South African Class 14E1

South African Class 14E1
14-101 and 14-103 at Beaufort West, Western Cape on 2 August 2007
Power type Electric
Designer 50 c/s Group
Builder Union Carriage and Wagon
Serial number 16876-1-2/1993 to 16876-1-11/1994
Model SLM 14E1
Build date 1993-1994
Total produced 10
UIC classification Bo-Bo
Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Bogies 3.1 m (10 ft 2.0 in) wheelbase
18 t (17.7 long tons) mass
Wheel diameter 1,250 mm (49.2 in) new
1,170 mm (46.1 in) worn
Minimum curve 85 m (279 ft) radius
Wheelbase 12.4 m (40 ft 8.2 in)
Length 18.5 m (60 ft 8.3 in)
Width 2.973 m (9 ft 9.0 in)
Height 4.12 m (13 ft 6.2 in) pantographs down
Axle load 23,125 kg (22.8 long tons)
Locomotive weight Body 18 t (17.7 long tons)
Total 97 t (95.5 long tons)
Current collection
method		 Pantographs
Traction motors Four Siemens ITB2 820-OGA03
Transmission 20/103 Gear ratio
Top speed 140 km/h (87 mph)
Power output Per motor:
1,020 kW (1,370 hp) continuous
Total:
4,080 kW (5,470 hp) continuous
Tractive effort 369 kN (83,000 lbf) starting
245 kN (55,000 lbf) continuous at 58.6 km/h (36 mph)
110 kN (25,000 lbf) at 130 km/h (81 mph) max speed[1]
Locomotive brakes Rheostatic
Locomotive
brakeforce		 172 kN (39,000 lbf) from
12 to 60.5 km/h (7 to 38 mph)[1]
Train brakes Air
Career Spoornet
Transnet Freight Rail
Class Class 14E1
Power class Dual 3 kV DC & 25 kV AC
Number in class 10
Number 14-101 to 14-110
Delivered 1994
First run 1994

In December 1994 Spoornet took delivery of the last of ten locally manufactured Class 14E1 dual voltage electric main line locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement. They were preceded in 1990 by three prototype Class 14E locomotives.[2]

Contents

Manufacturer

The Class 14E1 dual voltage 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC electric locomotive was designed by Consortium, consisting of Siemens, ABB, AEG-Westinghouse, GEC and Alsthom-Atlantique. They were built for Spoornet by Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) in Nigel, Transvaal, under licence to Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) in Winterthur. Ten locomotives were delivered and placed in service by December 1994, numbered 14-101 to 14-110.[3][4]

The original order was placed for fifty locomotives. The first locomotives to be delivered were subjected to intensive trial runs on speed-freight trains in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, during which it was found not to be a suitable locomotive for the infrastructure on lines rated at 20 ton per axle. It caused some damage to points when travelling at 80 kilometres per hour (50 miles per hour) in the Free State. When the first one to be delivered developed a vibration in the gear box, the order for fifty locomotives was summarily reduced to ten only, given the unsatisfactory trial results to date.[5]

Orientation

These dual cab locomotives have a roof access ladder on one side only, just to the right of the cab access door. The roof access ladder end is marked as the number 1 end. A passage along the centre of the locomotive connects the cabs.[2]

Works numbers

On the Class 14E1 the Consortium group’s works numbers are engraved in the top right corner of a large plate depicting the circuit diagram of the locomotive, mounted below the sill and halfway between the bogies on the roof access ladder side of the locomotive. The works numbers do not follow the locomotive running number sequence.[6]

Service

By 2006 Class 14E1 locomotives were Bellville based. In freight service they were employed on the route between Cape Town and Beaufort West in the Western Cape. Since they are dual voltage 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC locomotives, they can work on any electrified line country-wide with the exception of the 50 kV AC Sishen Saldanha iron ore line.[4]

Beginning circa 2005, selected Class 14E1 locomotives have been employed to haul the Blue Train all the way along the Cape Town-Pretoria route across the 25 kV AC stretch between Beaufort West and Kimberley. They now often run country-wide when hauling the Blue Train. Being fast and giving a comfortable ride in an air conditioned cab, the Class 14E1 became popular with drivers.

In 1998 a number of Spoornet’s electric locomotives and most of their Class 38-000 electro-diesel locomotives were sold to Maquarie-GETX (General Electric Financing) and leased back to Spoornet for a ten year period that was to expire in 2008. Of the Class 14E1, numbers 14-101 to 14-106 were subsequently also included in this leasing deal.[4]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Class 14E1 – Principal Dimensions and Technical Data (TFR leaflet used in driver training, circa 2010)
  2. ^ a b South African Railways Index and Diagrams Electric and Diesel Locomotives, 610mm and 1065mm Gauges, Ref LXD 14/1/100/20, 28 January 1975, as amended
  3. ^ "UCW - Electric locomotives". The UCW Partnership. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071012023401/http://www.ucw.co.za/pdf/electric_loco.pdf. Retrieved 30 September 2010. 
  4. ^ a b c Middleton, John N. (2002). Railways of Southern Africa Locomotive Guide - 2002 (as amended by Combined Amendment List 4, January 2009) (2nd, Dec 2002 ed.). Herts, England: Beyer-Garratt Publications. pp. 49-52, 60. 
  5. ^ Information supplied by Mr. Brian Clark, Krugersdorp
  6. ^ Numbers visually confirmed on individual locomotives by contributor during 2009 and 2010, except 14-102 which was destroyed in 2005