South African Class 7D 4-8-0

South African Class 7D 4-8-0
Ex Rhodesian Class 7 4-8-0
Ex Rhodesian Railways Class 7 MR 11,
later MR 18, then RRM 67
SAR Class 7D 1353
Power type Steam
Designer Cape Government Railways
Builder Neilson, Reid and Company
Kitson and Company
North British Locomotive Company
Order number NR E834 & E835 (1899), E851 (1900)
NBL L313 & L322 (1903)[1]
Serial number NR 5675-5686, 5791-5802, 5817[2]
Kitson: Unknown
NBL 16085-16094, 16171-16180[1][3][4]
Model CGR Class 7
Build date 1899-1903
Total produced 52
Configuration 4-8-0 "Mastodon"
Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Leading wheel
diameter
28.5 in (724 mm)
Driver diameter 42.75 in (1,090 mm)
Wheelbase Total: 46 ft 2 in (14.072 m)
Engine:
5 ft 3 in (1.600 m) pilot
12 ft (3.658 m) coupled
21 ft 3.5 in (6.490 m) total
Tender:
4 ft 7 in (1.397 m) bogie
16 ft 1 in (4.902 m) total
Length 53 ft 5.75 in (16.300 m)
Height 12 ft 10 in (3.912 m)
Frame Plate frame
Axle load 9 long tons (9.1 t) on 1st & 2nd drivers as built
9.7 long tons (9.9 t) on 2nd driver superheated
Weight on drivers 35.8 long tons (36.4 t) as built
38 long tons (38.6 t) superheated
Locomotive weight 46.5 long tons (47.2 t) NR & NBL
49.1 long tons (49.9 t) superheated
44.35 long tons (45.1 t) Kitson
Tender weight 34.1 long tons (34.6 t) NR & NBL
34.65 long tons (35.2 t) Kitson
Locomotive & tender
combined weight
92,764 lb (42.1 t) empty
74.55 long tons (75.7 t) w/o NR & NBL
83 long tons (84.3 t) w/o Kitson
Tender type ZE - ZA, ZB, ZC, ZE permitted
* 2 axle bogies
* Wheels 34 in (864 mm) dia
* Length 23 ft 8.5 in (7.226 m)
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity 8 long tons (8.1 t) NR & NBL
6.5 long tons (6.6 t) Kitson
Water capacity 2,850 imp gal (13,000 l)
Boiler As built:
4 ft 4 in (1.321 m) int dia
10 ft 9 in (3.277 m) int length
6 ft 8 in (2.032 m) pitch
Superheated:
4 ft 6 in (1.372 m) int dia
10 ft 9 in (3.277 m) int length
6 ft 10 in (2.083 m) pitch
Boiler pressure 160 psi (1,100 kPa) as built
170 psi (1,170 kPa) adjusted
180 psi (1,240 kPa) superheated
Firegrate area 18 sq ft (1.672 m2)
Heating surface:
Tubes
As built:
185 tubes 1.875 in (47.6 mm) ext dia
976 sq ft (90.673 m2)
Superheated:
100 tubes 1.875 in (47.6 mm) ext dia
18 tubes 5.5 in (140 mm) ext dia
806 sq ft (74.880 m2)
Heating surface:
Firebox
102 sq ft (9.476 m2) NR & NBL
113 sq ft (10.498 m2) superheated
112 sq ft (10.405 m2) Kitson
Heating surface:
Total
1,078 sq ft (100.149 m2) NR & NBL
919 sq ft (85.378 m2) superheated
1,088 sq ft (101.079 m2) Kitson
Superheater type Not equipped as built
Superheater area 206 sq ft (19.138 m2)
Cylinders Two
Cylinder size 17 in (432 mm) bore
23 in (584 mm) stroke
Valve gear Stephenson
Tractive effort At 75% boiler pressure, as built:
18,660 lbf (83.0 kN) at 160 psi (1,100 kPa)
19,810 lbf (88.1 kN) at 170 psi (1,170 kPa)
Superheated:
22,240 lbf (98.9 kN)[5]
Factor of
adhesion
NR & NBL built: 4,32
Kitson built: 4.531[1]
Career Imperial Military Railways
Mashonaland Railways
Rhodesia Railways Northern Ext
Rhodesian Railways
South African Railways
Class IMR, MR, RRM & RR Class 7
SAR Class 7D
Number in class RR 52, SAR 5
Number BR 7-8, RR 1-50, IMR 110
SAR 1351-1355[4]
Delivered 1899-1903
First run 1899
Withdrawn 1972[6]
Disposition Retired

Between 1899 and 1903 the Rhodesian Railways placed fifty-two Cape Class 7 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives in service. One more was obtained from the Imperial Military Railways in March 1901 as replacement for a locomotive that was damaged beyond local repair abilities during delivery.[1]

In May 1915 five of these locomotives were sold to the South African Railways, where they were renumbered and reclassified, four of them to Class 7D and the remaining one erroneously to Class 7B. At the same time, the ex Imperial Military Railways locomotive was also sold back to South Africa and was, also erroneously, designated Class 7D.[1][4][6]

Contents

Rhodesian Class 7

Fifty-two Cape Class 7 4-8-0 steam locomotives were built for the Beira and Mashonaland and Rhodesia Railways (BMR), later the Rhodesian Railways (RR), between 1899 and 1903. These locomotives were acquired by Southern Rhodesia at the time when railways were still expanding from South Africa via Bechuanaland into Southern Rhodesia in the southwest and from Beira in Mozambique to Umtali in the east, and while the Second Freedom War (the Anglo-Boer War) was being waged. At the time the system was composed of several smaller railways, still largely under construction, that were eventually all linked up in 1902. These were:[1]

The fifty-two locomotives were ordered in five batches from three British manufacturers.[1]

Their builders, works numbers and renumberings are shown in the table.[1][4]

South African Railways

In May 1915 six of the Neilson, Reid built Class 7 locomotives were purchased by the South African Railways (SAR) to augment its locomotive stock, which was being severely taxed due to war conditions at the time. These six locomotives included the damaged RR 8 that had still not been repaired and consequently never ran a mile in revenue service in Rhodesia, as well as the ex IMR locomotive that had been transferred to Rhodesia as compensation for the damaged RR 8. They were renumbered and five of them were classified to SAR Class 7D, numbered 1351 to 1355, and one as Class 7B, number 949.[1][4][6]

Classification errors

During this SAR classification and renumbering process, two of these locomotives were incorrectly classified, possibly as a result of their records getting exchanged in an apparent administrative error.[7]

Class 7 sub-classes

Other Class 7 locomotives that came onto the SAR roster from the other Colonial railways in the region in 1912, namely the CGR, CSAR, the Natal Government Railways (NGR) and, in 1925, from the New Cape Central Railways (NCCR), were grouped into six different sub-classes by the SAR, becoming SAR Classes 7, 7A to 7C, 7E and 7F.[5]

Modifications

During the 1930s many of the Class 7 family of locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers and piston valves. On the Class 7C this conversion was sometimes indicated with an "S" suffix to the class number on the locomotive number plates, but on the rest of the Class 7 family this distinction was not applied consistently. The superheated versions could be identified by the position of the chimney on the smokebox, with the chimney displaced forward to provide space behind it in the smokebox for the superheater header.[5][6]

Service

In SAR service, the Class 7 series did duty on every system in the country. During the South West African Campaign in World War I twenty-nine Class 7 to Class 7C locomotives were sent to South West Africa (SWA) to assist the expeditionary forces. They proved so successful in that territory that more were gradually transferred there in later years. By the time the Class 24 arrived in SWA in 1949, there were still altogether fifty-three Class 7 series locomotives in use there. Most remained there and were only transferred back to South Africa when the Class 32-000 diesel-electric locomotives replaced them in 1961. In South Africa they remained in branch line service, particularly at Tarkastad and Ladysmith and also on the line from Touws River to Ladismith, until they were finally withdrawn in 1972.[1][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Pattison, R.G. (1997). The Cape Seventh Class Locomotives (1st ed.). Kenilworth, Cape Town: The Railway History Group. pp. 10-12, 25-33. ISBN 0958400946. 
  2. ^ Neilson, Reid works list, compiled by Austrian locomotive historian Bernhard Schmeiser
  3. ^ North British Locomotive Company works list, compiled by Austrian locomotive historian Bernhard Schmeiser
  4. ^ a b c d e f Holland, D.F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 32-33. ISBN 0715354272. 
  5. ^ a b c South African Railways and Harbours Locomotive Diagram Book, 2’0” & 3’6” Gauge Steam Locomotives, 15 August 1941, as amended
  6. ^ a b c d e Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 46-48. ISBN 0869772112. 
  7. ^ a b Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 1: 1859-1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 123-124. ISBN 0715353829.