South African Class 37-000
Encyclopedia
Between May 1981 and 1982 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 37-000 EMD GT26M2C diesel-electric locomotives in service. After these locomotives were commissioned, the national carrier was not to invest in new diesel-electric locomotives before 2009, nearly three decades later.
, 34-600
and 34-800
.
across Swaziland
to Empangeni and Richards Bay.
type EMD GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives were to be rebuilt for Spoornet from Class 34-600, 34-800 and 37-000 locomotives. The project commenced in 2005, using suitable frames from wrecked locomotives. Two companies were invited to produce prototypes for the project.
(BEE) company dealing with locomotives and spares. The Sibanye venture produced only one locomotive, rebuilt from Class 37-000 37-010 in 2008 and numbered 39-251. The locomotive was tested and rejected by Transnet, reportedly due to poor quality. Furthermore, when serious tender irregularities came to light, the locomotive rebuilding deal between Transnet and Sibanye was cancelled.
Number 39-251 never worked for Transnet and was later reported as sold to RRL, a company that came out of the abortive joint venture between EMD and Sibanye. RRL, based at a workshop in the old Pretoria Steel Works complex and with several of its locomotives active around Welkom in the Free State, was reported in 2011 as having hired out the locomotive to one of the platinum mines.
It was intended to produce one hundred Class 39-000s, but in spite of the technical success of the Transnet Rail Engineering part of the project, rebuilding was halted after completing the first five locomotives due to higher than anticipated cost. It was decided, instead of rebuilding old locomotives, to rather continue the program by building fifty new Class 39-200
locomotives from imported and locally produced components.
Manufacturer
The Class 37-000 type GT26M2C diesel-electric locomotive was designed for the South African Railways (SAR) by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) and built by General Motors South Africa (GMSA) in Port Elizabeth. Equipped with later model EMD D31 traction motors instead of the earlier EMD D29B, it is a more powerful version of the EMD Class 34-200South 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...
.
Service
Class 37-000 locomotives work on main lines in the northern and northeastern parts of the country. Most of them are shedded at Ermelo and Lydenburg in Mpumalanga and at Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal. They work on the Belfast-Steelpoort line and on the manganese route between the Mpumalanga Lowveld and KwaZulu-Natal, from KomatipoortKomatipoort
Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 8km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the Kruger Park, and just 5km from the Mozambique border and 65km from the Swazi border. It is a small, quiet town with some...
across Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
to Empangeni and Richards Bay.
Rebuilding to Class 39-000
Class 39-000South African Class 39-000
In 2005 Transwerk commenced a project of rebuilding one hundred existing locomotives to new Class 39-000 EMD GT26CU-3 locomotives for Spoornet. Only five were eventually rebuilt and placed in service between April 2006 and 2009.-Manufacturer:...
type EMD GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives were to be rebuilt for Spoornet from Class 34-600, 34-800 and 37-000 locomotives. The project commenced in 2005, using suitable frames from wrecked locomotives. Two companies were invited to produce prototypes for the project.
Number 39-251
One of these companies was Electro-Motive Sibanye, a joint venture between EMD and Sibanye Trade and Services, a South African Black Economic EmpowermentBlack 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...
(BEE) company dealing with locomotives and spares. The Sibanye venture produced only one locomotive, rebuilt from Class 37-000 37-010 in 2008 and numbered 39-251. The locomotive was tested and rejected by Transnet, reportedly due to poor quality. Furthermore, when serious tender irregularities came to light, the locomotive rebuilding deal between Transnet and Sibanye was cancelled.
Number 39-251 never worked for Transnet and was later reported as sold to RRL, a company that came out of the abortive joint venture between EMD and Sibanye. RRL, based at a workshop in the old Pretoria Steel Works complex and with several of its locomotives active around Welkom in the Free State, was reported in 2011 as having hired out the locomotive to one of the platinum mines.
Numbers 39-001 to 39-005
The other company was Transwerk (later Transnet Rail Engineering) in Bloemfontein, who produced five locomotives between 2006 and 2008, rebuilt from three Class 34-600s and two Class 34-800s. These were tested and approved by TFR and placed in service as Class 39-000 numbers 39-001 to 39-005.It was intended to produce one hundred Class 39-000s, but in spite of the technical success of the Transnet Rail Engineering part of the project, rebuilding was halted after completing the first five locomotives due to higher than anticipated cost. It was decided, instead of rebuilding old locomotives, to rather continue the program by building fifty new Class 39-200
South African Class 39-200
Early in 2010 fifty Class 39-200 type EMD GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives were placed in service by Transnet Freight Rail.-The Rebuilt Class 39-000:...
locomotives from imported and locally produced components.
Liveries
The main picture shows 37-020 in Spoornet blue livery with outline numbers at Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, on 15 August 2007.See also
- South African Class 34-200South African Class 34-200Between October 1971 and March 1972 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 34-200 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
- South African Class 34-600South African Class 34-600Between December 1974 and July 1976 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-600 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 34-800South African Class 34-800Between 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...
- South African Class 39-000South African Class 39-000In 2005 Transwerk commenced a project of rebuilding one hundred existing locomotives to new Class 39-000 EMD GT26CU-3 locomotives for Spoornet. Only five were eventually rebuilt and placed in service between April 2006 and 2009.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 39-200South African Class 39-200Early in 2010 fifty Class 39-200 type EMD GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives were placed in service by Transnet Freight Rail.-The Rebuilt Class 39-000:...
- Diesel-electric locomotive numbering and classification
- List of South African locomotive classes