South African Class H1 4-8-2T

The South African Class H1 4-8-2T of 1903 is a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Transvaal.

In 1902, towards the end of the South African War, the Imperial Military Railways placed thirty-five 4-10-2T 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 came onto the roster of the Central South African Railways and became its Class E. Six of these locomotives were then converted to 4-8-2T tank locomotives and in 1912, with the establishment of the South African Railways, the five survivors of these six were classified as Class H1.^[1][3][4][6]

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, the Locomotive Superintendent of the NGR at the end of the 19th century. On the NGR the locomotive type became known as the Reid Tenwheeler.^[1][6]

Manufacturers

In 1902, during the Second Freedom War, the Imperial Military Railways (IMR) of the invading British forces experienced a shortage of locomotives as a result of damage caused during hostilities and the demands placed on the Railways by the armed forces. It therefore placed urgent 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 (numbers 220 to 234) and Neilson, Reid and Company (numbers 235 to 254).^[1]

Service

Imperial Military Railways

Unlike the NGR versions, the IMR locomotives were more ornate. In true military tradition, the steam 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.^[1]

The practice of polished brasswork was followed on all new IMR locomotives and was continued even after the war when the IMR became the Central South African Railways (CSAR).^[1]

Central South African Railways

At the end of the war these locomotives became the Class E on the CSAR roster.^[1]

Rebuilt to 4-8-2 tank locomotives

Circa 1903 six locomotives (CSAR numbers 222, 233-235, 245 and 252) were converted to 4-8-2T locomotives by removing the fifth pair of coupled 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 more suitable for yard work.^[5][6]

Rebuilt to 4-8-0 tank-and-tender locomotives

The CSAR found the Reid Tenwheelers 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 tender locomotives by removing the trailing bissel bogie, the fifth pair of coupled wheels and the coal bunker, shortening the main frame and adding tenders reclaimed from various scrapped locomotives.^[1]

South African Railways

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 Cape Government Railways, the Natal Government Railways 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 SAR service the five survivors of these 4-8-2 tank locomotives became the Class H1, while the 4-8-0 tank-and-tender locomotives became the Class 13. The Class H1 was used extensively for shunting work in many parts of the country. It had a long service life and the last of the Class was only withdrawn from service in 1966.^[1][5][6]

Works numbers

The builders, works numbers, rebuilding and renumbering of all thirty-five locomotives are set out in the table.^[4][5][6]

See also

• CSAR Class E 4-10-2T
• List of South African locomotive classes
• South African Class H 4-10-2T
• South African Class H2 4-8-2T
• South African Class 13 4-8-0TT
• South African locomotive history
• The 4-8-2 "Mountain"

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: South African Class H1 (4-8-2T)

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