South African Class 6B 4-6-0

The South African Railways Class 6B 4-6-0 of 1897 is a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1897 and 1898, the Cape Government Railways placed a third batch of fifty-five 6th Class 4-6-0 steam locomotives in service, thirty-two on its Western System, twenty-one on its Midland System and two on its Eastern System. During the Second Boer War seven were transferred to the Imperial Military Railways on loan, and in 1907 four were sold to the Benguela Railway in Angola. In 1912, when the remaining fifty-one locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 6B. During the Second World War, two of them were sold to the Sudan Railways.^[1][2][3]

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, then Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the CGR, and under the supervision of H.M. Beatty, then Locomotive Superintendent of the Cape Western System.^[1]

H.M. Beatty

The fifty-five locomotives in the third group were built between 1897 and 1898 by Dübs and Company and Neilson and Company. While they were being built, in 1898, the firm of Neilson and Company changed its name to Neilson, Reid and Company. Five of these locomotives were built by Dübs and of the remaining fifty, thirty-seven were delivered as built by Neilson and the last thirteen as built by Neilson, Reid.^[1][4]

All five Dübs-built locomotives, numbered in the range from 577 to 581, and the thirteen Neilson, Reid-builts, numbered in the ranges from 587 to 593 and 595 to 600, went to the Midland System. Of the thirty-seven Neilson-builts, thirty-two went to the Western System, numbered in the range from 202 to 233, three to the Midland System, numbered in the range from 582 to 584, and two to the Eastern System, numbered 663 and 664. Their respective works numbers and CGR engine numbers are tabled below.^[1]

These locomotives were, to all intents and purposes, identical to the previous fifty which became the Class 6A, except that they had Type XE bogie tenders, instead of the six wheeled Type YC tenders which were used with the earlier 6th Class locomotives.^[1]

Class 6 sub-classes

When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR, Natal Government Railways and Central South African Railways) were united under a single administration to control and administer the railways, ports and harbours of the Union. Although the South African Railways and Harbours 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.^[2][5]

In 1912, all but four of these fifty-five locomotives were assimilated into the SAR, designated Class 6B and renumbered in the range from 490 to 540.^[2][6][7]

The rest of the CGR’s 6th Class locomotives, together with those Class 6-L1 to 6-L3 locomotives which were inherited by the Central South African Railways (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, 6A, 6C to 6H and 6J to 6L, the 2-6-2 locomotives became Class 6Y and the 2-6-4 locomotives became Class 6Z.^[2][6][7]

Modifications

Several of the CSAR’s Class 6-L1 to 6-L3 locomotives had been modified by P.A Hyde, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the CSAR, by having their round-top fireboxes replaced with larger 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.^[3]

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.^[3][7]

Service

Imperial Military Railways

Seven of these locomotives saw service with the IMR during the Second Boer War, on loan from the CGR and temporarily renumbered for the duration of the war.^[1]

South African Railways

The 6th Class 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 which 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 on all types of traffic.^[1]

Benguela Railway

In 1907, four of these locomotives were sold to the Benguela Railway (Caminho de Ferro de Benguela – CFB) in Angola. These, therefore, did not see SAR service. In the mid-1930s, in order to ease maintenance, modifications were made to the running boards and brake gear of the CFB locomotives. The former involved mounting the running boards higher, thereby getting rid of the coupled wheel fairings. This gave the locomotives a much more American rather than British appearance.^[8][9]

Sudan Railways

During the Second World War, 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 two Class 6B locomotives in this group were numbers 534 and 538. They were sold to the Sudan Railways Corporation in 1942 and renumbered M711 and M712, in the same order as their former SAR engine numbers.^[1][3][10]

Renumberings

During their long service lives, some of the Class 6A locomotives underwent multiple renumberings. All were initially numbered into the CGR’s three systems, in the number ranges from 202 to 233 on the Western System, 577 to 584, 587 to 593 and 595 to 600 on the Midland System, and 663 and 664 on the Eastern System. The seven locomotives which were loaned to the IMR, were renumbered C502, C504 to C508 and C512 for the duration of their military service, while the four sold to Angola became the Benguela Railway's numbers 22 to 25.^[1]

On the four Benguela locomotives, sources are inconclusive about the renumbering, in respect of which particular CGR locomotive became which particular CFB locomotive. The numbers as listed were arrived at by a process of elimination.^[8]

In 1912, the remaining fifty-one locomotives were renumbered in the number range from 490 to 540 on the SAR. The table reflects all these renumberings, as well as their builders and works numbers.^[1][2][4][6]

Illustration

The main picture shows Neilson-built ex CGR Western System 6th Class no. 206, later renumbered to SAR Class 6B no. 494 and reboilered with a Belpaire firebox, on the old Cape Town turntable. The locomotives in the following pictures all have round-top fireboxes.

• 

  Class 6B approaching Dallas from Wattles, Transvaal, circa 1934

• 

  Ex CGR 6th Class no. 218, CFB no. 22, at Benguela on 12 August 1972

• 

  CGR 6th Class no. 598, SAR Class 6B no. 537, Fort Klapperkop, 16 August 2009

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South African Class 6B (4-6-0).

Locomotives of the Cape of Good Hope 7' ¼" gauge East London 0-4-0 Table Bay 0-4-0ST Table Bay 0-4-0T Table Bay 0-4-0WT 4' 8½" gauge Cape 0-4-0T Cape 0-4-2 Cape 2-4-0T CGR 0-4-0ST Aid 3' 6" gauge CGR 0-4-0ST 1873 CGR 0-4-0ST 1874 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot CGR 0-6-0ST 1902 CGR 0-6-0T 1876 Back-to-Back CGR 2-6-0ST 1900 CGR 2-6-0ST 1902 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1875 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1876 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Beyer, Peacock CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Kitson CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1879 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1891 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0ST 1876 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0 1879 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T 1875 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0TT 1881 CGR 2nd Class 2-6-2TT CGR 2nd Class 4-4-0T CGR 3rd Class 2-6-0T CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1883 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1884 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1889 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1898 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1901 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1903 CGR 4th Class 4-4-2 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1880 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1884 CGR 5th Class 1890 CGR 5th Class 1891 CGR 6th Class 1893 CGR 6th Class 1896 CGR 6th Class 1897 CGR 6th Class 1898 CGR 6th Class 1900 CGR 6th Class 1901 Baldwin CGR 6th Class 1901 Schenectady CGR 6th Class 1901 Neilson Reid CGR 6th Class 1902 CGR 6th Class 1904 CGR 6th Class 2-6-2 CGR 6th Class 2-6-4 CGR 7th Class 1892 CGR 7th Class 1896 CGR 7th Class 1902 CGR 8th Class 1901 CGR 8th Class 1902 CGR 8th Class 2-8-0 1903 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1903 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1903 Exp CGR 8th Class 2-8-0 1904 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1904 CGR 9th Class 1903 CGR 9th Class 1906 CGR 10th Class CGR Fairlie CGR Karoo 1903 CGR Karoo 1904 CGR Karoo Compound CGR Kitson-Meyer CGR Mountain 4-8-2 CGR Railmotor CGR Tandem Compound 1902 CGR Tandem Compound 1903 Kowie Railway 0-6-0T Kowie Railway 4-4-0T Metropolitan & Suburban 4-6-2T NCCR 7th Class 1899 NCCR 7th Class 1913 Port Elizabeth 0-4-0ST 2' 6" gauge Cape Copper 0-6-0T 1871 Cape Copper Britannia Cape Copper Caledonia Cape Copper Clara Class Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Class Namaqua Copper Pioneer 2' gauge CGR Baldwin 2-6-0 CGR NG 0-4-0T CGR NG 0-6-0T CGR NG 4-6-2T CGR Type A CGR Type B CGR Type C List of South African locomotive classes South African locomotive history

Locomotives of South Africa Steam 7' ¼" gauge East London Harbour 0-4-0 Table Bay Harbour 0-4-0ST Table Bay Harbour 0-4-0T Table Bay Harbour 0-4-0WT 4' 8½" gauge Cape 0-4-0T Blackie Cape 0-4-2 Cape 2-4-0T CGR 0-4-0ST Aid Natal 0-4-0ST Durban Natal 0-4-0WT Natal Natal 4-4-0T Perseverance 3' 6" gauge Tank engines CGR 0-4-0ST 1873 CGR 0-4-0ST 1874 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot CGR 0-6-0ST 1902 CGR 0-6-0T 1876 Back-to-Back CGR 2-6-0ST 1900 CGR 2-6-0ST 1902 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1875 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1876 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0ST 1876 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T 1875 CGR 2nd Class 4-4-0T 1882 CGR 3rd Class 2-6-0T CGR Railmotor CSAR Class C CSAR Class E CSAR Rack CSAR Railmotor DSWA Eight-Coupled Tank 2-8-0T Durban's Congella Durban's Edward Innes Durban's John Milne Durban's Sir Albert Port Elizabeth Harbour 0-4-0ST Kowie Railway 0-6-0T Kowie Railway 4-4-0T Metropolitan & Suburban 4-6-2T NGR 2-6-0T Durban & Pietermaritzburg NGR Class I 2-6-2T NGR Class K 0-4-0ST NGR Class K 0-6-0ST NGR Class K 2-6-0T NZASM 10 Tonner NZASM 14 Tonner NZASM 18 Tonner NZASM 19 Tonner NZASM 32 Tonner NZASM 40 Tonner PPR 26 Tonner PPR 35 Tonner Portuguese SAR 0-4-0ST 1903 SAR 0-4-0T no. 69 SAR Class A SAR Class B SAR Class C SAR Class C1 SAR Class C2 SAR Class D SAR Class E SAR Class F SAR Class G SAR Class H SAR Class H1 SAR Class H2 SAR Class J SAR Class K SAR Clayton Railmotor 3' 6" gauge Tender engines CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Beyer, Peacock CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Kitson CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1879 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1891 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0 1879 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0TT 1881 CGR 2nd Class 2-6-2TT 1875 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1883 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1884 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1889 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1898 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1901 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1903 CGR 4th Class 4-4-2 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1880 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1884 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1890 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1891 DSWA Eight-Coupled Tender 2-8-0 NGR Havelock NGR Class I SAR Class Exp 1 SAR Class Exp 2 SAR Class Exp 3 SAR Class Exp 4 SAR Class Exp 5 SAR Class Exp 6 SAR Class S SAR Class S1 SAR Class S2 SAR Class 1 SAR Class 1A SAR Class 1B SAR Class 2 SAR Class 2C SAR Class 3 SAR Class 3A SAR Class 3B SAR Class 4 SAR Class 4A SAR Class 5 SAR Class 5A SAR Class 5B SAR Class 6 SAR Class 6A SAR Class 6B SAR Class 6C SAR Class 6D SAR Class 6E SAR Class 6F SAR Class 6G SAR Class 6H SAR Class 6J SAR Class 6K SAR Class 6L SAR Class 6Y SAR Class 6Z SAR Class 7 SAR Class 7A SAR Class 7B SAR Class 7C SAR Class 7D SAR Class 7E SAR Class 7F SAR Class 8 SAR Class 8A SAR Class 8B SAR Class 8C SAR Class 8D SAR Class 8E SAR Class 8F SAR Class 8R SAR Class 8X SAR Class 8Y SAR Class 8Z SAR Class 9 SAR Class 10 SAR Class 10A SAR Class 10B SAR Class 10C SAR Class 10D SAR Class 11 SAR Class 12 SAR Class 12A SAR Class 12B SAR Class 13 SAR Class 14 SAR Class 14A SAR Class 14B SAR Class 14C SAR Class 15 SAR Class 15A SAR Class 15B SAR Class 15C SAR Class 15CA SAR Class 15E SAR Class 15F SAR Class 16 SAR Class 16A SAR Class 16B SAR Class 16C SAR Class 16D SAR Class 16DA SAR Class 16E SAR Class 17 SAR Class 18 SAR Class 19 SAR Class 19A SAR Class 19B SAR Class 19C SAR Class 19D SAR Class 20 SAR Class 21 SAR Class 23 SAR Class 24 SAR Class 25 SAR Class 25NC SAR Class 26 Red Devil 3' 6" gauge Articulated engines CGR Fairlie CGR Kitson-Meyer SAR Class FC SAR Class FD SAR Class GA SAR Class GB SAR Class GC SAR Class GCA SAR Class GD SAR Class GDA SAR Class GE SAR Class GEA SAR Class GF SAR Class GG SAR Class GH SAR Class GK SAR Class GL SAR Class GM SAR Class GMA SAR Class GO SAR Class HF SAR Class KM SAR Class MA SAR Class MB SAR Class MC SAR Class MC1 SAR Class MD SAR Class ME SAR Class MF SAR Class MG SAR Class MH SAR Class MJ SAR Class MJ1 SAR Class U 2' 6" gauge Cape Copper 0-6-0T 1871 Cape Copper Britannia Cape Copper Caledonia Cape Copper Clara Class Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Class Namaqua Copper Pioneer 2' & 600mm gauges ACR Class NG-G16A CGR NG 0-6-0T CGR NG 4-6-2T CGR Type A 2-6-4T CGR Type C 0-4-0T DSWA Class Ha DSWA Class Hb DSWA Class Hc DSWA Class Hd DSWA Jung DSWA Zwillinge NGR Class N 4-6-2T SAR NG 0-4-0T 1899 SAR Class NG1 SAR Class NG2 SAR Class NG3 SAR Class NG4 SAR Class NG5 SAR Class NG6 SAR Class NG7 SAR Class NG8 SAR Class NG9 SAR Class NG10 SAR Class NG-G11 SAR Class NG-G12 SAR Class NG-G13 SAR Class NG-G14 SAR Class NG15 SAR Class NG-G16 Electric Amcoal Class E38 SAR Class ES SAR Class ES1 SAR Class Exp-AC SAR Class 1E SAR Class 2E SAR Class 3E SAR Class 4E SAR Class 5E s1 SAR Class 5E s2 SAR Class 5E s3 SAR Class 5E1 s1 SAR Class 5E1 s2 SAR Class 5E1 s3 SAR Class 5E1 s4 SAR Class 5E1 s5 SAR Class 6E SAR Class 6E1 s1 SAR Class 6E1 s2 SAR Class 6E1 s3 SAR Class 6E1 s4 SAR Class 6E1 s5 SAR Class 6E1 s6 SAR Class 6E1 s7 SAR Class 6E1 s8 SAR Class 6E1 s9 SAR Class 6E1 s10 SAR Class 6E1 s11 SAR Class 7E SAR Class 7E1 SAR Class 7E2 s1 SAR Class 7E2 s2 SAR Class 7E3 s1 SAR Class 7E3 s2 SAR Class 8E SAR Class 9E s1 SAR Class 9E s2 SAR Class 10E SAR Class 10E1 s1 SAR Class 10E2 SAR Class 11E SAR Class 12E Spoornet Class 7E4 Spoornet Class 10E1 s2 Spoornet Class 14E Spoornet Class 14E1 Spoornet Class 16E Spoornet Class 17E Spoornet Class 18E s1 TFR Class 15E TFR Class 18E s2 TFR Class 19E TFR Class 20E TFR Class 21E TFR Class 22E Diesel 3' 6" gauge Diesel-electric PRASA Class Afro 4000 SAR Class DS SAR Class DS1 SAR Class 31-000 SAR Class 32-000 SAR Class 32-200 SAR Class 33-000 SAR Class 33-200 SAR Class 33-400 SAR Class 34-000 SAR Class 34-200 SAR Class 34-400 SAR Class 34-500 SAR Class 34-600 SAR Class 34-800 SAR Class 34-900 SAR Class 35-000 SAR Class 35-200 SAR Class 35-400 SAR Class 35-600 SAR Class 36-000 SAR Class 36-200 SAR Class 37-000 Spoornet Class 39-000 TFR Class 35-800 TFR Class 39-200 TFR Class 43-000 TFR Class 44-000 2' gauge Diesel-electric SAR Class 91-000 3' 6" gauge Diesel-hydraulic SAR Class 61-000 3' 6" gauge Electro-diesel Spoornet Class 38-000 List of South African locomotive classes Rail transport in South 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