South African Class 4E

South African Class 4E
No. E238 at the Salt River Depot, Cape Town, 7 January 1966
Type and origin
Power type	Electric
Designer	General Electric Company
Builder	North British Locomotive Company
Serial number	26859-26898 [1]
Model	GEC 4E
Build date	1952-1953
Total produced	40
Specifications
UIC classification	1Co+Co1 interlinked bogies
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Bogies	6.833 m (22 ft 5 in) wheelbase
Leading wheel diameter	792 mm (31.2 in)
Wheel diameter	1,295 mm (51 in)
Wheelbase	18.390 m (60 ft 4 in)
Length	21.844 m (71 ft 8 in)
Height	3.924 m (12 ft 10.5 in) pantographs down
Axle load	13,209 kg (13 long tons) per pony axle 21,845 kg (21.5 long tons) per traction axle
Locomotive weight	157,488 kg (155 long tons)
Current collection method	Pantographs
Traction motors	Six GEC WT580
Transmission	21/75 Gear ratio
Performance figures
Maximum speed	97 km/h (60 mph)
Power output	Per motor: 377 kW (506 hp) 1 hour 313 kW (420 hp) continuous Total: 2,262 kW (3,033 hp) 1 hour 1,878 kW (2,518 hp) continuous
Tractive effort	322 kN (72,000 lbf) starting 185 kN (42,000 lbf) 1 hour 141 kN (32,000 lbf) continuous
Locomotive brake	Regenerative
Train brakes	Air & Vacuum
Career
Operator(s)	South African Railways
Class	Class 4E
Power class	3 kV DC
Number in class	40
Number(s)	E219-E258 [2]
Nicknames	Groen Mamba (Green Mamba) Groot Mamba (Large Mamba)
Delivered	1952-1954
First run	1952

The South African Class 4E of 1952 is a South African electric locomotive from the South African Railways era.

Between 1952 and 1954 the South African Railways placed forty Class 4E electric locomotives with a 1Co+Co1 wheel arrangement in service on the mainline from Cape Town across the Hex River rail pass to Touws River in the Karoo.^[3]

Manufacturer

The 3 kV DC Class 4E electric locomotive was designed for the South African Railways (SAR) by the General Electric Company (GEC) and was built by the North British Locomotive Company (NBL) between 1952 and 1953. They were delivered between 1952 and 1954 and were numbered in the range from E219 to E258. The Class 4E was amongst the most powerful electric locomotives in the world at that time.^[2][3]

Orientation

These dual cab locomotives have two large grilles on one side and a passage linking the cabs on the opposite side. When observing the locomotive from the side with the grilles, the number 1 end would be on the right. Like the Classes 1E, 2E and 3E, the Class 4E has bogie mounted draft gear and an articulated inter-bogie linkage, therefore no train forces are transmitted to the locomotive body.^[2]

The Class 4E has a 1Co+Co1 wheel arrangement, with an additional bissel truck (pony truck) at the outer end of each of the two three-axle powered bogies. The Classes 32-000 and 32-200 diesel-electric locomotive types also used this wheel arrangement, but the Class 4E was unique amongst South African electric locomotives in this respect.^[3]

Service

The Class 4E was specifically built for use on the mainline from Cape Town across the Hex River rail pass to Touws River, from where Class 23 and later Class 25 and Class 25NC steam locomotives took over across the stretch of unelectrified mainline to De Aar and from there to either Kimberley or Bloemfontein.^[3]

The first locomotives to be delivered were placed in service on the Natal mainline while electrification from Worcester to Touws River was being completed, but they eventually had to be withdrawn from Natal because the severe curvature of the Natal mainline caused their frames to crack.^[4]

Number E219 was the first Class 4E locomotive to be relocated to Cape Town, where it initially ran on the 1.5 kV DC power that was at that stage still being used for the Cape Town suburban trains, until the upgrading of the lines to 3 kV DC was completed in November 1954. This restricted its load capacity and mobility.^[4]

One Class 4E locomotive even briefly served on the Western Transvaal system while being relocated from Natal to the Cape in 1957, when that system was granted permission to use number E247 for between four and six weeks before the locomotive was forwarded on to Cape Town.^[5]

Hex River tunnel scheme

The Class 4E purchase was part of a scheme to eliminate the 1 in 40 (2½%) gradients and severe curves of the Hex River rail pass, that would entail the construction of a series of four tunnels through the Hex River Mountains. The tunnel system would have enabled a single Class 4E locomotive to haul 1,000 ton trains up the resulting 1 in 66 (1½%) gradients.^[3]

The Hex River Tunnels scheme (Hexton) was initially started in 1945, but was deferred indefinitely in 1950 as a result of financial constraints. The tunnel scheme was briefly resuscitated in 1965 but was deferred once again in 1966. Work was eventually resumed in 1974 and included the remodelling of the lower section of the deviation between De Doorns and Osplaas stations as well as the construction of the short twin tunnels. This was completed in 1976, at which point financial constraints resulted in yet another postponement. Authority to proceed was only given once again in late 1979.^[6][7]

When the project was resumed, the eastern portal of the longest tunnel was relocated a short distance to the southeast of the original site, while the location of the western portal remained as originally planned during the first attempt. The tunnel system was opened on 27 November 1989, by which time the Class 4Es were already retired after having spent their entire careers double heading trains up the Hex River rail pass.^[3]

Liveries

The Class 4E was delivered in an all over bottle green livery with red buffers. The colour and the almost 22 metres (72 feet) length of the Class 4E quickly earned it the nickname Groen Mamba (Green Mamba). This changed to Groot Mamba (Large Mamba) when the much shorter Class 5E was introduced in 1955 and nicknamed Klein Mamba (Little Mamba).^[8]

Soon after they entered service, however, Hex River Valley farmers complained that the bottle green all over colour scheme made the locomotives difficult to see when they were approaching through the vineyards. Yellow lines were then added all around the locomotive to improve its visibility, with various line patterns being used before eventually settling on the V shaped whiskers on the ends that extended onto the sides, and multiple lines around the number plates on the sides. The attractive whiskers livery was eventually adopted for all the electric locomotives of the SAR.^[9]

Beginning in 1960, a Gulf Red and yellow whiskers livery gradually replaced the green and yellow.^[3]

Works numbers

The NBL works numbers of the Class 4E are shown in the table.^[8]

Class 4E

Loco no.	Works no.
E219	26859
E220	26860
E221	26861
E222	26862
E223	26863
E224	26864
E225	26865
E226	26866
E227	26867
E228	26868
E229	26869
E230	26870
E231	26871
E232	26872
E233	26873
E234	26874
E235	26875
E236	26876
E237	26877
E238	26878
E239	26879
E240	26880
E241	26881
E242	26882
E243	26883
E244	26884
E245	26885
E246	26886
E247	26887
E248	26888
E249	26889
E250	26890
E251	26891
E252	26892
E253	26893
E254	26894
E255	26895
E256	26896
E257	26897
E258	26898

Liveries illustrated

The main picture shows number E238 in the bottle green and whiskers livery at the Salt River Depot in Cape Town on 7 January 1966, while the following pictures serve to illustrate some of the other liveries used on the Class 4E during its service lifetime.

• 

  No. E258 in an earlier green and yellow line livery, at Vlottenburg station, 24 May 1993

• 

  No. E258 showing the length that earned it the Green Mamba nickname, 24 May 1993

• 

  No. E219 in Gulf Red and whiskers, Millsite Depot, 14 December 2010

See also

• Electric locomotive numbering and classification
• Hex River Tunnels
• South African locomotive history
• List of South African locomotive classes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South African Class 4E

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

General Electric Company plc Former subsidiaries and divisions GEC Computers GEC Medical GEC Research GEC Traction Hirst Research Centre Marconi Company Marconi Electronic Systems Marconi Instruments Marconi-Osram Valve Marconi Research Centre Osram Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Former joint ventures Alenia Marconi Systems GEC Alsthom GEC Plessey Telecommunications Matra Marconi Space Thomson Marconi Sonar Predecessors and acquisitions Associated Electrical Industries Birlec British Thomson-Houston (BTH) Edison Swan Hotpoint Metropolitan-Vickers Siemens Brothers & Co W.T. Henley A.B. Dick Company English Electric Dick, Kerr & Co. Elliott Brothers Marconi Company Ruston & Hornsby Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Vulcan Foundry Willans & Robinson Gilbarco Veeder-Root Radio & Allied Industries Ltd. Tracor W & T Avery Ltd. Yarrow Shipbuilders Successors BAE Systems Marconi Corporation plc Marconi plc Telent Limited Unify Products Computers GEC 2050 GEC 4000 series GEC Series 63 OS4000 Locomotives British Rail Class 91 GEC Stephenson locomotive South African Class 4E South African Class 9E, Series 1 South African Class 9E, Series 2 South African Class 10E1, Series 1 South African Class 10E1, Series 2 People Cyril Hilsum Baron Hirst George Simpson Martin Sixsmith Michael Sobell Arnold Weinstock Other GEC-Marconi scientist deaths conspiracy theory Category