South African Class 19E
South African Class 19E | |
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No. 19-009, 19-054 and 19-067 at the Richards Bay Locomotive Depot, 8 December 2013 | |
Type and origin | |
Power type | Electric |
Designer | Mitsui |
Builder | Union Carriage & Wagon |
Model | Mitsui 19E |
Build date | 2007-2011 |
Total produced | 110 |
Specifications | |
UIC classification | Bo-Bo |
Gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge |
Bogies | 12,785 kg (12.6 long tons) mass |
Wheel diameter | 1,250 mm (49.2 in) |
Length | 18.3 m (60 ft 0.5 in) |
Axle load | 26,000 kg (25.6 long tons) |
Locomotive weight | 104,000 kg (102.4 long tons) permissible |
Current collection method | Pantographs |
Performance figures | |
Maximum speed |
120 km/h (75 mph) operating 132 km/h (82 mph) by design |
Power output | 3,000 kW (4,000 hp) continuous |
Tractive effort |
392 kN (88,000 lbf) starting 300 kN (67,000 lbf) continuous |
Locomotive brake | Air, Regenerative and Rheostatic |
Train brakes | Air |
Career | |
Operator(s) | Transnet Freight Rail |
Class | 19E |
Power class | Dual 3 kV DC & 25 kV AC/50Hz |
Number in class | 110 |
Number(s) | 19-001 to 19-110 |
Delivered | 2009 |
First run | 2009 |
The South African Class 19E of 2009 is a South African electric locomotive from the Transnet Freight Rail era.
In 2009 Transnet Freight Rail placed the first of 110 Class 19E single cab dual voltage 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC electric locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement in service on the Coalink line from Ermelo to Richards Bay.[1][2]
Manufacturer
The dual voltage 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC Class 19E is the product of a joint venture by Mitsui for the design, Toshiba for the electrical equipment, Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) for the bodies and the RSD division of DCD-Dorbyl for the bogies. It was locally manufactured by UCW in Nigel, Gauteng. Road testing on the Class 19E started in August 2008.[2][3][4][5]
Characteristics
The Class 19E was the first South African AC locomotive to incorporate regenerative as well as rheostatic electric braking. While, with the notable exception of the Class 18E, regenerative braking was used on all South African 3 kV DC mainline locomotives dating back all the way to the introduction of the Class 1E in 1925, all earlier 25 kV and 50 kV AC South African locomotives made use of rheostatic braking only.[6]
The locomotive features Toshiba-made 3-phase AC motors, powered through Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) control. It is a dual voltage locomotive, designed to operate on either 3 kV DC or 25 kV AC and, to facilitate automatic trouble-free transition on the run, it is equipped with onboard voltage detectors. Like the earlier Classes 7E1, 7E4, 9E, 11E, 15E and 18E electric locomotives, these engines have driving cabs at one end only since they would only be utilised in multi-unit consists.[7]
As on the dual voltage Classes 20E and 21E, the main electric circuit is automatically selected in either AC or DC mode, based on the voltage of the overhead contact wire feeding the locomotive. To facilitate automatic trouble-free transition on the run, the locomotive is equipped with onboard voltage detectors, while the overhead wire is equipped with two wooden isolators and a 3 metres (10 feet) length of neutral wire to separate the AC and DC feeds. The neutral section is connected to the rails, which serve as the return conductor on electrified lines.[8]
The transition process requires that the locomotive be switched off automatically before it reaches the isolators and the unpowered overhead wire section, and automatically restarted after exiting from under the unpowered wire. This is done by a pair of track magnets, one on either side of the neutral overhead wire and spaced 45 metres (148 feet) apart. The two magnets are mounted with their polarities reversed in relation to each other and they activate a magnetic relay, located underneath the locomotive, to do the switching off and restarting.[8]
By July 2009 Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) had taken delivery of the first three Class 19E locomotives, and UCW intended to deliver between six and eight new units per quarter.[9]
Service
The Class 19E locomotives were placed in service on the 580 kilometres (360 miles) long Coalink line from Ermelo to Richards Bay, to haul export coal from forty-four coal mines in Mpumalanga to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), the export coal harbour in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. In the process it relieved some Classes 7E, 7E1 and 7E3 electric locomotives on the Coalink Line for use elsewhere.
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No. 19-011 at Ermelo, Mpumalanga, 18 September 2010
See also
- Electric locomotive numbering and classification
- List of South African locomotive classes
- South African locomotive history
References
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- ↑ Railways Africa, 29 Aug 2008: First 19E Loco
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 South African Railway News, 9 Apr 2009: TFR Class 19E Test Train / Information
- ↑ Railways Africa, 29 Aug 2008: First 19E Loco
- ↑ Toshiba Review Feature article (Japanese)
- ↑ Railways Africa, 1 Sep 2006: 220 Bogies on Order
- ↑ Toshiba Review, 2008, Vol 63 No 9
- ↑ Railways Africa, 2 Aug 2009: Visit to UCW
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Class 20E manual: Part 1: Locomotive Profile and Technical Data
- ↑ Railways Africa, 9 Jul 2009: Loco Delivery Delays