South African Class J 4-6-4T

South African Class J 4-6-4T

Class J no. 345, circa 1950
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Designer South African Railways
Builder Nasmyth, Wilson and Company
Serial number 1060-1065 [1]
Model Class J
Build date 1915
Total produced 6
Specifications
Configuration 4-6-4T "Baltic"
Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Leading wheel
diameter		 25.75 in (654 mm)
Driver diameter 42.75 in (1,090 mm)
Trailing wheel
diameter		 25.75 in (654 mm)
Wheelbase 27 ft 5 in (8.357 m) total
5 ft 4 in (1.626 m) pilot
8 ft 6 in (2.591 m) coupled
5 ft 4 in (1.626 m) trailing
Length 34 ft 0.75 in (10.382 m)
Height 12 ft (3.658 m)
Axle load 11.2 long tons (11.4 t) on 2nd driver
Weight on drivers 32.7 long tons (33.2 t)
Locomotive weight 90,832 lb (41.2 t) empty
52.4 long tons (53.2 t) w/o
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity 3 long tons (3.0 t)
Water capacity 1,200 imp gal (5,500 l)
Boiler 3 ft 10.75 in (1.187 m) inside diameter
10 ft 4 in (3.150 m) inside length
6 ft 9 in (2.057 m) pitch
Boiler pressure 175 psi (1,210 kPa)
Firegrate area 15 sq ft (1.394 m2)
Heating surface:
– Tubes		 171 tubes 1.75 in (44.4 mm) diameter
821 sq ft (76.273 m2)
– Firebox 88 sq ft (8.175 m2)
– Total 909 sq ft (84.449 m2)
Cylinders Two
Cylinder size 15 in (381 mm) bore
22 in (559 mm) stroke
Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures
Tractive effort 15,200 lbf (68 kN) at 75% pressure
Career
Operator(s) South African Railways
Class Class J [1][2]
Number in class 6
Number(s) 341-346
Delivered 1915
First run 1915
Withdrawn 1957

The South African Class J 4-6-4T of 1915 is a South African steam locomotive from the South African Railways era.

In 1915 the South African Railways placed six Class J tank steam locomotives with a 4-6-4 Baltic type wheel arrangement in service.[1][2]

Manufacturer

The Class J 4-6-4 Baltic type tank steam locomotive was designed by D.A. Hendrie, the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the South African Railways (SAR) from 1910 to 1922, to cope with the increasing traffic on the Natal South Coast. These locomotives had Walschaerts valve gear and Belpaire fireboxes and used saturated steam. Six of them were built by Nasmyth, Wilson and Company of Patricroft in Salford, England, and delivered in 1915, numbered in the range from 341 to 346.[1][3]

Service

As intended, the locomotives were placed in service working the Natal South Coast, but it was soon found that, due to their small proportions, they were unable to handle the rapidly increasing loads. They were therefore taken off the South Coast run and employed as shunters in the Durban harbour.[1]

Four of them were later allocated to Mossel Bay and the Cape Midland for similar duties, and remained there until they were withdrawn from service by 1957. The remaining two, numbers 341 and 342, were sold to gold mines on the Reef.[1][3][4]

By the early 1970s number 341 was still at work on the East Daggafontein Mine as their number 2. It was later acquired by the South African National Railway And Steam Museum (SANRASM) for preservation. It had to be scrapped in 2011, however, after being vandalised by scavenging scrap metal thieves at the SANRASM storage site in Chamdor.[4][5]

Illustrated

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Holland, D.F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 South African Railways and Harbours Locomotive Diagram Book, 2’0” & 3’6” Gauge Steam Locomotives, 15 August 1941, as amended
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 33. ISBN 0869772112.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Middleton, John N. (2002). Railways of Southern Africa Locomotive Guide - 2002 (as amended by Combined Amendment List 4, January 2009) (2nd, Dec 2002 ed.). Herts, England: Beyer-Garratt Publications. p. 16.
  5. ↑ SA Rail (Official Journal of the Railway Society of Southern Africa.