The South African Railways Class 8Y 2-8-0 of 1903 was a 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 1903, 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 ...

placed four more Cape 8th Class Consolidation type steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and designated Class 8Y.Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 9, 12, 15, 36 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)

Manufacturer

The first locomotive in the Cape Government Railways (CGR) Consolidation type 8th Class, later to be designated the South African Railways (SAR) Class 8X, was designed by H.M. Beatty, the CGR’s Chief Locomotive Superintendent from 1896 to 1910. This second batch of four engines was ordered in 1903 from

Kitson and Company Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Early history The company was started in 1835 by James Kitson (businessman), James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet, ...

of Hunslet in Leeds, West Yorkshire. All four were allocated to the CGR’s Western System and numbered in the range from 817 to 820.

They were very similar to the earlier CGR Schenectady- and ALCO-built Consolidations, but with the boiler centre line raised by . Coupled with a shallow firebox, this enabled the firegrate to be extended out sideways over the fourth set of coupled wheels, which resulted in a grate area of , compared to the of the previous model. These engines also used

saturated steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

and cylinders with overhead slide valves, actuated by inside

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. ...

Class 8 sub-classes

In spite of the difference in wheel arrangement, the CGR grouped its Consolidation and post-7th Class Mastodon locomotives together as the 8th Class. 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, these four locomotives were designated Class 8Y on the South African Railways (SAR) and renumbered in the range from 896 to 899. All the CGR 8th Class and locomotives, together with the Classes to Mastodon locomotives from the

(CSAR), were grouped into ten different sub-classes by the SAR. The locomotives became SAR Classes 8 and 8A to 8F and the locomotives became Classes 8X to 8Z.South African Railways and Harbours Locomotive Diagram Book, 2’0” & 3’6” Gauge Steam Locomotives, 15 August 1941, as amended

Service

In SAR service, the Class 8Y was used mainly in the Northern Cape until they were withdrawn by 1938.

References

{{Steam locomotive tenders

1610 Some have suggested that 1610 may mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man', marking a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system, but earlier starting dates (ca. 1000 C.E.) have received broa ...

2-8-0 locomotives 1D locomotives Kitson locomotives Cape gauge railway locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1903 1903 in South Africa Scrapped locomotives