside Engine Company for four more 1st Class tender locomotives with a 4-4-0 American type wheel arrangement. They were intended for fast passenger service on the Western and Eastern Systems and were delivered in 1879. In 1880, eleven more of these locomotives followed from Neilson and Company. [1] [2]
By 1878, increased traffic on the Western System of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) had given rise to a requirement for higher train speeds, which subjected most of the existing mainline locomotives with their small 39 inches (991 millimetres) diameter coupled wheels to rapid wear and resulted in the need for frequent heavy repairs. To meet the rising traffic requirements, orders were placed with Avonside Engine Company for more locomotives with larger diameter coupled wheels, in addition to the existing fleet of 1st Class 4-4-0 tank-and-optional-tender locomotives of 1875. [1] [3]
The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910.
The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company.
In 1879, four 4-4-0 American type tender passenger locomotives were delivered to the CGR from Avonside Engine Company for fast passenger service out of Cape Town and East London respectively. They were equipped with 48 inches (1,219 millimetres) coupled wheels and six-wheeled tenders, numbered W25 and W26 for the Western System and E8 and E9 for the Eastern System. Their slide valves were actuated by Stephenson Link motion, while their boiler barrels were constructed in three sections, arranged telescopically. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa, colloquially named the Mother City. It is the legislative capital of South Africa and primate city of the Western Cape province. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
East London is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. As of 2011, East London had a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the metropolitan area.
The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for all kinds of steam engines. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was invented by his employees.
In 1880, they were followed by another eleven locomotives. These were built by Neilson and Company and numbered in the ranges from W33 to W38 for the Western System and E10 to E14 for the Eastern System. This was the first CGR locomotive contract to be awarded to Neilson's. [2] [3]
Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland.
Depicted is engine no. W35, when new, with the Western System officials who were responsible for the locomotive fleet on board, from left Workshop Foreman E.A. Goodwin, Locomotive Superintendent Michael Stephens and Steamshed Foreman McNamara.
When a locomotive classification system was later introduced by the CGR, all these locomotives were designated 1st Class. Although Espitalier and Day described them in 1943 as 2nd Class, the Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, a booklet which was issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office in January 1912, lists them as "4-4-0 1st class Avonside & Neilson". [1] [3] [5]
As a result of the distances involved on the new mainlines which were being built into the arid Karoo, the CGR favoured tender locomotives over tank locomotives for mainline work from the outset, given the limited onboard coal and water capacities of tank engines. At the time these locomotives entered service in 1879, the two Eastern System lines from East London were open as far as King William's Town and approaching Queenstown respectively, while the Western System line from Montagu Road was approaching Beaufort West. [6]
The Western line was officially opened to Beaufort West on 5 February 1880. In 1882, one of these new locomotives made a through trip on a special train between Cape Town and Beaufort West and covered the 339 miles (546 kilometres) in ten hours, stops excluded, maintaining an average speed of 34 miles per hour (55 kilometres per hour). At the time, it was the fastest long journey on record in South Africa. [1] [3]
When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR, Natal Government Railways and Central South African Railways) were united under a single administration to control and administer the railways, ports and harbours of the Union. Although the South African Railways and Harbours came into existence in 1910, the actual classification and renumbering of all the rolling stock of the three constituent railways was only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912. [5] [6]
In 1912, the nine surviving locomotives were considered obsolete by the SAR, designated Class 01 and renumbered by having the numeral 0 prefixed to their existing numbers. They were all withdrawn from service by 1915, after having completed a considerable mileage while serving on branchlines after being withdrawn from mainline work. [1] [2] [3] [5] [7]
All these locomotives were renumbered at times during the CGR era. By 1886, all the system prefixes had been done away with and, of the Eastern System's locomotives, three were no longer on the books, while the remaining four had been renumbered in the range from 606 to 609. By 1890, the two Avonside locomotives of the Western System had also been renumbered. By 1910, three more locomotives were no longer on the books and in 1912 the nine remaining locomotives were renumbered with an 0 prefix by the SAR. The builders, works numbers, years in service, original numbers and renumbering of the Cape 1st Class of 1879 are listed in the table. [2] [5]
Builder | Works no. | Year | Orig. no. | 1886 no. | 1890 no. | 1904 no. | SAR no. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Avonside | 1215 | 1879 | W25 | 25 | 31 | 31 | 031 |
Avonside | 1216 | 1879 | W26 | 26 | 32 | 32 | 032 |
Avonside | 1235 | 1879 | E8 | 8 | |||
Avonside | 1236 | 1879 | E9 | 9 | |||
Neilson | 2547 | 1880 | W33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 033 |
Neilson | 2548 | 1880 | W34 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 034 |
Neilson | 2549 | 1880 | W35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 035 |
Neilson | 2550 | 1880 | W36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | |
Neilson | 2551 | 1880 | W37 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 037 |
Neilson | 2552 | 1880 | W38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 038 |
Neilson | 2557 | 1880 | E10 | 10 | |||
Neilson | 2558 | 1880 | E11 | 11 | 606 | 606 | 0606 |
Neilson | 2559 | 1880 | E12 | 12 | 607 | 607 | |
Neilson | 2560 | 1880 | E13 | 13 | 608 | 608 | |
Neilson | 2582 | 1880 | E14 | 14 | 609 | 609 | 0609 |
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The Cape Government Railways 1st Class 2-6-0 of 1879 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
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The Cape Government Railways 4th Class 4-6-0TT of 1882 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
The Cape Government Railways 5th Class 4-6-0 of 1890 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
The Cape Government Railways 5th Class 4-6-0 of 1891 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
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The Cape Government Railways 4th Class 4-6-0TT of 1882 with Joy valve gear, was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
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