| South African "Blackie" 0-4-2WT | |
|---|---|
| "Blackie" plinthed at Cape Town station, 16 February 2007 | |
| Power type | Steam |
| Designer | R&W Hawthorn |
| Builder | R&W Hawthorn |
| Serial number | 162 |
| Build date | 1858 |
| Total produced | 1 |
| Configuration | 0-4-2WT |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8.5 in (1.44 m) Standard |
| Wheelbase | 6 ft (1.829 m) drivers 11 ft 10 in (3.607 m) total |
| Length | 23 ft 2 in (7.061 m) |
| Width | 6 ft 3 in (1.905 m) engine 8 ft 5 in (2.565 m) cab roof |
| Height | 11 ft 8 in (3.556 m) |
| Fuel type | Coal |
| Boiler | 3 ft 10.5 in (1.181 m) dia 5 ft 1 in (1.549 m) pitch |
| Cylinders | Two[1] |
| Career | Messrs E. & J. Pickering Cape Town-Wellington Railway Cape Government Railways Kowie Harbour Improvement Co. |
| Number in class | 1 |
| Number | CWR 9, CGR 9 |
| Official name | Frontier |
| Nicknames | Blackie |
| Delivered | 1859 |
| First run | 1859 |
| Last run | 1883 |
| Retired | 1883[1] |
| Preserved | 1 |
| Disposition | National monument, plinthed |
In September 1859 Messrs. E. & J. Pickering, contractors to the Cape Town Railway and Dock Company for the construction of the Cape Town-Wellington Railway, imported a small 0-4-2WT well-tank steam locomotive from England for use during the construction of the railway. This locomotive, later to become the Cape Town-Wellington Railway’s engine number 9, was the first locomotive in South Africa. It has been declared a National Monument and was plinthed in the main concourse of Cape Town station.[1]
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The first locomotive in South Africa was built in 1858 by R and W Hawthorn at their Leith Engine Works in Leith, Scotland, for Messrs. E. & J. Pickering, the contractors to the Cape Town Railway and Dock Company for the construction of the Cape Town-Wellington Railway. It was an 0-4-2WT well-tank locomotive, works number 162, and built to run on Standard gauge.[1]
Upon arrival in Cape Town on 8 September 1859, the engine had to be dismantled before it could be landed off the brig Charles by means of lighters. The engine was accompanied by its engineer-driver, a Scot named William Dabbs. It was partially re-assembled on the jetty and then moved to Alfred’s Square, now part of the Parade in Cape Town. There a galvanised iron shed was built over it and the re-assembly completed by Dabbs. As built, the engine had an open cab, but a cab roof was soon installed.[1][2][3]
The first sod for the Cape Town-Wellington Railway was turned on 31 March 1859 by the Governor, Sir George Grey, using a silver shovel specially made for the opening ceremony, but the first section of track between Fort Knokke and Salt River was only opened on 8 February 1861. The slow construction rate of 1½ miles of track in 23 months led to strained relations between the railway company and the contractors that ended in October 1861 with the Cape Town-Wellington Railway taking over all construction work, as well as the Pickering engine. The dispute ended in sabotage when the disgruntled contractors ran the engine into a culvert, with the result that it had to be sent to the newly established workshops at Salt River to have some serious damage repaired.[1][2][3]
While the locomotive was being repaired, the Cape Town-Wellington Railway took delivery of eight more locomotives from R & W Hawthorn. These were 0-4-2 tender locomotives that arrived in two shipments on 20 March and 28 April 1860. They were given names and numbered from 1 to 8. When repairs to the Pickering locomotive was completed, therefore, it was given the number 9 in spite of having been the first locomotive in South Africa.[1][2]
The 45 miles (72 kilometres) line from Cape Town to Wellington took nearly five years to complete. The line to Eersterivier was officially opened on 13 February 1862. Stellenbosch was reached on 1 May 1862 and the planned railhead at Wellington on 4 November 1863. Work was completed about a year later, and according to the plaque mounted on its plinth at Cape Town station, engine no 9 did have the honour in 1865 to haul the official inaugural train of the Cape Town-Wellington Railway to Wellington.[2][4]
In 1872 the Cape Government decided to take over the operation of all railways and the Cape Town-Wellington and Salt River-Wynberg lines were amalgamated into the Cape Government Railways. No 9 remained on the Wellington line until June 1874, when it was shipped to the Kowie to assist with construction at the Port Alfred harbour that was being undertaken by the Kowie Harbour Improvement Company. In Port Alfred, No 9 was officially named Frontier, but since it was painted black at the time, it came to be affectionally known as Blackie.[1][2]
Blackie was reassembled and put to work on the west bank of the Kowie river, but derailed on reaching the first curve on the existing rails that had been laid for ox-drawn wagons and were not fishplated together. It was found that the curves were too sharp for the engine and, during the repairs, the flanges on the middle pair of wheels were removed. Blackie was also restricted to a 2 miles per hour (3.2 kilometres per hour) speed limit.[1]
As pressure of work demanded, it became necessary to regularly ferry the engine from one bank of the Kowie to the other, until a second locomotive was obtained in 1877, an 0-4-0ST saddle tank engine named Aid. Blackie worked on the Kowie project until 1883, by which time it was completely unserviceable and was abandoned on a siding.[1][2]
In December 1897 a big South African Exhibition took place at Grahamstown and Blackie was repaired, repainted and railed to that town to be placed on show. When the exhibition drew to a close at the end of January 1898, the engine was placed in storage in Grahamstown until the Cape Government Railways decided that it should be placed on permanent exhibition on Cape Town Station. Blackie was repainted in the Cape Government Railways livery, railed to Cape Town and mounted on the old Cape Town station’s concourse at the ends of Platforms 3 and 4 in 1913.[1][2]
When the Cape’s suburban lines were being electrified between 1927 and 1928, Blackie was found to be in the way of some masts that had to be erected for the overhead equipment, and it was trucked off to Salt River by the engineer in charge, with instructions that it be scrapped. Fortunately, the old engine’s historical value was recognised by Salt River’s mechanical engineer in charge, who had it plinthed just inside the entrance to the works. It remained there until it was eventually examined by the Historical Monuments Commission, which had it returned to Cape Town station. On 14 April 1936 it was proclaimed a national monument by Government Notice No 529.[1][5]
When the new Cape Town station was completed in the 1960s, Blackie was plinthed in the main hall.[1]
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