CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Kitson

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

1st Class Kitson 2-6-0 no. 123 (ex no. M23), still as a tender locomotive
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Designer Kitson and Company
Builder Kitson and Company
Serial number 2079–2086
Build date 1876–1877
Total produced 8
Rebuilder Cape Government Railways
Number rebuilt 8
Specifications
Configuration Rebuilt to 2-6-0ST "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 6 in (2.286 m) coupled
11 ft 3 1⁄2 in (3.442 m) engine
Length 22 ft 9 1⁄2 in (6.947 m) without tender
Height 11 ft 4 1⁄2 in (3.467 m)
Axle load 7 8⁄20 long tons (7.5 t) on middle driver
Weight on drivers 20 7⁄20 long tons (20.7 t)
Locomotive weight 25 13⁄20 long tons (26.1 t) without tender
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity 2 1⁄2 long tons (2.5 t) as tender
1⁄2 long ton (0.5 t) as saddle-tank
Water capacity 520 imp gal (2,400 l; 620 US gal) as saddle-tank
Tender capacity 1,700 imp gal (7,700 l; 2,000 US gal)
Boiler 5 ft 8 in (1.727 m) pitch
Boiler pressure 140 psi (970 kPa)
Firegrate area 10 sq ft (0.929 m2)
Heating surface:
– Tubes		 483 sq ft (44.872 m2)
– Firebox 49 sq ft (4.6 m2)
– Total 532 sq ft (49.4 m2)
Cylinders Two
Cylinder size 12 in (305 mm) bore
20 in (508 mm) stroke
Valve gear Stephenson
Performance figures
Tractive effort 7,754 lbf (34 kN) at 75% pressure
Career
Operator(s) Cape Government Railways
South African Railways
Class CGR 1st Class, SAR Class 01
Number in class 8
Number(s) M17-M24
Delivered 1876–1877
First run 1876 [1][2][3]

The CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 Kitson 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 eight 2-6-0 Mogul type tender locomotives in service on the Cape Midland system, built by Kitson. They were all eventually rebuilt to saddle-tank locomotives for use as shunting engines. Later, when a classification system was introduced, they were designated 1st Class.[1][3]

Manufacturer

Eight 2-6-0 Mogul type tender locomotives were delivered to the Cape Government Railways (CGR) from Kitson and Company in 1876 and 1877, numbered in the range from M17 to M24.[1][3][4]

The locomotives were equipped with six-wheeled tenders. The engines were very similar to the pair of 2-6-0T back-to-back locomotives that were delivered to the Midland System from the same manufacturer earlier in the same year, but the two types differed in respect of their boiler pitch which was 5 inches (127 millimetres) higher on the tender locomotives, and their wheelbase and coupled wheel spacing, with the second and third coupled wheels 3 inches (76.2 millimetres) further apart on the back-to-back tank locomotives.[1][3][4]

Chacteristics

The locomotives were very similar in appearance to the Beyer, Peacock 2-6-0 locomotives that were delivered to the Western System in that same year, but on the Kitson engines the steam dome was located further forward on the boiler, about midway between cab and chimney.[1]

Rebuilding

The eight locomotives were eventually all rebuilt by relieving them of their tenders and equipping them with saddle-tanks for use in shunting service, probably as they were gradually getting withdrawn from mainline work. The main picture, showing no. 123 still as a tender locomotive, can be dated to somewhere between c. 1886, when it was renumbered from M23 to 123, and c. 1890 when it was renumbered to 223.[1][2][3][4]

Service

Cape Government Railways

By year-end 1896 five of the locomotives were no longer reflected in the CGR registers. The remaining three all ended up being employed as shunters in Port Elizabeth, where they spent the rest of their service lives. When a classification system was introduced on the CGR, they were designated 1st Class.[1][2][3][5]

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 Central South African Railways (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.[5][6]

By 1912 the three remaining shunting engines in Port Elizabeth still survived to be taken onto the SAR roster. Since they were considered obsolete by the SAR, the locomotives were designated Class 01 and renumbered by having the numeral 0 prefixed to their existing numbers. Even though they were considered obsolete, two of them were only scrapped in the 1930s.[2][3][5][7]

Renumbering

All these locomotives were renumbered more than once during the CGR era. By 1886 the Midland System's M prefix was replaced by the numeral 1 and they were renumbered at least twice more, by 1890 and by 1896. The works numbers, year in service, original numbers and known renumberings of the Cape 1st Class Kitson Moguls of 1876 are shown in the table.[1][3][5][8]

Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen

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][9]

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

During the South African War engine no. 3 came onto the roster of the Imperial Military Railways (IMR) as no. 303. The IMR was transformed into the CSAR when the war ended and the locomotive retained the number 303.[9]

Until photographic evidence came to light that showed differently, it had been believed that this locomotive was the Midland System's Kitson-built no. M22. However, judging from the position of the steam dome on engine no. 303, depicted here after a turntable mishap, it was rebuilt from one of the 1st Class 2-6-0 tender locomotives that had been built by Beyer, Peacock and Company and Avonside Engine Company in 1876 and 1877, on which the steam dome was located further back closer to the cab.[8]

The original locomotive was most likely the Western System's no. W22, built by Avonside, which was also no longer reflected in the CGR registers by year-end in 1896. It is possible that a transcription error during research may have led to the number W22 being recorded as number M22.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 1: 1859-1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 28, 106. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Holland, D.F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 118–121. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 C.G.R. Numbering Revised, Article by Dave Littley, SA Rail May–June 1993, pp. 94–95.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Back-to-back – The known facts
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912. (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)
  6. ↑ The South African Railways – Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 25.
  7. ↑ Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 16. ISBN 0869772112.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 True identity of CSAR no. 303 Bloemfontein
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Updated information on the 1st Class Kitsons