The South African Railways Class S2 0-8-0 of 1952 was a steam locomotive.
In 1952 and 1953, the South African Railways placed one hundred Class S2 shunting steam locomotives with a 0-8-0 wheel arrangement in service.
Design specifications
By 1952, the need arose for shunting locomotives with a light axle load for harbour work, where most of the trackwork was laid with light rail. Under the direction of L.C. Grubb, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South African Railways (SAR) from 1949 to 1954, specifications were prepared for a light locomotive with the 0-8-0 wheel arrangement which had already been proven successful with the
Classes S and
S1 shunting engines. To keep the total weight of the engine and tender down to approximately , it was to be equipped with the
Watson Standard no. 1 boiler, the smallest of the standard boilers.
Manufacturer
When tenders were called for, a number of firms responded, but all except one stated that it would not be possible to construct the locomotive within the stipulated weight. Only the firm of
Friedrich Krupp AG
The Krupp family (see #Pronunciation, pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (F ...
of Essen in Germany undertook to build the locomotives to the required specifications.
When design work commenced after the signing of the contract, however, it was discovered that the other tendering firms had been correct and that the locomotives could not be built within the specified weight limit, if the specifications were to be adhered to. It was eventually agreed that Krupp should design a suitable smaller boiler which would bring the locomotive's weight down to a level which would be in line with the stipulated maximum. The end result was an engine which had the appearance of a
Cape gauge
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
locomotive with a
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
boiler, particularly when viewed from the front.
One hundred Class S2 locomotives were subsequently built by Krupp and delivered in 1952 and 1953, numbered in the range from 3701 to 3800. Even with the smaller Krupp-designed boiler, the locomotive's eventual working order weight was still more than over the desired maximum.
Characteristics
The locomotive had
Walschaerts valve gear
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 ...
and was superheated. Its cast steel frame was a single casting with separately attached cylinders. As built, the third coupled axle had flangeless wheels to negotiate the tight curves found in docks.
Like the
Class 24 and the last batch of the
Class 19D, the Class S2 had a tank wagon type tender, similar in appearance to the American
Vanderbilt type tender, with cylindrical water tanks and commonly known as a ''Torpedo'' tender. Its
Type MY1 tender also rode on three-axle
Buckeye bogies to reduce the axle load, but was much shorter than the
Type MX tender of the Class 19D and with a different coal bunker top design than that of the
Type MY tender of the Class 24. As was done with the tenders of the Classes S and S1, the top sides of the coal bunker were scalloped out to improve the crew's rearward field of vision.
[South African Railways and Harbours Locomotive Diagram Book, 2'0" & 3'6" Gauge Steam Locomotives, 15 August 1941, as amended]
Service
Most of the Class S2 locomotives were placed in shunting service in the
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
,
Table Bay
Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named ...
and
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 ...
harbours where they replaced a variety of aged
4-6-0
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...
,
4-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading truck or bogie, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no traili ...
and
4-8-2T locomotives. Although about twenty were also allocated to yards on the Witwatersrand and in the Eastern Transvaal where they were employed in light general shunting, the Class S2 became synonymous with harbour shunting from their arrival in 1952 right through to the end of steam in 1982.
[Soul of A Railway, System 1, Part 16: Table Bay Harbour © Les Pivnic. Captions 109, 111, 117, 119, 120.](_blank)
(Accessed on 30 June 2017)
In
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, 23 Class S2 engines were initially allocated to Paarden Island where they replaced a variety of aged Class 6 locomotives in dock shunting. They also relieved larger locomotives like
Class 3R and others from shunting to be dedicated to pickup work and hauler service between the harbour and the Bellville yard. Due to being restricted to a maximum speed of , the Class S2 was considered unsuitable for the dual role of hauling and shunting. Their number in Cape Town rose to more than thirty by the mid-1970s, when eleven engines would handle the dock shunting on a daily basis and six or seven could often be seen coupled together going to and from Paarden Eiland shed at shift changes.
In 1972, two new
Blue Train sets built by
Union Carriage & Wagon
Union Carriage & Wagon (UCW) is a rolling stock manufacturer in South Africa.
History
Union Carriage & Wagon was established in 1957. Initial shareholders were Commonwealth Engineering (51%), Budd Company (25%) and Leyland Motors (12%). By 1965, ...
in
Nigel
Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name.
The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published ...
entered service and were stabled at Capital Park in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
. Class S2 no. 3793 served as carriage shunt engine at Capital Park at the time and was painted in blue livery to match the Blue Train stock. It was eventually replaced by
Class 19D no. 2749 which was also painted blue.
[Soul of A Railway, System 8, Part 2: Pretoria: including local services, workshops and running sheds, Part 2. Captions 39, 40, 53.](_blank)
(Accessed on 18 March 2017)
During 1981, four Class S2 locomotives were hired to Mozambique for dock shunting in
Maputo
Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...
.
With one exception, the whole Class S2 fleet was withdrawn from service between 1979 and 1982. The last Class S2 locomotive in service was the shed pilot at
Waterval Boven
Waterval Boven (officially known as Emgwenya) is a small town situated on the edge of the Escarpment on the banks of the Elands River above the 75m Elands Falls on the railway line from Pretoria to Maputo in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Hence the n ...
, which remained in service until 1985. In Cape Town and Durban they were replaced by
Class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
or
Class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
light general purpose diesel-electric locomotives, but in Port Elizabeth their initial replacements were older steam locomotives of larger capacity.
Commemoration
A 10c postage stamp depicting a Class S2 locomotive was one of a set of four commemorative
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
s that were issued by the South African Post Office on 27 April 1983 to commemorate the steam locomotives of South Africa which were rapidly being withdrawn from service at the time. The artwork and stamp design was by the noted stamp designer and artist Hein Botha.
[Philatelic Bulletin 176, issued by Philatelic Services and INTERSAPA, 1983]
The particular locomotive depicted was no. 3781. The outline of a traditional SAR locomotive number plate was used as a commemorative cancellation for
De Aar
De Aar is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It has a population of around 42,000 inhabitants.
It is the second-most important railway junction in the country, situated on the line between Cape Town and Kimberley. The junctio ...
on the date of issue.
Preservation
Of the Class S2, three survived into preservation. By 2018
Illustration
One locomotive, no. 3706, was preserved in the
Outeniqua Transport Museum
The Outeniqua Transport Museum is a railway museum located in George, South Africa.
The Outeniqua Railway Museum is one of Transnet Heritage Foundation museums. Situated in the former PX-goods shed in George, the museum opened on 24 September ...
in
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
.
File:Class S2 3728 (0-8-0) a.jpg, No. 3728 in Table Bay Harbour yard, August 1973
File:Class S2 3744 (0-8-0).jpg, No. 3744 in Table Bay Harbour yard, August 1973
File:Class S2 no. 3706 a.JPG, No. 3706 at Millsite, c. 1990
File:Class S2 no. 3706 b.JPG, No. 3706 at Millsite, c. 1990
References
{{Steam locomotive tenders
2190
In contemporary history, the third millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era in the Gregorian calendar is the current millennium spanning the years 2001 to 3000 (21st century, 21st to 30th century, 30th centuries). Ongoing futures studies se ...
2190
In contemporary history, the third millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era in the Gregorian calendar is the current millennium spanning the years 2001 to 3000 (21st century, 21st to 30th century, 30th centuries). Ongoing futures studies se ...
0-8-0 locomotives
D h2 locomotives
Krupp locomotives
Cape gauge railway locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1952
1952 in South Africa