| South African Class DS1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 No. D138, c. 1940 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The South African Railways Class DS1 of 1939 was a diesel-electric locomotive.
The second diesel-electric locomotive on the South African Railways was a single Class DS1 AEG diesel-electric shunting locomotive which was placed in service in 1939. Two of these locomotives were delivered to South Africa, one for the Railways and another for the Electricity Supply Commission. [1] [2]
As a result of the problems experienced in obtaining adequate water supplies in the arid regions of South Africa and South West Africa, particularly on the section between De Aar in the Karoo via Upington to Keetmanshoop, the South African Railways (SAR) decided to experiment with diesel-powered traction and introduced its first two diesel-electric shunting locomotives in 1939. [1] [2]
The second of these was a single six-wheeled locomotive of which two units were ordered from Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) in Berlin at the same time as the single Class DS locomotive. [1] [2]
Only one of them entered service on the SAR and was designated Class DS1. It was initially numbered D138, but it was soon renumbered to D514. Both numbers were actually in the electric locomotive number range. [1] [2]
The second locomotive was delivered to the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM), the state-owned South African national power corporation, who placed it in service in Cape Town. [1] [2]
The locomotive was powered by a Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN) 265 horsepower (198 kilowatts) eight-cylinder diesel engine prime mover. An AEG 110 kilowatts (150 horsepower) main generator and an AEG 12 kilowatts (16 horsepower) auxiliary generator were mounted directly in line between the engine and the cab. The engine was water-cooled with a fan that was belt-driven by the engine and that drew air through a conventional radiator. [1] [3]
This three-axle locomotive was essentially half a Class DS locomotive. Each axle was driven by a force-ventitated axle-suspended DC traction motor and sanding was arranged at the back and front of all wheels. Its single engine compartment was identical to either one of the two engine compartments of the Class DS. The cab was also identical to that of the Class DS, equipped with mechanically interlocked dual controls to enable operation in either direction. [1] [2] [3]
The SAR Class DS1 was withdrawn from yard service in July 1956 and transferred to the SAR's Civil Engineering department, who continued to use it for shunting at the Braamfontein Electric Running Shed (ERS) in Johannesburg into the early 1960s. [1] Since it was used to move trolleys with heavy traction motors around the workshop, the original AAR knuckle coupler was replaced by a low-mounted Johnston link-and-pin coupler and the original coupler pockets were blanked off.
When it was finally retired from service and replaced by a Class S2 shunting steam locomotive, it was plinthed on a short piece of track on the western side of the Braamfontein ERS. The picture alongside shows the locomotive at Braamfontein, with the bell coupler mounted barely above track level and with the original coupler pocket blanked off. [4]
The ESKOM locomotive was initially employed by the City of Cape Town at the Table Bay Power Station. It was painted in a maroon livery and was named Citelek. It was later transferred to the Athlone Power Station in Cape Town, where it was scrapped in about 1966. [1]
The following lists events that happened during 1939 in South Africa.
The South African Railways Class 91-000 of 1973 was a narrow-gauge diesel–electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 1E of 1925 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 3E of 1947 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 6E of 1970 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 11E of 1985 is an electric locomotive.
The Spoornet Class 14E of 1991 was a South African electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class ES of 1936 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 31-000 of 1958 was a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 32-000 of 1959 was a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 33-000 of 1965 was a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 61-000 of 1959 was a diesel-hydraulic locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 16C 4-6-2 of 1919 was a steam locomotive.
The Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910 in terms of the South Africa Act, which unified the former Cape Colony, Natal Colony and the two colonised former republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. One of the clauses in the Act required that the three Colonial Government railways, the Cape Government Railways, the Natal Government Railways and the Central South African Railways, also be united under one single administration to control and administer the railways, ports and harbours of the Union. While the South African Railways (SAR) came into existence in 1910, the actual classification and renumbering of all the rolling stock of the three constituent railways required careful planning and was only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.
The South African Railways Class S 0-8-0 of 1929 was a steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class S2 0-8-0 of 1952 was a steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class ES1 of 1924 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class DS of 1939 was a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways gas-electric locomotive of 1923 was an experimental gas-electric locomotive. The fuel, suction gas, was generated on-board the locomotive from coal.
Under the British and Imperial classification scheme of locomotive axle arrangements 1Co+Co1 is a classification code for a locomotive wheel arrangement of two eight-wheeled bogies with an articulated inter-bogie connection, each with three axles powered by a separate traction motor per axle and with the fourth non-powered axle in an integral leading pony truck to reduce the axle load. The similar 1Co-Co1 classification is in the same axle configuration, but without the inter-bogie connection.
