South African Class 32-200

The South African Class 32-200 of 1966 is a South African diesel-electric locomotive from the South African Railways era.

In June and July 1966 the South African Railways placed ten Class 32-200 General Electric type U20C1 diesel-electric locomotives in service in South West Africa, now Namibia.^[2]

Manufacturer

The Class 32-200 type GE U20C1 diesel-electric locomotive was designed and built to South African Railways (SAR) requirements by General Electric (GE) and imported. The ten locomotives, a more powerful low short hood version of the earlier Class 32-000, were numbered in the range from 32-201 to 32-210.^[2]

Class 32 series

1Co bogie

The Class 32 consists of two series, the high short hood Class 32-000 and the low short hood Class 32-200, both GE products.^[2]

Both locomotive series ran on the same 1Co bogies, three-axle Co bogies with additional single axle pony trucks, that was designed and produced by General Steel Castings. The fourth axle reduced the maximum axle loading sufficiently to enable these relatively heavy locomotives to operate on the very light rail that was used throughout South West Africa at the time.^[3]

The Class 32-200 was in reality a Class 33-000 locomotive on the bogies of the Class 32-000, which reduced its maximum axle load from the 15.749 tonnes (15.500 long tons; 17.360 short tons) of the Class 33-000 to 12.700 tonnes (12.499 long tons; 13.999 short tons). Apart from the bogies, which necessitated a smaller fuel tank, its physical dimensions and exterior appearance were identical to that of the Class 33-000 and it used the same V12 prime mover.

Service

While it was acquired specifically for service on light rail in South West Africa, the Class 32-200s also ended up being employed in South Africa at times. From 1972 to 1974, between the withdrawal of the Class GO 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt locomotives and the arrival of the Class 35 diesel-electrics on the line between Amabele and Umtata in Transkei, some of them performed temporary service on that line.^[4]

Of the original ten locomotives, most survived in service into the 21st century, some with TransNamib, the Namibian railway, or sold to Sudan Railways or into industrial use to Gold Fields, PPC Lime in Saldanha and Sheltam.^[1]

Works numbers

The Class 32-200 builder’s works numbers and disposition are set out in the table.

Liveries illustrated

The main picture and the following photograph offer views of both sides of the Class 32-200 locomotive as well as two of the liveries that they served in.

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  TransNamib’s no. 205 at Windhoek station, Namibia, 26 June 2010

See also

• Diesel-electric locomotive numbering and classification
• List of South African locomotive classes
• South African Class 32-000
• South African locomotive history

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South African Class 32-200

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