South African Class 15E
Encyclopedia
In 2010 Transnet Freight Rail placed the first of seventy-six Class 15E 50 kV AC heavy electric freight locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen
-Saldanha
iron ore line.
who supplied the electrical components, the RSD division of DCD-Dorbyl
who supplied the monoblock cast frame, bolster bogies and drawgear, and the Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) who constructed the bodies. It was manufactured for Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) by UCW in Nigel, Gauteng
, who delivered the first locomotives in 2010.
The initial order was for forty-four locomotives, of which the last were delivered by UCW and accepted by TFR in the first week of August 2011. On 2 March 2011 it was announced in a Transnet press release that, in line with Transnet’s target of achieving 61 million tons per annum on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line, Transnet had signed an agreement for the supply of an additional thirty-two new Class 15E locomotives with Venus Railway Solutions, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui, and local BEE
investors. Production of these additional locomotives is expected to commence in December 2011, with the first unit expected to be delivered by May 2012 and the last by August 2013.
to the harbour at Saldanha in the Western Cape
. Most of the route is across the hot and dry Northern Cape, but the last 75 kilometres (47 mi) to Saldanha runs parallel to the Atlantic coastline and is subjected to the fog and salt sea air of the West Coast.
In South Africa, the line is unusual for several reasons.
and Class 15E electric locomotives to haul the 342 wagon iron ore trains. Each wagon has a 100 ton capacity and the trains are at least 3.72 kilometres (2.3 mi) in length, powered by mixed consists of Class 9E and Class 15E electric and GE U26C Class 34-000
, 34-400
, 34-500
and 34-900
diesel-electric locomotives.
A Class 9E or Class 15E electric locomotive serves as the master of each mixed electric and diesel-electric consist, with a total of between nine and twelve locomotives per train, twelve being the maximum number allowed. Before the Class 15E was placed in service in 2010, motive power usually consisted of three sets of locomotives, each set made up of one or two Class 9E electrics and one or two Class 34 diesel-electrics, with each set’s leading electric locomotive controlling its respective set of diesel-electrics by means of a slimkabel (smart cable). In effect each ore train was made up of three separate 114 wagon trains consisted together, with the locomotives of all three trains controlled by means of a Locotrol
radio distributed power control system by one crew in the leading electric locomotive. A typical train would therefore be made up of locomotive set A, 114 wagons, locomotive set B, 114 wagons, locomotive set C, and 114 wagons.
Some problems were experienced using this configuration, and after a couple of major derailments the locomotive configuration was changed to four sets, with locomotive set D initially made up of two Class 34 diesel-electric locomotives at the rear end of the train, pushing at between 40% and 50% of tractive power at all times, depending on the grades being traversed. The total maximum number allowed was still between nine and twelve locomotives per train.
As more Class 15Es were delivered and placed in service, Class 9E or 15E electrics replaced the pair of Class 34 diesel-electrics in set D. At the same time the more powerful Class 15E also made it possible to use as few as seven locomotives per train, with locomotive sets A, B and C each made up of one Class 15E and one Class 34, and set D of a single Class 15E.
Sishen
Sishen is a town in Northern Cape, South Africa. It is the location of a large iron ore mine.- Transport :The mine is connected to the port of Saldanha Bay by the Sishen-Saldanha Railway Line. The line is electrified at 50 kV AC and the trains using this line are amongst the heaviest trains in the...
-Saldanha
Saldanha
-Portugal:* Saldanha , a civil parish in the municipality of Mogadouro-South Africa:* Saldanha Bay, a natural bay in Western Cape, South Africa* Saldanha, Western Cape, a town on the northern shore of the bay...
iron ore line.
Manufacturers
The Class 15E is the product of a joint venture by Mitsui who was responsible for the design, ToshibaToshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
who supplied the electrical components, the RSD division of DCD-Dorbyl
DCD-Dorbyl
DCD-DORBYL is a South African conglomerate cooperation originally founded in formed in 1946 when Dorman Long and Vanderbijl Engineering Corporation merged. The company specializes in engineering projects, including rail and military defence vehicle engineering, roller manufacturing, marine...
who supplied the monoblock cast frame, bolster bogies and drawgear, and the Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) who constructed the bodies. It was manufactured for Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) by UCW in Nigel, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
, who delivered the first locomotives in 2010.
The initial order was for forty-four locomotives, of which the last were delivered by UCW and accepted by TFR in the first week of August 2011. On 2 March 2011 it was announced in a Transnet press release that, in line with Transnet’s target of achieving 61 million tons per annum on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line, Transnet had signed an agreement for the supply of an additional thirty-two new Class 15E locomotives with Venus Railway Solutions, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui, and local BEE
Black Economic Empowerment
Black Economic Empowerment is a programme launched by the South African government to redress the inequalities of Apartheid by giving previously disadvantaged groups economic opportunities previously not available to them...
investors. Production of these additional locomotives is expected to commence in December 2011, with the first unit expected to be delivered by May 2012 and the last by August 2013.
Service
Class 15E locomotives are used on the 861 kilometres (535 mi) Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line to haul export ore from the open cast iron mines at Sishen in the Northern CapeNorthern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
to the harbour at Saldanha in the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
. Most of the route is across the hot and dry Northern Cape, but the last 75 kilometres (47 mi) to Saldanha runs parallel to the Atlantic coastline and is subjected to the fog and salt sea air of the West Coast.
In South Africa, the line is unusual for several reasons.
- Construction, which started in 1973, was not undertaken by the South African Railways (SAR), but by the South African Iron and Steel Corporation (ISCOR), who operated the line with diesel-electric motive power. Operations on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line was only taken over from ISCOR by the SAR in 1977.
- It was electrified by the SAR at 50 kV AC, compared to the 25 kV AC high voltage that it used in other parts of the country.
- At the time it was the longest 50 kV AC electrified railway line in the world.
- It is the only line in South Africa where electric and diesel-electric locomotives are consisted in mixed power use.
Mixed Power
On the Orex line General Electric (GE) Class 34 diesel-electric locomotives run consisted to Class 9ESouth African Class 9E, Series 1
In 1978 and 1979 the South African Railways placed twenty-five Class 9E, Series 1 electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.-Manufacturer:...
and Class 15E electric locomotives to haul the 342 wagon iron ore trains. Each wagon has a 100 ton capacity and the trains are at least 3.72 kilometres (2.3 mi) in length, powered by mixed consists of Class 9E and Class 15E electric and GE U26C Class 34-000
South African Class 34-000
Between July 1971 and March 1973 the South African Railways placed one hundred and twenty-five Class 34-000 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
, 34-400
South African Class 34-400
Between April 1973 and November 1974 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-400 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
, 34-500
South African Class 34-500
Between 1974 and 1977 the state owned South African Iron and Steel Corporation, now Kumba Iron Ore, placed forty-four GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service on its 1974 built Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line and as heavy shunters at the Sishen mine. In 1977 another two locomotives were built...
and 34-900
South African Class 34-900
Between October 1979 and February 1981 the South African Railways placed thirty Class 34-900 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.-Manufacturer:...
diesel-electric locomotives.
A Class 9E or Class 15E electric locomotive serves as the master of each mixed electric and diesel-electric consist, with a total of between nine and twelve locomotives per train, twelve being the maximum number allowed. Before the Class 15E was placed in service in 2010, motive power usually consisted of three sets of locomotives, each set made up of one or two Class 9E electrics and one or two Class 34 diesel-electrics, with each set’s leading electric locomotive controlling its respective set of diesel-electrics by means of a slimkabel (smart cable). In effect each ore train was made up of three separate 114 wagon trains consisted together, with the locomotives of all three trains controlled by means of a Locotrol
Locotrol
Locotrol is a product of GE Transportation Systems that permits railway locomotives to be distributed throughout the length of a train...
radio distributed power control system by one crew in the leading electric locomotive. A typical train would therefore be made up of locomotive set A, 114 wagons, locomotive set B, 114 wagons, locomotive set C, and 114 wagons.
Some problems were experienced using this configuration, and after a couple of major derailments the locomotive configuration was changed to four sets, with locomotive set D initially made up of two Class 34 diesel-electric locomotives at the rear end of the train, pushing at between 40% and 50% of tractive power at all times, depending on the grades being traversed. The total maximum number allowed was still between nine and twelve locomotives per train.
As more Class 15Es were delivered and placed in service, Class 9E or 15E electrics replaced the pair of Class 34 diesel-electrics in set D. At the same time the more powerful Class 15E also made it possible to use as few as seven locomotives per train, with locomotive sets A, B and C each made up of one Class 15E and one Class 34, and set D of a single Class 15E.
Gallery
See also
- South African Class 9E, Series 1South African Class 9E, Series 1In 1978 and 1979 the South African Railways placed twenty-five Class 9E, Series 1 electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 9E, Series 2South African Class 9E, Series 2In 1982 and 1983 the South African Railways expanded its existing Class 9E fleet by placing six new Class 9E, Series 2 electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.-Manufacturer:...
- Electric locomotive numbering and classification
- South African Class 34-000South African Class 34-000Between July 1971 and March 1973 the South African Railways placed one hundred and twenty-five Class 34-000 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
- South African Class 34-400South African Class 34-400Between April 1973 and November 1974 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-400 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
- South African Class 34-500South African Class 34-500Between 1974 and 1977 the state owned South African Iron and Steel Corporation, now Kumba Iron Ore, placed forty-four GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service on its 1974 built Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line and as heavy shunters at the Sishen mine. In 1977 another two locomotives were built...
- South African Class 34-900South African Class 34-900Between October 1979 and February 1981 the South African Railways placed thirty Class 34-900 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.-Manufacturer:...
- List of South African locomotive classes