South African Class 6A 4-6-0

The South African Class 6A 4-6-0 of 1896 is a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape Colony.

In 1896 and 1897 the Cape Government Railways placed a second batch of fifty 6th Class 4-6-0 steam locomotives in service, forty-one on its Western System, six on its Midland System and three on its Eastern System. During the Second Boer War four of them were transferred to the Imperial Military Railways on loan, and in 1907 one was sold to the Benguela Railway in Angola. In 1912, when the remaining forty-nine locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 6A.^[1][3][5]

Manufacturers

The 6th Class 4-6-0 passenger steam locomotive was designed at the Salt River works of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) at the same time as the 7th Class, both according to the specifications of Michael Stephens, at the time the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the CGR, and under the supervision of H.M. Beatty, at the time the Locomotive Superintendent of the Cape Western System. Whereas the Class 7 was conceived primarily as a goods locomotive, the 6th Class was intended to be its fast passenger service counterpart.^[1]

The fifty locomotives in this second group were built between 1895 and 1897 by Dübs and Company and Sharp, Stewart and Company and were delivered in 1896 and 1897, numbered in the ranges from 161 to 201 for the CGR’s Western System, 371 to 376 for the Midland System and 660 to 662 for the Eastern System.^[1]

These locomotives differed from the previous order in having slightly larger boilers with an increased heating surface and Type YC tenders with a larger coal and water capacity.^[1]

Class 6 sub-classes

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.^[3][6]

In 1912 all but one of these fifty locomotives were assimilated into the SAR, reclassified to Class 6A and renumbered in the range from 441 to 489.^[2][3][4]

The rest of the CGR’s 6th Class locomotives, together with the Class 6-L1 to 6-L3 locomotives inherited by the CSAR from the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen (OVGS) via the Imperial Military Railways (IMR), were grouped into thirteen more sub-classes by the SAR. The 4-6-0 locomotives became SAR Classes 6, 6B to 6H and 6J to 6L, the 2-6-2 locomotives became Class 6Y and the 2-6-4 locomotives became Class 6Z.^[2][3][4]

Modifications

Several of the CSAR’s Class 6-L1 to 6-L3 locomotives were modified by P.A Hyde, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the CSAR, by having their round top fireboxes replaced with larger boilers and Belpaire fireboxes and by having larger, more sheltered cabs installed. This conversion improved their performance tremendously and resulted in several of the Class 6, 6A and 6B locomotives being similarly modified by the SAR in later years, but without altering their classifications.^[5]

During the 1930s many of them were modified once again, when the CME of the SAR at the time, A.G. Watson, displayed his aversion to Belpaire fireboxes and reboilered them with round-topped fireboxes again, but retaining the larger cabs. Once again, they retained their classifications.^[2][5]

Service

South Africa

The Class 6 series of locomotives were introduced primarily as passenger locomotives, but when the class became displaced by larger and more powerful locomotive classes, it literally became a "Jack-of-all-trades" that proved itself as one of the most useful and successful locomotive classes ever to be designed at the Salt River shops. It went on to see service in all parts of the country except Natal and was used on all types of traffic.^[1]

IMR, Angola and Sudan

One of these locomotives was sold to the Benguela Railway in Angola, while another four saw service with the IMR during the Second Boer War.^[1][5]

During World War II sixteen of the Classes 6 to 6D were transferred to the Middle East to assist with the war effort during the North African Campaign. The four Class 6A locomotives in this group were numbers 465, 472, 475 and 479. They were sold to the Sudan Railways Corporation in 1942 and were renumbered in the range from M707 to M710, in the same order as their former SAR engine numbers.^[1][5][7]

Renumberings

During their long service lives some of the Class 6A locomotives underwent multiple renumberings. All were initially numbered into the CGR’s Western, Midland and Eastern Systems rosters. The Midland System’s locomotives, numbered in the range from 371 to 376, were later renumbered in the range from 571 to 576. These then unused engine numbers in the range from 371 to 376 were later re-allocated to Class 8D locomotives that were delivered in 1902.^[1]

The four locomotives that were loaned to the IMR were renumbered C501, C503, C509 and C510 for the duration of their military service, while the one that was sold to Angola became Benguela Railway’s number 21.^[1]

The remaining forty-nine locomotives were eventually renumbered into the SAR's roster in 1912 and received SAR numbers in the range from 441 to 489. The table reflects all these renumberings as well as their builders and works numbers.^[1][3][4]

Modifications illustrated

The main picture shows Sharp Stewart-built ex Cape Western Class 6 no. 182, later IMR no. C509, then SAR Class 6A no. 462, with a Belpaire firebox, at De Aar on 15 April 1978.

Round-top fireboxes

• 

  Dübs-built ex Cape Western 6th Class no. 187, SAR Class 6A no. 466, with a round-topped firebox and Type YC three-axle tender

• 

  Dübs-built ex Cape Western 6th Class no. 180, SAR Class 6A no. 460, with a round-topped firebox and Type YC bogie tender

Belpaire fireboxes

• 

  Dübs-built ex Cape Western 6th Class no. 181, SAR Class 6A no. 461, with a Belpaire firebox and three-axle tender

• 

  Sharp, Stewart-built ex Cape Midland 6th Class no. 372, SAR Class 6A no. 482, Koedoespoort, 30 Sept. 2009

See also

• South African Class 6 4-6-0
• South African Class 6B 4-6-0
• South African Class 6C 4-6-0
• South African Class 6D 4-6-0
• South African Class 6E 4-6-0
• South African Class 6F 4-6-0
• South African Class 6G 4-6-0
• South African Class 6H 4-6-0
• South African Class 6J 4-6-0
• South African Class 6K 4-6-0
• South African Class 6L 4-6-0
• South African Class 6Y 2-6-2
• South African Class 6Z 2-6-4
• The 4-6-0 "Tenwheeler"
• Tender locomotive numbering and classification
• South African locomotive history
• List of South African locomotive classes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South African Class 6A (4-6-0)

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