South African Class 13 4-8-0TT

The South African Class 13 4-8-0TT of 1905 is a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Transvaal.

In 1902, towards the end of the Second Boer War, the Imperial Military Railways placed thirty-five 4-10-2 tank locomotives in service, built to the specifications of the Reid Tenwheeler of the Natal Government Railways. At the end of the war, these locomotives were transferred to the Central South African Railways as Class E. Most of them were then converted to 4-8-0 tank-and-tender locomotives. In 1912, when these converted locomotives came onto the South African Railways roster, they were designated Class 13.^[3][4][5]

Origin

The requirement for a tank locomotive that could haul at least one and a half times as much as a Dübs A 4-8-2T locomotive on the Natal Government Railways (NGR) mainline resulted in the design of a 4-10-2T tank locomotive by G.W. Reid, Locomotive Superintendent of the NGR at the end of the 19th century. On the NGR the locomotive type became known as the Reid Tenwheeler.^[5]

Manufacturers

In 1902, during the Second Boer War, the Imperial Military Railways (IMR) placed orders for thirty-five locomotives of the NGR’s Reid Tenwheeler type. In order to ensure rapid delivery, the order was split between Dübs and Company, who delivered the locomotives in the number range from 220 to 234, and Neilson, Reid and Company, who delivered the locomotives in the number range from 235 to 254, all in 1902.^[1]

Unlike the NGR version, the IMR locomotives were more ornate. In true military tradition, the domes, chimney caps and boiler bands were of polished brass. A weatherboard was affixed to the coal bunker to offer better protection to the crew when travelling backwards. The practice of polished brasswork was followed on all new IMR locomotives and was continued even after the railway became the Central South African Railways (CSAR) when the war ended.^[1]

Rebuilding

At the end of the war these locomotives became the CSAR’s Class E. The CSAR found them to have an inadequate coal and water supply for trips of any length, and beginning in 1905 all but six of them were converted to 4-8-0 tank-and-tender locomotives by removing the trailing bissel bogie, the fifth pair of driving wheels and the coal bunker, shortening the main frame and adding tenders reclaimed from various scrapped locomotives.^[1][6]

South African Railways

The Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, in terms of the South Africa Act, enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. One of the clauses in the Act required that the three Colonial Government railways, the Cape Government Railways, the NGR 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][7]

In 1912 these locomotives were reclassified to Class 13 and renumbered in the range from 1310 to 1338.^[1][4]

The six remaining locomotives had been converted to 4-8-2T locomotives by the CSAR, by removing the fifth pair of driving wheels and blanking off the resulting opening in the frame, similar to the modification that was done by the NGR on its own Reid Tenwheelers to make them better suitable for yard work. In SAR service the five surviving locomotives of this type became the Class H1.^[5]

Their builders, works numbers and renumbering are set out in the table.^[4]

Service

South African Railways

The Class 13 was used almost exclusively in the Witwatersrand area for a variety of minor tasks. They were popular with their drivers and were nicknamed "Wallopers". The last of the Class was withdrawn in 1961.^[5]

Industrial

After withdrawal, several were sold to South African mines, where some were modified once again. They remained in service on the mines well into the 1980s.^[5]

Modifications illustrated

One of these locomotives, SAR no. 1313, deserves special mention, having served in four different configurations. It started out on the IMR as a 4-10-2T and was then converted by the CSAR, first to a 4-8-2T and then to a 4-8-0TT, before being inherited by the SAR. Finally, in mine service, it was converted to a regular 4-8-0 tender locomotive when its side tanks were removed.^[1]

The main picture shows a Class 13 in tank-and-tender configuration, circa 1912. The following pictures show Class 13 no. 1337 with its side tanks removed to convert it to a regular 4-8-0 configuration while in mine service.

• 

  Class 13 in service at Albion Colliery as no. 1, 6 November 1974

• 

  Class 13 no. 1337 at SANRASM, 10 September 2010

See also

• List of South African locomotive classes
• South African Class H 4-10-2T
• South African Class H1 4-8-2T
• South African locomotive history
• Tender locomotive numbering and classification
• The 4-8-0 "Mastodon"
• The 4-10-2 "Reid Tenwheeler"

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South African Class 13 (4-8-0TT)

Locomotives of South Africa Steam Brunel gauge HBEL 0-4-0 HBTB 0-4-0T HBTB 0-4-0WT HBTB 0-4-0ST Broad gauge CGR Aid CGR Blackie CGR 0-4-2 CGR 2-4-0T NRC Durban NRC Natal NRC Perseverance Cape gauge Tank CGR Coffee Pot CGR 040 1873 CGR 040 1874 CGR 060 1876 CGR 060 1902 CGR 260 1900 CGR 260 1902 CGR 1st 040 1875 CGR 1st 440 1875 CGR 1st 040 1876 CGR 1st 260 1876 CGR 2nd 1882 CGR 3rd 1900 CGR RM CSAR C CSAR E CSAR Rack CSAR RM Dbn Congella Dbn Edward Innes Dbn John Milne Dbn Sir Albert HBPE 040 Kowie 060 Kowie 440 M&S 462 NGR Dbn & Pmb NGR I 262 NGR K 040 NGR K 060 NGR K 260 NZASM 10T NZASM 14T NZASM 18T NZASM 19T NZASM 32T NZASM 40T PPR 26T PPR 35T SAR RM SAR 0-4-0ST SAR 040 69 SAR A SAR B SAR C SAR C1 SAR C2 SAR D SAR E SAR F SAR G SAR H SAR H1 SAR H2 SAR J SAR K SWA 2-8-0T Cape gauge Tender CGR 1st 260 1876 BP CGR 1st 260 1876 K CGR 1st 260 1879 CGR 1st 440 1879 CGR 1st 1881 CGR 1st 1891 CGR 2nd 1875 CGR 3rd 1883 CGR 3rd 1884 CGR 3rd 1889 CGR 3rd 1898 CGR 3rd 1901 CGR 3rd 1903 CGR 4th 1880 CGR 4th 1882 CGR 4th 1884 CGR 4th 1897 CGR 5th 1890 CGR 5th 1891 NGR Havelock NGR I 260 Exp-1 Exp-2 Exp-3 Exp-4 Exp-5 Exp-6 SAR S SAR S1 SAR S2 SAR 1 SAR 1A SAR 1B SAR 2 SAR 2C SAR 3 SAR 3A SAR 3B SAR 4 SAR 4A SAR 5 SAR 5A SAR 5B SAR 6 SAR 6A SAR 6B SAR 6C SAR 6D SAR 6E SAR 6F SAR 6G SAR 6H SAR 6J SAR 6K SAR 6L SAR 6Y SAR 6Z SAR 7 SAR 7A SAR 7B SAR 7C SAR 7D SAR 7E SAR 7F SAR 8 SAR 8A SAR 8B SAR 8C SAR 8D SAR 8E SAR 8F SAR 8X SAR 8Y SAR 8Z SAR 9 SAR 10 SAR 10A SAR 10B SAR 10C SAR 10D SAR 11 SAR 12 SAR 12A SAR 12B SAR 13 SAR 14 SAR 14A SAR 14B SAR 14C SAR 15 SAR 15A SAR 15B SAR 15C SAR 15CA SAR 15E SAR 15F SAR 16 SAR 16A SAR 16B SAR 16C SAR 16D SAR 16DA SAR 16E SAR 17 SAR 18 SAR 19 SAR 19A SAR 19B SAR 19C SAR 19D SAR 20 SAR 21 SAR 23 SAR 24 SAR 25 SAR 25NC SAR 26 SWA 2-8-0 Cape gauge Articulated CGR Fairlie CGR Kitson-Meyer SAR FC SAR FD SAR GA SAR GB SAR GC SAR GCA SAR GD SAR GDA SAR GE SAR GEA SAR GF SAR GG SAR GH SAR GK SAR GL SAR GM SAR GMA SAR GO SAR HF SAR KM SAR MA SAR MB SAR MC SAR MC1 SAR MD SAR ME SAR MF SAR MG SAR MH SAR MJ SAR MJ1 SAR U 2ft 6in gauge CCC 1871 CCC Britannia CCC Caledonia CCC Clara CCC Condenser CCC Scotia NCC Pioneer 2ft & 600mm gauges ACR NG-G16A CGR NG 060 CGR NG 462 CGR A CGR C NGR N SAR 040 1899 SAR NG1 SAR NG2 SAR NG3 SAR NG4 SAR NG5 SAR NG6 SAR NG7 SAR NG8 SAR NG9 SAR NG10 SAR NG-G11 SAR NG-G12 SAR NG-G13 SAR NG-G14 SAR NG15 SAR NG-G16 SWA Ha SWA Hb SWA Hc SWA Hd SWA Jung SWA Zwillinge Diesel -electric SAR DS SAR DS1 SAR 31-000 SAR 32-000 SAR 32-200 SAR 33-000 SAR 33-200 SAR 33-400 SAR 34-000 SAR 34-200 SAR 34-400 SAR 34-500 SAR 34-600 SAR 34-800 SAR 34-900 SAR 35-000 SAR 35-200 SAR 35-400 SAR 35-600 SAR 36-000 SAR 36-200 SAR 37-000 SN 39-000 TFR 39-200 TFR 43-000 SAR 91-000 Afro4000 -hydraulic SAR 61-000 Electro-diesel SN 38-000 Electric SAR ES SAR ES1 Exp-AC SAR 1E SAR 2E SAR 3E SAR 4E SAR 5E-S1 SAR 5E-S2 SAR 5E-S3 SAR 5E1-S1 SAR 5E1-S2 SAR 5E1-S3 SAR 5E1-S4 SAR 5E1-S5 SAR 6E SAR 6E1-S1 SAR 6E1-S2 SAR 6E1-S3 SAR 6E1-S4 SAR 6E1-S5 SAR 6E1-S6 SAR 6E1-S7 SAR 6E1-S8 SAR 6E1-S9 SAR 6E1-S10 SAR 6E1-S11 SAR 7E SAR 7E1 SAR 7E2-S1 SAR 7E2-S2 SAR 7E3-S1 SAR 7E3-S2 SN 7E4 SAR 8E SAR 9E-S1 SAR 9E-S2 SAR 10E SAR 10E1-S1 SAR 10E1-S2 SAR 10E2 SAR 11E SAR 12E SN 14E SN 14E1 TFR 15E SN 16E SN 17E SN 18E-S1 TFR 18E-S2 TFR 19E TFR 20E TFR 21E E38 List of South African locomotive classes Rail transport in South Africa