The Cape Government Railways NG 4-6-2T of 1908 was a South African narrow-gauge steam locomotive from the pre-

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

era in the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

. In 1908, the Cape Government Railways placed two Pacific type narrow-gauge steam locomotives in passenger service on the Walmer branch in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

. In 1912, both locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways and renumbered.Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912, p. 47 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1944). ''The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter II - The Cape Government Railways'' (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, April 1944. pp. 253-257.

Manufacturer

Two narrow-gauge steam locomotives were built for the

Cape Government Railways The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. History Private railways The first railways at the Cape were privately own ...

(CGR) by W.G. Bagnall in 1908. The engines were equally powerful tank locomotive versions of the CGR Type B narrow-gauge tender locomotive of 1904, also built by Bagnall, but with

Walschaerts The Walschaerts valve gear is a type of valve gear used to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons in steam locomotives, invented by Belgium, Belgian railway mechanical engineering, engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844. The gear is sometimes name ...

instead of

Stephenson valve gear The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for various kinds of steam engines. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was invented by his employees. ...

. They were not classified and were numbered 42 and 43.Baker, Allan C.; Civil, T. D. Allen (1984). ''Bagnalls of Stafford – Locomotive Works List'' (1st ed.). England: The Industrial Locomotive SocietySoul of A Railway - System 3: Cape Midland, based in Port Elizabeth – Part 1: The Port Elizabeth Narrow Gauge – Captions 8–10
(Accessed on 10 December 2016)

Characteristics

Like their Type B sister engines, the locomotives had bar frames. The drivers, the middle wheelset of the coupled wheels, were flangeless to enable the engine to negotiate sharp curves. The coupled wheels were not spaced equidistant from each other, with between the wheel centres of the leading wheelset and the drivers and between the wheel centres of the drivers and the trailing wheelset.

Service

Cape Government Railways

In 1906, a passenger-only suburban branch line had been opened from Valley Junction, near Port Elizabeth on the

Avontuur Avontuur is a town situated in the Garden Route District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The town is located 13km south-east of Uniondale on an intersection of the R339 and R62 regional routes. History The name is Af ...

line, to the suburb of Walmer. It was used by up to 22 trains per day. Both locomotives were placed in service on the Walmer branch line..

South African Railways

When the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR,

Natal Government Railways The Natal Government Railways (NGR) was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal. In 1877, the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban ...

and

Central South African Railways The Central South African Railways (CSAR) was from 1902 to 1910 the operator of public railways in the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony in what is now South Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War, as British forces moved into the territory of ...

) 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 were only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.''The South African Railways - Historical Survey''. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 25. In 1912, the two locomotives were renumbered no. NG33 and NG34 on the South African Railways (SAR), with the "NG" number prefix identifying them as narrow-gauge locomotives in the SAR registers. They remained in service on the Walmer branch for the duration of their service lives, until the line was closed in 1929. They were then withdrawn from service, shortly before a classification system for narrow-gauge locomotives was to be introduced by the SAR.

References

{{Locomotives of South Africa 0440 4-6-2 locomotives 2′C1′ n2t locomotives Bagnall locomotives 2 ft gauge locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1908 1908 in South Africa Scrapped locomotives