CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 BP

CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 BP
to South African Class 01 2-6-0 1876

1st Class 2-6-0 no W7 at Bellville
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Designer Beyer, Peacock and Company
Builder Beyer, Peacock and Company
Avonside Engine Company
Serial number BP 1571-1580, Avonside 1171-1178
Build date 1876-1877
Total produced 18
Specifications
Configuration 2-6-0 "Mogul"
Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Leading wheel
diameter		 24 in (610 mm)
Driver diameter 39 in (991 mm)
Wheelbase 7 ft 2 in (2.184 m) drivers
10 ft 9 in (3.277 m) engine
8 ft (2.438 m) tender
27 ft 11 in (8.509 m) total
Length 37 ft 8 in (11.481 m) over couplers
Height 11 ft (3.353 m)
Axle load 5 LT 12 cwt (5.7 t) on first driver
Weight on drivers 16 LT 7 cwt (16.6 t)
Locomotive weight 20 LT 2 cwt 1 qtr (20.4 t) w/o
Tender weight 17 LT 17 cwt (18.1 t)
Locomotive and tender
combined weight		 37 LT 19 cwt 1 qtr (38.6 t) w/o
Tender type Three-axle
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity 2 1⁄2 long tons (2.5 t)
Water capacity 1,700 imp gal (7,700 l; 2,000 US gal)
Boiler 9 ft 5 1⁄4 in (2.877 m) length inside
5 ft 2 in (1.575 m) pitch
Boiler pressure 130 psi (900 kPa)
Firegrate area 9 1⁄2 sq ft (0.883 m2)
Heating surface:
– Tubes		 116 tubes 1 3⁄4 in (44.4 mm) diameter
492 sq ft (45.708 m2)
– Firebox 44 sq ft (4.1 m2)
– Total 536 sq ft (49.8 m2)
Cylinders Two
Cylinder size 12 in (305 mm) bore
20 in (508 mm) stroke
Performance figures
Tractive effort 7,200 lbf (32 kN) at 75% pressure
Career
Operator(s) Cape Government Railways
Sudan
OVGS
Transvaal collieries
Imperial Military Railways
Central South African Railways
South African Railways
Class CGR 1st Class, SAR Class 01
Number in class 18
Number(s) W7-W24
Official name Peacock (No. W7)
Delivered 1876-1877
First run 1876 [1][2][3]
Withdrawn 1916

The CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 Beyer, Peacock of 1876 is a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape Colony.

In 1876 and 1877 the Cape Government Railways placed eighteen 2-6-0 Mogul locomotives in freight service on the Cape Western system, built by Beyer, Peacock and Avonside. They were designated 1st Class when a classification system was adopted.[1][3]

Manufacturers

Ten 2-6-0 tender goods locomotives were delivered to the Cape Government Railways (CGR) from Beyer, Peacock and Company in 1876, numbered in the range from W7 to W16 for the Western System. The first one, no. W7, was named "Peacock". Another eight were delivered the following year from Avonside Engine Company, numbered in the range from W17 to W24. All of them were equipped with six-wheeled tenders.[1][3]

While they were acquired as goods locomotives, they were used on all kinds of traffic, including shunting. These locomotives were later designated 1st Class when a locomotive classification system was introduced by the CGR.[1]

Service

Cape Government Railways

As a result of the distances involved on the new lines that were being built into the arid Karoo and the limited onboard coal and water capacities of tank engines, the CGR began to favour tender locomotives over tank locomotives for mainline work at an early stage. At the time these locomotives entered service in 1876, the Western System line from Cape Town was completed to Worcester, which was officially opened on 16 June 1876. The line from there up the Hex River rail pass to Montagu Road was completed in 1877. Passengers en route to Kimberley detrained at Montagu Road, where they usually spent the night in the local hotel before proceeding to Matjiesfontein by horse-drawn coach the following day.[4]

By 1890 one of these locomotives, no. W17, was transferred to the Midland System and renumbered 414. Apart from some that were sold or disposed of between 1884 and 1896, the rest of these locomotives remained on the Western System and saw service on all parts of the system, working out of Cape Town deeper into the Karoo as the line was being extended and opened to Beaufort West and beyond.[1]

Sudan

Four of these locomotives, numbers W7, W9, W13 and W14, were sold to Sudan in October 1884. Since number gap-filling was at the order of the day on the CGR at the time, the locomotives in the number range from 21 to 24 were renumbered to 7, 9, 13 and 14 at some stage between 1886 and 1888.[1][5]

Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen

Photographic evidence shows that at least one of these locomotives was rebuilt to a saddle-tank engine. Towards the end of 1896 a saddle-tank locomotive was sold to the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen (OVGS), where it was classified as 2nd Class, allocated no. 3 and named "Bloemfontein". It was employed as shop locomotive at the Bloemfontein railway workshops.[1]

During the South African War engine no. 3 Bloemfontein came onto the roster of the Imperial Military Railways (IMR) as no. 303 Bloemfontein. The IMR was transformed into the Central South African Railways (CSAR) when the war ended and the locomotive retained the number 303.[1][6]

OVGS no. 3, later CSAR no. 303 "Bloemfontein", c. 1902

Until photographic evidence proved differently, it had been believed that this locomotive was the Midland System's 1st Class 2-6-0 saddle-tank engine no. M22, built by Kitson and Company in 1876. However, judging from the unique position of the steam dome on locomotive no. 303, depicted here after a turntable mishap, it was rebuilt from one of the locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock and Avonside, on which the steam dome was also located further back, closer to the cab than usual.[1][7]

The original CGR number of the locomotive is not known with certainty. Three locomotives that still appeared on the CGR roster in 1890, numbers 7, 9 and 14 (formerly numbers 21, 22 and 24), were no longer listed by year-end in 1896 and are the most likely candidates. It was possibly the Western System's no. 9 (ex no. W22), built by Avonside, since it is possible that a transcription error during research may have led to the number W22 being recorded as number M22.[7]

Transvaal collieries

Two of these locomotives are known to have been sold to collieries in the Transvaal Repulic at some stage between 1890 and 1895. One was in service at Great Eastern Colliery and another at the Cassel Coal Company, both near Springs on the East Rand, by 1895. Boiler records show them as 1877-built, which identifies them as from the Avonside batch of locomotives, and the most likely candidates are two of the three locomotives numbers 7, 9 and 14 (formerly numbers 21, 22 and 24) mentioned above, of which the third possibly became no. 303 Bloemfontein.[5][7]

South African Railways

The Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, in terms of the South Africa Act. One of the clauses in the Act required that the three Colonial Government railways, the CGR, the Natal Government Railways and the CSAR, also be united under one single administration to control and administer the railways, ports and harbours of the Union. While the South African Railways (SAR) came into existence in 1910, the actual classification and renumbering of all the rolling stock of the three constituent railways required careful planning and was only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.[4][8]

By 1912 three of these locomotives survived on the CGR to be taken onto the SAR roster. They were considered obsolete by the SAR, designated Class 01 and renumbered by having the numeral 0 prefixed to their existing numbers. All of them were withdrawn from service by 1916.[1][3][8][9]

The engine no. 303 Bloemfontein of the CSAR was treated differently and was listed as excluded from the renumbering schedules. It was scrapped by the SAR in 1912.[8]

Renumbering

1st Class 2-6-0 without its tender, bearing an "intermediate" number 27 [5]

Apart from the four that were sold to Sudan, all these locomotives were renumbered at times during the CGR era. By 1886 the system prefixes were dropped. By 1888 some official decided to start practicing gap-filling by renumbering numbers 21 to 24. Further renumberings, for reasons unknown, occurred by 1896 and 1904.[1][3][8]

In addition to the known numbering and renumbering, there appears to have been an "intermediate" CGR numbering system at some stage between 1884 and the renumberings of the late 1880s. Apart from photographic evidence, hardly any information about this numbering system has been found as yet. In the example depicted alongside one of these Beyer, Peacock or Avonside-built locomotives bears the number 27 that does not fit in with any of the known numbers of these locomotives.[3][8]

The builders, works numbers, year in service, original numbers and known renumberings of the Cape 1st Class Moguls of 1876 are listed in the table.[1][3][8]

Nyasaland Railways

In his book Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 1: 1859-1910, D.F. Holland states that two of these locomotives, numbers W12 and W16, by that time renumbered to 39 and 41 respectively, were sold to the Nyasaland Railways at some stage between 1904 and 1912.[1]

However, the early locomotives in Nyasaland are well documented and no reference exists to locomotives obtained from the CGR. The first railway in Nyasaland was the Shire Highlands Railway (SHR), on which construction started in 1904 and which was opened in 1908. The second railway was the Central African Railway (CAR), on which Pauling & Co. started construction in 1913. Nyasaland Railways was only formed in 1930 to amalgamate the SHR and CAR.[5]

See also

References

 
 

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 1: 1859-1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
  2. ↑ Dulez, Jean A. (2012). Railways of Southern Africa 150 Years (Commemorating One Hundred and Fifty Years of Railways on the Sub-Continent - Complete Motive Power Classifications and Famous Trains - 1860-2011) (1st ed.). Garden View, Johannesburg, South Africa: Vidrail Productions. p. 36. ISBN 9 780620 512282.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 C.G.R. Numbering Revised, Article by Dave Littley, SA Rail May–June 1993, pp. 94-95.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The South African Railways - Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 13.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Intermediate CGR numbering system c. 1883-1888
  6. ↑ Updated information on the 1st Class Kitsons
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 True identity of CSAR no. 303 Bloemfontein
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912, p. 26. (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)
  9. ↑ Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 16. ISBN 0869772112.