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South African Class 35-400
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Between March 1976 and May 1980 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 35-400 GE U15C diesel-electric locomotives in service.

Manufacturer

The Class 35-400 type GE U15C
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 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 built for the South African Railways (SAR) by the South African General Electric-Dorman Long Locomotive Group (SA GE-DL, later Dorbyl). The first batch of fifty locomotives were delivered between March and December 1976, numbered 35-401 to 35-450, followed by a second batch of fifty between October 1978 and May 1980, numbered 35-451 to 35-500.

GE and EMD designs

South Africa’s Class 35 locomotive group consists of four sub-classes, the GE Class 35-000
South African Class 35-000
Between March 1972 and May 1973 the South African Railways placed seventy Class 35-000 GE U15C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...

 and 35-400 and the Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) Class 35-200
South African Class 35-200
Between November 1974 and August 1976 the South African Railways placed one hundred and fifty Class 35-200 EMD GT18MC diesel-electric locomotives in service...

 and 35-600
South African Class 35-600
Between September 1976 and June 1978 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 35-600 EMD GT18MC diesel-electric locomotives in service...

. Both these manufacturers also produced locomotives for the South African Classes 33, 34 and 36.

Distinguishing Features

With the GE Class 35 locomotives, the Class 35-000 and 35-400 are visually indistinguishable from each other. A visible modification that is done during major overhauls is the addition of a saddle hood straddling the hump on the long hood behind the cab on Class 35-000 locomotives. By 2011 this modification had been done on a large number of Class 35-000s, but not yet on any of the Class 35-400s.

South African Railways

The Class 35 is South Africa’s standard branch line diesel-electric locomotive. GE Class 35-400s were designed for light rail conditions across difficult terrain and they work on most branch lines in the central, western, southern and southeastern parts of the country.

NLPI

New Limpopo Projects Investments Limited (NLPI
NLPI
NLPI Limited is an investment-holding company, registered in Mauritius, whose main investment focus is infrastructure-related projects on the continent of Africa...

), a Mauritius registered company, specialises in private sector investments using the build-operate-transfer (BOT) concept. It has three connected railway operations in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 and 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....

 that form a rail link between South Africa and the Congo.
  • The Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway
    Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway
    The Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway is a privately owned railway company that provides a rail link in Zimbabwe between Beitbridge at the border to South Africa and Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo....

     (BBR), commissioned on 1 September 1999, operates the Beit Bridge to Bulawayo
    Bulawayo
    Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...

     line in Zimbabwe.
  • Since February 2004 NLPI Logistics (NLL or LOG) operates between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls
    Victoria Falls
    The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...

     on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border.
  • Since February 2003 the Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ) operates on the former Zambian Railways (ZR) from Victoria Falls to Sakania
    Sakania
    Sakania is a town in Haut-Katanga District, in the far south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the border with Zambia.It is located at an elevation of 1278m asl ,therefore it has a cool climate....

     in the Congo.


In Zambia the RSZ locomotive fleet includes former ZR locomotives, but the rest of the locomotive fleet of all three operations consist of EMD 34-200
South African Class 34-200
Between October 1971 and March 1972 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 34-200 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...

, 34-600
South African Class 34-600
Between December 1974 and July 1976 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-600 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.-Manufacturer:...

 and 34-800
South African Class 34-800
Between August 1978 and December 1979 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 34-800 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service. In 1979 one more of the same type was placed in service by Iscor in Newcastle, and between April and July 1980 a further eight of these locomotives were...

 and GE Class 35-000
South African Class 35-000
Between March 1972 and May 1973 the South African Railways placed seventy Class 35-000 GE U15C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...

 and 35-400 locomotives supplied by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). These locomotives are sometimes marked or branded as either BBR or LOG or both, but their status, whether leased or loaned, is unclear since they are still on the TFR roster and still often work in South Africa as well. The locomotives also do not appear to be restricted to work in any one of the three operations sections and have been observed being transferred to and fro between Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 and 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....

 as required, across the bridge at Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...

.

Tanzania Railways

Ten Class 35-400 locomotives were leased to Tanzania Railways, where they were regauged to Metre gauge
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

.

Liveries

The main picture shows 35-406 in Spoornet orange livery on a not excessively long train.


See also

  • South African Class 35-000
    South African Class 35-000
    Between March 1972 and May 1973 the South African Railways placed seventy Class 35-000 GE U15C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...

     (GE)
  • South African Class 35-200
    South African Class 35-200
    Between November 1974 and August 1976 the South African Railways placed one hundred and fifty Class 35-200 EMD GT18MC diesel-electric locomotives in service...

     (EMD)
  • South African Class 35-600
    South African Class 35-600
    Between September 1976 and June 1978 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 35-600 EMD GT18MC diesel-electric locomotives in service...

     (EMD)
  • Diesel-electric locomotive numbering and classification
  • List of South African locomotive classes
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