South African Class ME 2-6-6-2

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South African Class ME 2-6-6-2

SAR Class ME 1618 (2-6-6-2).jpg

Class ME no. 1618, c. 1912
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Designer North British Locomotive Company
Builder North British Locomotive Company
Serial number 19355
Model CSAR Mallet
Build date 1912
Total produced 1
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 2-6-6-2 (Prairie Mallet)
 •  UIC (1'C)C1'h4
Driver 3rd & 6th coupled axles
Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Leading dia. 30 in (762 mm)
Coupled dia.42 1⁄4 in (1,073 mm)
Trailing dia. 30 in (762 mm)
Tender wheels 34 in (864 mm)
Wheelbase 58 ft 5 1⁄2 in (17,818 mm)
 • Engine 38 ft 3 in (11,659 mm)
 • Coupled 8 ft 6 in (2,591 mm) per unit
 • Tender 14 ft 7 in (4,445 mm)
 • Tender bogie 4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm)
Length:
​
 • Over couplers 66 ft 7 3⁄8 in (20,304 mm)
Height 12 ft 10 in (3,912 mm)
Frame type Plate
Axle load 9 LT 18 cwt (10,060 kg)
 •  Leading 6 LT (6,096 kg)
 • Coupled 9 LT 18 cwt (10,060 kg)
 •  Trailing 6 LT 14 cwt (6,808 kg)
 • Tender bogieBogie 1: 18 LT 4 cwt (18,490 kg)
Bogie 2: 19 LT 8 cwt (19,710 kg)
 • Tender axle 9 LT 14 cwt (9,856 kg)
Adhesive weight 59 LT 8 cwt (60,350 kg)
Loco weight 72 LT 2 cwt (73,260 kg)
Tender weight 37 LT 12 cwt (38,200 kg)
Total weight 109 LT 14 cwt (111,500 kg)
Tender type XF (2-axle bogies)
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity 6 LT (6.1 t)
Water cap 3,000 imp gal (13,600 l)
Firebox type Belpaire
 • Firegrate area 32 sq ft (3.0 m2)
Boiler:
​
 • Pitch 7 ft 9 in (2,362 mm)
 • Diameter 4 ft 1 3⁄4 in (1,264 mm)
 • Tube plates 18 ft 6 1⁄2 in (5,652 mm)
 • Small tubes90:2 1⁄4 in (57 mm)
 • Large tubes14:5 1⁄4 in (133 mm)
Boiler pressure 170 psi (1,172 kPa)
Safety valve Ramsbottom
Heating surface 1,455 sq ft (135.2 m2)
 • Tubes 1,340 sq ft (124 m2)
 • Firebox 115 sq ft (10.7 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Type Schmidt
 • Heating area 346 sq ft (32.1 m2)
Cylinders Four
Cylinder size 15 in (381 mm) bore
23 in (584 mm) stroke
Valve gear Walschaerts
Valve type Piston
Couplers Johnston link-and-pin
Performance figures
Tractive effort 31,230 lbf (138.9 kN) @ 50%
Career
Operators South African Railways
Class Class ME
Number in class 1
Numbers 1618
Delivered 1912
First run 1912
Withdrawn 1937

The South African Railways Class ME 2-6-6-2 of 1912 was a steam locomotive.

Contents

In January 1912, the South African Railways placed a single Class ME Mallet articulated steam locomotive with a 2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement in service. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Steam locomotive railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine

A steam locomotive is a type of railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material – usually coal, wood, or oil – to produce steam in a boiler. The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels (drivers). Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons (tenders) pulled behind.

2-6-6-2 articulated locomotive wheel arrangement

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 2-6-6-2 is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheels. The wheel arrangement was principally used on Mallet-type articulated locomotives, although some tank locomotive examples were also built. A Garratt type locomotive with the same wheel arrangement is designated 2-6-0+0-6-2.

Manufacturer

During 1911, the Central South African Railways (CSAR) placed an order for a single experimental simple expansion Mallet articulated steam locomotive with the North British Locomotive Company (NBL). The locomotive was intended for test purposes on branch lines with light 45 pounds per yard (22 kilograms per metre) rail. [1] [2] [3] [5]

Central South African Railways railway operator in the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies from 1902 to 1910

The Central South African Railways (CSAR) was from 1902 to 1910 the operator of public railways in the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony in what is now South Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War, as British forces moved into the territory of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic, the Orange Free State Government Railways, the Netherlands-South African Railway Company and the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway were taken over by the Imperial Military Railways under Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Girouard. After the war had ended, the Imperial Military Railways became the Central South African Railways in July 1902, with Thomas Rees Price as General Manager. With the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the CSAR was merged with the Cape Government Railways and the Natal Government Railways to form the South African Railways.

North British Locomotive Company defunct British locomotive manufacturer, active 1903–1962

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.

By the time it was delivered in January 1912, the CSAR had already become part of the newly established South African Railways (SAR). The locomotive was therefore classified as the sole Class ME and numbered 1618 on the SAR roster. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Characteristics

Having been built for branch line working, the engine's maximum axle load was 9 long tons 18 hundredweight (10,060 kilograms) and it was delivered with the 6 long tons (6.1 tonnes) coal capacity version of the Type XF tender. Its Belpaire firebox extended over the second and third coupled wheels of the rear engine unit. [2] [6] [7]

South African type XF tender

The South African type XF tender was a steam locomotive tender from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.

Belpaire firebox

The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and square in cross-section, indicated by the longitudinal ridges on the top sides. However, it is the similar square cross-section inner firebox which provides the main advantages of this design i.e. it has a greater surface area at the top of the firebox where the heat is greatest, improving heat transfer and steam production, compared with a round-top shape.

Compared to other Mallet locomotives which were placed in service during the first decade of the SAR’s existence, the Class ME was unique in being arranged as a simple expansion (simplex) locomotive with four high-pressure cylinders instead of the more usual compound expansion arrangement of two high-pressure and two low-pressure cylinders. [1] [3] [8]

The cylinders were arranged outside the plate frames and the 6 inches (152 millimetres) diameter trick-ported piston valves, designed for inside admission, were actuated by Walschaerts valve gear. Each engine unit was equipped with an independent Wakefield mechanical lubricator to supply oil to the valves and pistons. [2]

Walschaerts valve gear

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.

Automatic lubricator

An automatic lubricator, is a device fitted to a steam engine to supply lubricating oil to the cylinders and, sometimes, the bearings and axle box mountings as well. There are various types of automatic lubricator, which include various designs of displacement, hydrostatic and mechanical lubricators.

The comparatively low boiler pressure of 170 pounds per square inch (1,172 kilopascals) is indicative of the opinion held at the time that the economies to be gained from superheating did not require high boiler pressure. The boiler was equipped with a Schmidt superheater. Steam distribution to the four cylinders was rather unique, being led from the superheater header in the smokebox to a steam collector box which was arranged between the two cylinders of the rear engine unit, from where a branch was led to the cylinders of the front engine unit by a central steam pipe with flexible joints, since this engine unit could move sideways in relation to the boiler barrel. This pipe took the place of the usual receiver pipe on compound Mallets. [2]

The blast pipe had separate outlets for the exhaust steam from each engine unit, with the rear engine unit's exhaust feeding through an annulus arranged around the exhaust from the front engine unit. A device was installed by which either engine unit could be cut out whilst running so that steam could be admitted to one pair of cylinders only when running light engine. [2]

Service

The Class ME proved to be successful in operation and, even though it was acquired as an experimental locomotive, remained in service for 25 years. It spent its last years working on the line from Nelspruit to Sabie in the Eastern Transvaal Lowveld, until it was withdrawn and scrapped in 1937. [1]

Illustration

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 21–22. ISBN   978-0-7153-5427-8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1945). The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VII - South African Railways (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, May 1945. pp. 347-348.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 86. ISBN   0869772112.
  4. 1 2 Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 9, 12, 15, 46 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)
  5. ↑ North British Locomotive Company works list, compiled by Austrian locomotive historian Bernhard Schmeiser
  6. ↑ South African Railways & Harbours/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweë en Hawens (15 Aug 1941). Locomotive Diagram Book/Lokomotiefdiagramboek, 3'6" Gauge/Spoorwydte. SAR/SAS Mechanical Department/Werktuigkundige Dept. Drawing Office/Tekenkantoor, Pretoria. p. 43.
  7. ↑ South African Railways & Harbours/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweë en Hawens (15 Aug 1941). Locomotive Diagram Book/Lokomotiefdiagramboek, 2'0" & 3'6" Gauge/Spoorwydte, Steam Locomotives/Stoomlokomotiewe. SAR/SAS Mechanical Department/Werktuigkundige Dept. Drawing Office/Tekenkantoor, Pretoria. pp. 6a-7a, 41, 43.
  8. ↑ Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 54, 56. ISBN   978-0-7153-5382-0.
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