The Table Bay Harbour 0-4-0WT of 1879 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-

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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 ...

. Altogether, seven Brunel gauge locomotives are known to have been employed on the Table Bay Harbour project between 1862 and 1904. The fourth of these construction locomotives was a Brunel gauge well-tank engine which entered excavation and breakwater construction service in 1879.Contents of emails received from Dr John Middleton, Washington. Transcripts copied to Table Bay Harbour construction locomotives for retention and easy reference.

Table Bay Harbour

Work to improve the facilities at Table Bay Harbour in

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was started in 1860, using convict labour, and consisted of the excavation of two basins and the construction of breakwater piers.History of Cape Town: The growth of the city and the port
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Harbour construction railway

The construction locomotives at Table Bay Harbour were small Brunel gauge engines which were used to haul trains of heavy iron tip-trucks to convey rock from the Alfred Basin excavation site to the breakwater, which was being built simultaneously. The broad Brunel gauge track was selected to make it easier to drop rock from the trucks between the rails which were run out to sea on a timber framework, a method of construction which was perfected by Sir John Coode. The trucks were equipped with interlocking running boards along the length of the train.Contents of emails received from Dr John Middleton, Washington. Transcripts copied to Email from John Middleton regarding vertical boiler locomotives in South Africa for retention and easy reference. As work progressed, the requirement arose for more locomotives. Seven Brunel gauge locomotives are known to have been employed on the Table Bay Harbour project, but information about each of them is sketchy at best. Three locomotives were placed in service before 1879, one in 1862 and another at some stage between 1863 and 1870. The third locomotive was a engine which was obtained from Fletcher, Jennings and Company in 1874.Contents of emails received from Dr John Middleton, Washington. Transcripts copied to Dating the opening of Hughes Works for retention and easy reference.

The 0-4-0WT locomotive of 1879

In 1879, the fourth locomotive to enter service on the construction site at Table Bay Harbour was the engine which is the subject of this page. It was also obtained from Fletcher, Jennings, not from Black, Hawthorn and Company as mentioned in D.F. Holland’s work. It was similar to the third locomotive of 1874, but it had a well-tank instead of side-tanks. It also offered the crew some better protection against the elements with a larger roofed cab and a rather ornate wooden frame front screen with five windows.

Termination

After completion of the first basin, named after Prince Alfred, work on the project continued into the 20th century since even further harbour expansion soon became necessary, brought about by developments in the interior such as the discovery of diamonds and gold and then the outbreak of the

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. A dry dock was added in 1881 and work on a new breakwater and the Victoria Basin began in 1900. The Brunel gauge harbour construction railway remained in operation until 1904.

References

{{Locomotives of South Africa 0990 0990 0-4-0WT locomotives B locomotives Fletcher, Jennings locomotives 7 ft ¼ in gauge locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1879 1879 in South Africa