| South African Class 14B 4-8-2, South African Class 14 4-8-2 & South African Class 14R 4-8-2 |
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| Class 14R 1756 at Mason’s Mill, Pietermaritzburg, Natal, 29 March 1979 | |
| Power type | Steam |
| Designer | South African Railways |
| Builder | Beyer, Peacock and Company |
| Order number | 0788 |
| Serial number | 5877-5891[1][2] |
| Model | Class 14B |
| Build date | 1914-1915[1] |
| Total produced | 15 |
| Configuration | 4-8-2 "Mountain" |
| Gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge |
| Leading wheel diameter |
28.5 in (724 mm) |
| Driver diameter | 48 in (1,220 mm) |
| Trailing wheel diameter |
33 in (838 mm) |
| Wheelbase | Total: 56 ft 11.75 in (17.367 m) Engine: 6 ft 2 in (1.880 m) pilot 12 ft 9 in (3.886 m) coupled 30 ft 7 in (9.322 m) total Tender: 4 ft 7 in (1.397 m) bogie 16 ft 9 in (5.105 m) total |
| Length | 65 ft 3.875 in (19.910 m) |
| Height | 12 ft 7.5 in (3.848 m) Class 14B 12 ft 11.75 in (3.956 m) Class 14R |
| Axle load | 16.15 long tons (16.4 t) on 2nd & 3rd drivers Class 14B 16.5 long tons (16.8 t) on 2nd driver Class 14R, copper firebox 15.8 long tons (16.1 t) on 2nd driver Class 14R, steel firebox |
| Weight on drivers | 64.4 long tons (65.4 t) Class 14B 62.65 long tons (63.7 t) Class 14R, copper firebox 60.65 long tons (61.6 t) Class 14R, steel firebox |
| Locomotive weight | 90.8 long tons (92.3 t) Class 14B 90.2 long tons (91.6 t) Class 14R |
| Tender weight | 48,864 lb (22.2 t) empty 52.35 long tons (53.2 t) w/o |
| Locomotive & tender combined weight |
179,400 lb (81.4 t) empty 143.15 long tons (145.4 t) w/o |
| Tender type | MR - MP, MP1, MR, MS, MT permitted * 2 axle bogies * Wheels 34 in (864 mm) dia * Length 25 ft 9.75 in (7.868 m) |
| Fuel type | Coal |
| Fuel capacity | 10 long tons (10.2 t) |
| Water capacity | 4,600 imp gal (21,000 l) |
| Boiler | Class 14B: 5 ft 7.5 in (1.715 m) int dia 19 ft (5.791 m) int length 7 ft 7 in (2.311 m) pitch Class 14R: 5 ft 7.5 in (1.715 m) int dia 19 ft 4 in (5.893 m) int length, steel firebox 19 ft 3.625 in (5.883 m) int length, copper firebox 8 ft 0.5 in (2.451 m) pitch |
| Boiler pressure | 190 psi (1,310 kPa) |
| Firegrate area | 37 sq ft (3.437 m2) |
| Heating surface: Tubes |
Class 14B: 139 tubes 2.25 in (57.2 mm) ext dia 24 tubes 5.5 in (140 mm) ext dia 2,212 sq ft (205.502 m2) Class 14R: 87 tubes 2.5 in (63.5 mm) ext dia 30 tubes 5.5 in (140 mm) ext dia 1,933 sq ft (179.582 m2) |
| Heating surface: Firebox |
150 sq ft (13.935 m2) Class 14B 142 sq ft (13.192 m2) Class 14R |
| Heating surface: Total |
2,362 sq ft (219.437 m2) Class 14B 2,075 sq ft (192.774 m2) Class 14R |
| Superheater type | None on Class 14B |
| Superheater area | 540 sq ft (50.168 m2) Class 14 492 sq ft (45.708 m2) Class 14R |
| Cylinders | Two |
| Cylinder size | 22 in (559 mm) bore 26 in (660 mm) stroke |
| Valve gear | Walschaerts |
| Tractive effort | 37,360 lbf (166.2 kN) at 75% boiler pressure[3] |
| Career | South African Railways |
| Class | Class 14B, Class 14, Class 14R |
| Number in class | 15 |
| Number | 1746-1760 |
| Delivered | 1915 |
| First run | 1915 |
| Disposition | Retired |
In 1915 the South African Railways placed fifteen Class 14B steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement in service.[4]
Contents |
The third version of the Class 14 locomotive was ordered from Beyer, Peacock and Company in 1914. Because it was intended for use on the lower section of the Natal main line where speeds were low with frequent stops, D.A. Hendrie, then the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the South African Railways (SAR), concluded that no high degree of superheat would be attainable, so they were ordered without superheaters. These non-superheated versions of the Class 14 became the Class 14B. Like the Class 14, the Class 14B had Walschaerts valve gear and a Belpaire firebox. Fifteen locomotives were delivered from Beyer, Peacock in 1915, numbered 1746 to 1760.[4][2]
In service the omission of superheating soon became a bone of contention. About six years after the Class 14B was commissioned, it was claimed in a report that the loss of haulage power and increased water and coal consumption brought about by the absence of superheating on these locomotives represented a loss to the SAR of approximately £100,000. Given that eight years later, in 1929, the purchase price of a new Class 19A was £6,387 (£5,323 for the locomotive and £1,064 for the tender), this was a staggering amount.[2][5]
Conversion of the Class 14B to superheating began soon afterwards and by 1927 all fifteen Class 14B locomotives were converted. Since their being non-superheated had been the sole reason for their separate Class 14B classification, they were all reclassified to Class 14.[4][6]
Of all the locomotives introduced during Hendrie’s term as CME, the Class 14B was the only one to fall short of expectations. In fairness to Hendrie and his decision to omit superheating, a report had been submitted in Natal earlier to the effect that superheating was of little or no value on that system, where the many short or steep gradients prevented a high degree of superheat from being attained with the automatic dampers in use at the time.[2]
During the 1930s many serving locomotives were reboilered with a standard boiler type designed by then CME A.G. Watson as part of his standardisation policy. Such Watson Standard reboilered locomotives were reclassified by adding an "R" suffix to their classification.[3][4]
All the ex Class 14B locomotives except number 1750 were eventually reboilered with Watson Standard no 2 boilers and reclassified once again, to Class 14R. In the process they were also equipped with Watson cabs, with their distinctive slanted fronts, compared to the conventional vertical fronts of their original cabs. Number 1750 was sold to ISCOR unreboilered.[6]
An obvious visual difference between an original and a Watson Standard reboilered locomotive is usually a rectangular regulator cover just to the rear of the chimney on the reboilered locomotive. In the case of the Class 14B locomotives two even more obvious visual differences are the Watson cab and the absence of the Belpaire firebox hump between the cab and boiler on the reboilered locomotives.[3]
They were placed in service on the lower sections of the Natal main line, particularly the Town Hill section near Pietermaritzburg.[2]
Five were eventually sold into industrial service:
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