South African Class 32-000
Encyclopedia
Between November 1959 and November 1961 the South African Railways placed one hundred and fifteen Class 32-000 GE U18C1 diesel-electric locomotives in service in South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....

.

Manufacturer

The South African Class 32-000 type GE U18C1
GE Universal Series locomotives
The GE Universal Series locomotives were diesel locomotives launched by GE in early 1956.Initially, there were nine U-series models: U4B, U6B, U9B, U9C, U12B, U12C, U18B, U18C and UD18B. They were designed to be readily adaptable to different track gauges for export markets. The U5B and U8B...

 diesel-electric locomotive was designed and built to South African Railways (SAR) requirements by General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 (GE) and imported.

Class 32 series

The South African Class 32 consists of two series, the high short hood Class 32-000 and the low short hood Class 32-200
South African Class 32-200
In June and July 1966 the South African Railways placed ten Class 32-200 GE U20C1 diesel-electric locomotives in service in South West Africa..- Manufacturer :...

, both GE products. On the Class 32-000 the short hood end is the front. It has single station controls.

The pony truck affair

In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 the South African Class 32-000 is credited with being a major factor in the demise of the American Locomotive Company
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...

 (ALCO) and the rise of GE in the locomotive building business.

In the late 1950s South Africa, at the time one of the last bastions of steam traction, planned to embark on a massive dieselisation program. An SAR technical team was sent to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and to the United States to prepare an assessment of design alternatives, finalise specifications and compile a list of qualified bidders.

In the United States only ALCO, Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) and GE were considered to be qualified bidders. The SAR was not very enthusiastic about two-stroke cycle engines and had a strong preference for ALCO's Model 251 engine and GE's transmission systems. As a prior supplier of steam locomotives for the SAR, ALCO appeared to be virtually assured of receiving the order.

The SAR's tender for bid was issued in 1957, with two options:
  • One hundred and fifteen units of a 1800 hp locomotive with a 1Co+Co1 wheel arrangement; or
  • Two hundred and thirty units of a 1000 hp locomotive with a Co+Co wheel arrangement


These units were intended for operation in South West Africa (SWA, now Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

) under very light rail conditions, which necessitated lighter axle loadings that could not be achieved with conventional Co bogies under a heavy locomotive. General Steel Castings
General Steel Castings
The General Steel Castings Corporation was a steel casting corporation in the United States established in 1928by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, American Locomotive Company, and American Steel Foundries....

 had a design on paper for a 1Co bogie (a Co bogie with a pony truck
Pony truck
A pony truck, in railway terminology, is a leading truck with only two wheels.Its invention is generally credited to Levi Bissell, who devised one in 1857 and patented it the following year. Hence the term Bissel bogie or axle is used in continental Europe...

) which could be utilised by either ALCO or GE and which would enable the SAR's specification to be met for the heavier 1800 hp units.

The SAR made it clear that, despite the two options afforded by the tender, its strong preference was for a 1Co+Co1 locomotive. However, the use of a pony truck was not universally accepted by ALCO's engineering management. The result was that ALCO bid on only the Co+Co option and lost out to GE, who had bid on both options.

In South Africa, this virtually opened the floodgates for GE since more than half of the SAR’s vast diesel-electric locomotive fleet that was acquired between 1959 and 1981 are GE products.

South African Railways

The Class 32-000 was designed specifically for service in SWA and most of them spent their entire SAR lives there. Between 1964 and 1976 several were also allocated to the Eastern Transvaal for service around Waterval-Boven.

Of the original one hundred and fifteen locomotives, only five survived into the Spoornet era in the 1990s. In SWA they were replaced by the Class 33-400
South African Class 33-400
Between July 1968 and March 1970 the South African Railways placed one hundred and fifteen Class 33-400 GE U20C diesel-electric locomotives in service...

 during the 1980s. After being withdrawn from Spoornet service, a few were allocated to the National Collection, later the Transnet Heritage Foundation (THF), and some of these still saw occasional service as Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe
Outeniqua Choo Tjoe
The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe was the last remaining continually-operated passenger steam train in Africa, ending operation in June 2009. The railway was completed in 1928, and links the towns of George and Knysna in the Western Cape, South Africa. The 3 hour journey also stops in the towns of...

 excursion locomotives, based at George, Western Cape
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 :...

.

Post SAR service

After withdrawal from SAR service, a large number of the Class 32-000 were sold to Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

’s Congo Railway (SNCZ) (now, after the country's name change, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

's SNCC), while three went to Consortium ARZ (CARZ), an Italian per-way contractor working in Zaire and later also in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

. Two went to Nchanga and three to Nkana
Nkana
Nkana is a section of the city of Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia which started off in the early part of the 20th century as a railway station to support the growing complex of copper mining operations. It was named after Chief Nkana, the local traditional ruler...

, two copper mines in Zambia.

Gallery

The main picture shows 32-029 and 32-042 pulling into Oudtshoorn on 22 September 2007 after working a special excursion train from George.


See also

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