NGR Class A 4-6-2 1905 South African Class 2 4-6-2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NGR Class A no. 326, SAR Class 2 no. 763 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2nd coupled axle had flangeless wheels |
The South African Railways Class 2 4-6-2 of 1905 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal.
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 Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its provinces. It is now the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
In 1905, the Natal Government Railways placed two Class A steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific type wheel arrangement in service. In 1912, when these locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and designated Class 2. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Natal Government Railways (NGR) was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The 4-6-2 locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type.
In 1904, orders were placed with the North British Locomotive Company (NBL) for two 4-6-2 Pacific type locomotives for the Natal Government Railways (NGR). They were designed by NGR Locomotive Superintendent D.A. Hendrie for passenger traffic on those sections of the mainline between Ladysmith and Charlestown which did not have very severe gradients. When they were delivered and placed in service early in 1905, they were designated the NGR Class A, also commonly known as the Hendrie A, and numbered 325 and 326. [2] [4] [5]
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp, Stewart and Company, Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company, creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe and the British Empire.
The boiler of this Class was noted for its free steaming qualities. The engines used saturated steam, had Stephenson valve gear and were built on plate frames. The cylinders were inclined 1 in 18 and were arranged outside the plate frames, while the balanced slide valves were arranged inside the frames. After these two engines, Hendrie adopted Walschaerts valve gear and outside valves on all his subsequent locomotive designs for its greater accessibility. [1] [2] [4]
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.
The Walschaerts valve gear is a type of valve gear invented by Belgian railway mechanical engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844 used to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons in steam engines. The gear is sometimes named without the final "s", since it was incorrectly patented under that name. It was extensively used in steam locomotives from the late 19th century until the end of the steam era.
The locomotives had Belpaire fireboxes with firebar rocking finger grates. To accommodate the wide and deep firebox, Hendrie made use of a bridle casting along the same lines as the one which was first introduced by H.M. Beatty on his Cape Government Railways (CGR) 6th Class 2-6-2 of 1903, later the Class 6Y on the South African Railways (SAR). [1] [2]
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.
With a bridle casting, the widening of the locomotive frame at the back end was accomplished by uniting the narrow front part of the frame and the wider rear part by the heavy steel casting. This method of widening the frames for the firebox continued on the SAR until the general adoption of bar frames for mainline locomotives by 1927 rendered it no longer necessary. [1] [2]
The two locomotives ran their first trials on 31 January and 3 March 1905 respectively. As intended, they were placed in service between Ladysmith and Charlestown and were shedded at Charlestown. They worked the mail trains on this section for many years. [1] [2] [4]
When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR, NGR 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 were only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912. [3] [6]
In 1912, these two Pacifics were renumbered 762 and 763 and designated Class 2 on the SAR. [3] [4] [7]
They were later transferred to the Witwatersrand for a short period, after which they worked on the Komatipoort-Waterval Boven section until they were withdrawn by 1936. [1] [4]
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