The South African Railways Class S 0-8-0 of 1929 was a steam locomotive. In 1929, the South African Railways placed fourteen purpose-built steam shunting locomotives with a 0-8-0 wheel arrangement in service.Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1946). ''The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VII - South African Railways (Continued).'' South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, Jun 1946. p. 455.

Background

Throughout the history of railways in South Africa, shunting was traditionally performed by downgraded mainline locomotives. Considering the enormous amount of shunting performed, the number of dedicated shunting locomotives on the South African Railways (SAR) roster in the steam era was remarkably low, amounting to only 151 locomotives on a railway whose steam stock at one stage reached a maximum of nearly 2,800 locomotives. When it did eventually introduce purpose-built shunting locomotives, the SAR preferred to adhere to the American practice of using tender locomotives for shunting rather than the European practice of using tank engines.

Manufacturer

In spite of the conversion of Class A tank locomotives to Class 17 tank-and-tender shunting locomotives, increasing rail traffic throughout the country and particularly 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 the 1920s still made it necessary to use heavy mainline locomotives for shunting work. Specifications for the Class S 0-8-0 tender type steam shunting locomotive were therefore prepared by Colonel F.R. Collins DSO, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the SAR. In 1928, fourteen locomotives were built to the SAR specifications by Henschel and Son in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. They were delivered in 1929 and numbered in the range from 360 to 373. Since they were designed to operate at low speeds in tightly curved shunting yards, there was no need for the leading or trailing wheels which are necessary on mainline locomotives to improve high speed stability. In addition, it was desirable to have as large a proportion of the engine weight as possible carried on the coupled wheels to obtain the maximum adhesion possible.Henschel-Lieferliste (Henschel & Son works list), compiled by Dietmar StresowSouth African Railways & Harbours/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweë en Hawens (15 Aug 1941). ''Locomotive Diagram Book/Lokomotiefdiagramboek, 3'6" Gauge/Spoorwydte''. SAR/SAS Mechanical Department/Werktuigkundige Dept. Drawing Office/Tekenkantoor, Pretoria. p. 46.South African Railways & Harbours/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweë en Hawens (15 Aug 1941). ''Locomotive Diagram Book/Lokomotiefdiagramboek, 2'0" & 3'6" Gauge/Spoorwydte, Steam Locomotives/Stoomlokomotiewe''. SAR/SAS Mechanical Department/Werktuigkundige Dept. Drawing Office/Tekenkantoor, Pretoria. pp. 6a-7a, 37, 46.

Characteristics

The Class S locomotives were superheated, were built on bar frames and used

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 Belgian railway engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844. The gear is sometimes named without the final "s", since it ...

with piston valves. They were delivered with Type GT tenders with a fuel capacity of , a water capacity of and a maximum axle load of . To improve the crew's rearward vision, the top sides of the tender's coal bunker were set inwards and the water tank top was rounded. When they were first introduced, their boiler pressure was set at , giving a tractive effort of at 75% boiler pressure. Since they tended to be slippery, however, the operating boiler pressure was reduced to in 1933, resulting in a corresponding reduction in tractive effort to at 75% boiler pressure.

Service

South African Railways

The Class S was initially placed in service in the Orange Free State and Natal, but they were soon transferred to Transvaal where they spent most of the rest of their working lives, rendering good service in yards at several centres. The Class ended up being mainly a Western Transvaal locomotive, stationed at

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions a ...

, Kaserne,

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west ...

, Springs and at Beaconsfield in Kimberley, with a solitary locomotive at

Volksrust Volksrust is a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa near the KwaZulu-Natal provincial border, some 240 km southeast of Johannesburg, 53 km north of Newcastle and 80 km southeast of Standerton. History The town was la ...

. The bulk of them spent all their working lives in Braamfontein.Soul of A Railway, System 7, Western Transvaal, based in Johannesburg, Part 22: Braamfontein by Les Pivnic: Braamfontein Yard, Loco, ERS and Old Kazerne Goods Yard, Part 1. Caption 62.
(Accessed on 4 May 2017)

Industrial

They were withdrawn from SAR service in 1976. Four were sold to Dunn's in 1977, from where they eventually ended up at several locations. * No. 362 went to Apex Mines at Greenside as no. 6. * No. 365 went to Tweefontein United Colliery and later to Enyati Colliery. * No. 367 went to Apex Mines as no. 5 and later to Grootvlei Proprietary Mines at Springs, first as no. 3 ''Big Mac'' and later renumbered to 2. * No. 369 went to Grootvlei Proprietary Mines (GVPM), first as no. 2 ''King Kong'' and later renumbered to 1.

Preservation

Illustration

File:Class S 362 (0-8-0).jpg, No. 362 at Braamfontein, August 1973 File:No.2 (SAR 369) Grootvlei Mines Springs 230479.jpg, GVPM no. 2 ''King Kong'', 23 April 1979

References

{{Steam locomotive tenders 2170 2170 0-8-0 locomotives D h2 locomotives Henschel locomotives Cape gauge railway locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1929 1929 in South Africa