South African Class ES1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Class ES1 shunting locomotive, c. 1930 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The South African Railways Class ES1 of 1924 was an electric locomotive.
In 1924, the South African Railways placed a single Class ES1 battery-powered shunting locomotive in service at the construction site of the Colenso power station. In 1927, the power station and the locomotive were sold to the Electricity Supply Commission and in 1937 the locomotive was purchased back for use at the Daimana (Danskraal) locomotive depot. [1] [2]
During the electrification of the Glencoe to Pietermaritzburg section of the Natal mainline, a mountainous single-track line which carried heavy mineral traffic towards the port of Durban on an alignment with severe gradients and tight curves, the Colenso power station was built by the South African Railways (SAR) to supply the power for this line. [3]
A single battery-powered electric shunting locomotive, the only battery-powered locomotive to ever see service on the SAR, was purchased from English Electric in 1924 for use at the power station construction site. [1] [4]
The centre-cab locomotive had a Bo wheel arrangement, the two axles being driven by two 37 kilowatts (50 horsepower) traction motors, operating at 235 volts and powered by a 208 cell nickel-iron alkali type battery with a 435 amp-hour capacity. [1]
The locomotive remained in service at the Colenso power station after 1927, when the power station and all its equipment, including the battery locomotive, was sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (ESKOM), the state-owned South African national power corporation. [1]
In 1937, the locomotive was purchased back from ESKOM by the SAR, designated Class ES1 with unit number E123 and stationed at the Daimana (Danskraal) locomotive depot at Ladysmith where it was used as shop shunting engine to move cold steam locomotives and dead electric units. Nicknamed Queen Mary, it was later renumbered to E502. It remained in service at Danskraal until it was withdrawn from service in 1978. [1] [2]
A switcher locomotive, shunter locomotive, or shifter locomotive is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distances. Switchers do not usually move trains over long distances, instead they typically assemble trains in order for another locomotive to take over. Switchers often operate in a railyard or make short transfer runs. They may serve as the primary motive power on short branch lines or switching and terminal railroads.
The following lists events that happened during 1923 in South Africa.
The following lists events that happened during 1924 in South Africa.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 2-6-2+2-6-2 is an articulated locomotive using a pair of 2-6-2 power units back to back, with the boiler and cab suspended between them. The 2-6-2 wheel arrangement has a single pair of leading wheels in a leading truck, followed by three coupled pairs of driving wheels and a pair of trailing wheels in a trailing truck.
Colenso Power Station was a South African coal-fired power station, located in Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal on the banks of the Tugela River. It was built in the 1920s by the South African Railways to supply electricity for the railways, and was subsequently sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom).
The South African Railways Class 1E of 1925 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 5E, Series 3 of 1958 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 5E1, Series 1 of 1959 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 5E1, Series 2 of 1963 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 5E1, Series 3 of 1964 was an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 8E of 1983 is an electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class ES of 1936 was an electric locomotive.
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The South African Railways Class 32-000 of 1959 was a diesel-electric locomotive.
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The South African Railways Class H2 4-8-2T of 1909 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal.
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 DS of 1939 was a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class DS1 of 1939 was a diesel-electric locomotive.