South African Class 6E 4-6-0

In 1898 the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwermentspoorwegen ordered its final six new Cape Class 6 locomotives. When British forces invaded the Orange Free State during the Second Freedom War, these locomotives were taken over by the Imperial Military Railways and after the war they were renumbered into the Central South African Railways roster. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 6E.^[1][3][5]

Manufacturer

The Class 6 was designed at the Salt River works of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) at the same time as the Class 7, both according to the specifications of Michael Stephens, the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the CGR’s Western System at the time, and under the supervision of CGR Locomotive Superintendent H.M. Beatty. Whereas the Class 7 was conceived primarily as a goods locomotive, the Class 6 was intended to be its fast passenger service counterpart.^[1]

The first ten Class 6 locomotives of the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwermentspoorwegen (OVGS) were purchased from the CGR, followed by orders for twenty-four new Class 6 locomotives directly from the manufacturers between 1895 and 1898.^[1]

A final order for six more were placed with Sharp, Stewart and Company in 1898. Three of these had been delivered and numbered OVGS 96 to 98, when British forces invaded the Orange Free State during the Second Freedom War (the Second Boer War) and the OVGS was taken over by the Imperial Military Railways (IMR). When the other three arrived, they were therefore numbered 370 to 372 on the IMR roster.^[1]

These six locomotives were delivered with larger cabs than their predecessors and with Type XE bogie-wheeled tenders. The first three locomotives retained their OVGS numbers until the war ended in 1902, when they were renumbered into the Central South African Railways (CSAR) roster. The other three locomotives retained their IMR running numbers and all six were reclassified to CSAR Class 6-L3.^[1][5]

Class 6 sub-classes

When these six locomotives were assimilated into the newly established South African Railways (SAR) in 1912, they were reclassified to Class 6E and renumbered 598 to 603. These locomotives, together with the CGR’s Class 6 locomotives and the Class 6-L1 and 6-L2 locomotives that were inherited by the CSAR from the OVGS via the IMR, were grouped into altogether fourteen sub-classes by the SAR. The 4-6-0 locomotives became SAR Classes 6, 6A to 6D, 6F to 6H and 6J to 6L, the 2-6-2 locomotives became Class 6Y and the 2-6-4 locomotives became Class 6Z.^[2][3][4]

Modifications

In the CSAR era several of their Class 6-L1 to 6-L3 locomotives, including some of the ex OVGS locomotives, had been modified by P.A Hyde, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the CSAR, by having their round top fireboxes replaced with larger Belpaire fireboxes. This conversion improved their performance tremendously. The three Class 6E locomotives that were renumbered 601 to 603 had undergone this modification.^[3][5]

During the 1930s many of them were modified once again when the CME of the SAR at the time, A.G. Watson, reboilered them with round-topped fireboxes again, but without changing their classifications.^[2][5]

Service

The Class 6 series of locomotives were introduced primarily as passenger locomotives, but when the class became displaced by larger and more powerful locomotive classes, it literally became a “Jack-of-all-trades” that proved itself as one of the most useful and successful locomotive classes ever to be designed at the Salt River shops. It went on to see service in all parts of the country except Natal and was used on all types of traffic.^[1]

In Cape Town they held a monopoly over the suburban services until electrification arrived in 1928, and on the Reef they also worked these services between Randfontein and Springs until the loads became too heavy for them. They were employed on branch lines all over the country, Natal excluded, and practically every big station and many smaller ones had its quota of these handy locomotives to work the local passenger, goods and shunting services.^[1]

Like the Class 7, the Class 6 family gave good service for many years. By the time the last ones were retired in 1973, the Class 6 series had achieved a service life of eighty years, a performance that can be matched by few, if any, other locomotive classes world wide.^[1]

Renumberings

The Class 6E locomotives were renumbered twice, first from the OVGS and IMR rosters to the CSAR roster and in 1912 into the SAR roster. The table reflects these renumberings as well as their works numbers.^[1][3][4]

See also

• South African Class 6 4-6-0
• South African Class 6A 4-6-0
• South African Class 6B 4-6-0
• South African Class 6C 4-6-0
• South African Class 6D 4-6-0
• South African Class 6F 4-6-0
• South African Class 6G 4-6-0
• South African Class 6H 4-6-0
• South African Class 6J 4-6-0
• South African Class 6K 4-6-0
• South African Class 6L 4-6-0
• South African Class 6Y 2-6-2
• South African Class 6Z 2-6-4
• Tender locomotive numbering and classification
• The 4-6-0 "Ten-wheeler"
• List of South African locomotive classes

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 1: 1859-1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 107-108, 126. ISBN 0715353829. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} South African Railways and Harbours Locomotive Diagram Book, 2’0” & 3’6” Gauge Steam Locomotives, 15 August 1941, as amended
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 8, 12, 14, 32 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)
4. ^ ^{a b c} Holland, D.F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. p. 138. ISBN 0715354272. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 41-44. ISBN 0869772112.