The South African Railways NG 0-4-0T of 1899 was a 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

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

and

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

. In 1899, Rand Mines acquired two narrow-gauge steam locomotives from Avonside Engine Company and, in 1900, a similar locomotive was delivered to Reynolds Brothers Sugar Estates of Esperanza in Natal. In 1915, when an urgent need arose for additional narrow-gauge locomotives in German South West Africa during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, these three locomotives were purchased second-hand by the

South African Railways Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...

.Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1945). ''The Locomotive in South Africa – A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VII – South African Railways (Continued).'' South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, October 1945. p. 781.

Manufacturer

In 1899,

Avonside Engine Company The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company. Origins The firm was original ...

delivered two locomotives to Rand Mines on the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

. In 1900, a third similar locomotive, but of gauge, was delivered to Reynolds Brothers Sugar Estates in Natal. The latter was one of several of the same type which saw service on the Reynolds, Huletts and Chakaskraal sugar plantations in Natal.

First World War

In 1915, while the military campaign was in progress against German forces in

Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...

(DSWA) during the First World War, an urgent need arose for additional locomotives for use on the narrow-gauge lines in that territory. The South African Railways (SAR) therefore purchased these three 0-4-0T locomotives second-hand on behalf of the Defence Department. The two engines from Rand Mines were numbered NG91 and NG92, while the engine from Reynolds Brothers was numbered NG95. Since a narrow-gauge locomotive classification system had not yet been implemented on the SAR, they were not classified.

Service

Whether all three were placed in service by the SAR is not certain, since engine no. NG95 from Reynolds Brothers would not be usable without first being regauged to gauge. It is also unclear whether any of them were actually placed in service in DSWA or whether they were used to replace other SAR narrow-gauge locomotives which had been commandeered by the Union Defence Forces for war service in DSWA. The locomotives were withdrawn from SAR service and sold towards the end of the war in 1918.

References

{{Locomotives of South Africa 2520 0-4-0T locomotives B locomotives Avonside locomotives 2 ft gauge locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1899 1899 in South Africa Scrapped locomotives