South African Class 16B 4-6-2
Encyclopedia
In November 1917 the South African Railways placed ten Class 16B steam locomotives with a 4-6-2
Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service.
(NBL) in Glasgow
, Scotland
in 1917. Ten locomotives were delivered and placed in service in November 1917, numbered 802 to 811. They were identical to the predecessor Class 16
and successor Class 16C
in most respects, except that they had wider cabs than the Class 16 while the Class 16C was equipped with a combustion chamber in the firebox.
Eventually all ten Class 16B locomotives as well as all thirty Class 16C locomotives were reboilered with Watson Standard no 2B boilers. In the process of reboilering the main difference between the Class 16B and Class 16C, Hendrie’s combustion chamber behind the Class 16C boiler, disappeared and the reboilered Class 16B locomotives were also reclassified to Class 16CR. Early conversions were equipped with copper and later conversions with steel fireboxes. In the process they were also equipped with Watson cabs, with their distinctive slanted fronts compared to the conventional vertical fronts of their original cabs.
Some ex Class 16B locomotives did, however, erroneously receive new number plates after reboilering identifying them as Class 16BR, even though such an SAR Class never officially existed.
An obvious visual difference between an original and a Watson Standard reboilered locomotive is usually a rectangular regulator cover just to the rear of the chimney on the reboilered locomotive. In the case of the Class 16B and Class 16CR two even more obvious visual differences are the Watson cab and the absence of the Belpaire firebox hump between the cab and boiler on the reboilered locomotives.
and Johannesburg
, hauling all the important passenger trains of the time, such as the Natal mail train on the section between Johannesburg and Volksrust
and the Cape mail train on the section between Johannesburg and Klerksdorp. When replaced by newer locomotives like the Class 16D
, they were relegated to less glamorous passenger duties until, by the 1940s, they were in suburban and transfer service.
During the 1950s some were relocated to Durban
to assist the Class 14R
on the South Coast line. When this line was electrified in 1967, they were again relocated, this time to Port Elizabeth where they worked suburban trains to Uitenhage
. Others remained on the Witwatersrand
, working the suburban to Springs
and Nigel
, double-heading with Class 15ARs
on Pietersburg bound trains out of Pretoria
, as well as shunting and local pick up service. They were withdrawn from service between 1975 and 1976.
When number 805 was withdrawn from service, reboilered and reclassified to Class 16CR by then, this locomotive was actually dereboilered to its original Class 16B condition. A dummy boiler that looked like the original boiler with its Belpaire firebox was fabricated and installed and it was refitted with an original wide Hendrie cab that was found dumped at the old Pretoria Mechanical Workshops.
It was then plinthed outside Johannesburg station on 18 and 19 March 1974, the work taking two days to complete. The Minister of Transport, the Hon. B.J. Schoeman, unveiled the commemorative plaque during a ceremony on 1 July 1974.
In the early 1990s the locomotive was removed from Johannesburg station to be exhibited in the Outeniqua Transport Museum
at George
.
4-6-2
4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...
Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service.
Manufacturer
The Class 16B 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive was designed by D.A. Hendrie, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the South African Railways (SAR) from 1910 to 1922, and built by the North British Locomotive CompanyNorth British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...
(NBL) in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1917. Ten locomotives were delivered and placed in service in November 1917, numbered 802 to 811. They were identical to the predecessor Class 16
South African Class 16 4-6-2
In 1914 the South African Railways placed twelve Class 16 steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service.-Manufacturer:The Class 16 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive was designed by D.A...
and successor Class 16C
South African Class 16C 4-6-2
During 1919 the South African Railways placed ten Class 16C steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service. Another twenty were placed in service in 1922.-Manufacturer:...
in most respects, except that they had wider cabs than the Class 16 while the Class 16C was equipped with a combustion chamber in the firebox.
Watson Standard boilers
During the 1930s many serving locomotives were reboilered with a standard boiler type designed by A.G. Watson, CME of the SAR from 1929 to 1936, as part of his standardisation policy. Such Watson Standard reboilered locomotives were reclassified by adding an "R" suffix to their classification.Eventually all ten Class 16B locomotives as well as all thirty Class 16C locomotives were reboilered with Watson Standard no 2B boilers. In the process of reboilering the main difference between the Class 16B and Class 16C, Hendrie’s combustion chamber behind the Class 16C boiler, disappeared and the reboilered Class 16B locomotives were also reclassified to Class 16CR. Early conversions were equipped with copper and later conversions with steel fireboxes. In the process they were also equipped with Watson cabs, with their distinctive slanted fronts compared to the conventional vertical fronts of their original cabs.
Some ex Class 16B locomotives did, however, erroneously receive new number plates after reboilering identifying them as Class 16BR, even though such an SAR Class never officially existed.
An obvious visual difference between an original and a Watson Standard reboilered locomotive is usually a rectangular regulator cover just to the rear of the chimney on the reboilered locomotive. In the case of the Class 16B and Class 16CR two even more obvious visual differences are the Watson cab and the absence of the Belpaire firebox hump between the cab and boiler on the reboilered locomotives.
Service
The Class 16B Pacifics were placed in express passenger service working out of PretoriaPretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
and Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, hauling all the important passenger trains of the time, such as the Natal mail train on the section between Johannesburg and Volksrust
Volksrust
Volksrust is a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa on the KwaZulu-Natal provincial border. The town has important beef, dairy, maize, sorghum, wool and sunflower seed industries. It was established near to where the Battle of Majuba, wherein the Transvaal won its independence back...
and the Cape mail train on the section between Johannesburg and Klerksdorp. When replaced by newer locomotives like the Class 16D
South African Class 16D 4-6-2
In 1925 the South African Railways placed two Class 16D locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service. Five more were placed in service in 1926.-Manufacturer:...
, they were relegated to less glamorous passenger duties until, by the 1940s, they were in suburban and transfer service.
During the 1950s some were relocated to Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
to assist the Class 14R
South African Class 14 4-8-2
Between 1913 and 1915 the South African Railways placed forty-five Class 14 steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement in service.-Manufacturer:...
on the South Coast line. When this line was electrified in 1967, they were again relocated, this time to Port Elizabeth where they worked suburban trains to Uitenhage
Uitenhage
Uitenhage is a South African town with 275,185 inhabitants in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. The town's name is pronounced by English speakers and in Afrikaans...
. Others remained on the Witwatersrand
Witwatersrand
The Witwatersrand is a low, sedimentary range of hills, at an elevation of 1700–1800 metres above sea-level, which runs in an east-west direction through Gauteng in South Africa. The word in Afrikaans means "the ridge of white waters". Geologically it is complex, but the principal formations...
, working the suburban to Springs
Springs, Gauteng
Springs is a city on the East Rand in the Gauteng province of South Africa.It lies 50 km east of Johannesburg. The name of the city derives from the large number of springs in the area; it has a population of more than 200,000, and is situated at 5,340 ft a.s.l...
and Nigel
Nigel, Gauteng
Nigel is a small gold mining town in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The town is on the edge of the area known as the East Rand, the industrial engine room of Johannesburg....
, double-heading with Class 15ARs
South African Class 15A 4-8-2
Between 1914 and 1925 the South African Railways placed one hundred and nineteen Class 15A steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement in service, delivered in ten batches from three manufacturers.-Manufacturers:...
on Pietersburg bound trains out of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, as well as shunting and local pick up service. They were withdrawn from service between 1975 and 1976.
Ben Schoeman
Of the Class 16B locomotives, number 805 has some claim to fame, since long time South African Minister of Transport Ben Schoeman started his Railway career at Braamfontein as a stoker on this locomotive during the 1930s.When number 805 was withdrawn from service, reboilered and reclassified to Class 16CR by then, this locomotive was actually dereboilered to its original Class 16B condition. A dummy boiler that looked like the original boiler with its Belpaire firebox was fabricated and installed and it was refitted with an original wide Hendrie cab that was found dumped at the old Pretoria Mechanical Workshops.
It was then plinthed outside Johannesburg station on 18 and 19 March 1974, the work taking two days to complete. The Minister of Transport, the Hon. B.J. Schoeman, unveiled the commemorative plaque during a ceremony on 1 July 1974.
In the early 1990s the locomotive was removed from Johannesburg station to be exhibited in the Outeniqua Transport Museum
Outeniqua Transport Museum
The Outeniqua Transport Museum is a railway museum located in George, South Africa.- External links :* *...
at George
George, Western Cape
George is a city with 203,253 inhabitants in South Africa's Western Cape province. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub of the Garden Route.- Location :...
.
See also
- South African Class 16 4-6-2South African Class 16 4-6-2In 1914 the South African Railways placed twelve Class 16 steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service.-Manufacturer:The Class 16 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive was designed by D.A...
- South African Class 16A 4-6-2South African Class 16A 4-6-2In 1915 the South African Railways placed two Class 16A four-cylinder simple steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service.-Manufacturer:The Class 16A 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive was designed by D.A...
- South African Class 16C 4-6-2South African Class 16C 4-6-2During 1919 the South African Railways placed ten Class 16C steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service. Another twenty were placed in service in 1922.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 16D 4-6-2South African Class 16D 4-6-2In 1925 the South African Railways placed two Class 16D locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service. Five more were placed in service in 1926.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 16DA 4-6-2South African Class 16DA 4-6-2In 1928 the South African Railways placed six Class 16DA steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service. Eight more were placed in service in 1929, and another six in 1930.-Manufacturers:...
- South African Class 16E 4-6-2South African Class 16E 4-6-2In 1935 the South African Railways placed six Class 16E steam locomotives with a Pacific wheel arrangement in passenger train service.-Manufacturer:...
- Tender locomotive numbering and classification
- Watson Standard boilers
- The 4-6-2 "Pacific"
- List of South African locomotive classes