South African Class 6H 4-6-0 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

In 1901 twenty-one Class 6 4-6-0

4-6-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...

steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s were placed in service by the Cape Government Railways

Cape Government Railways

The Cape Government Railways was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways in 1910.-Private railways:...

, built to the older Class 6 designs with plate frames. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 6H.

Manufacturer

The Class 6 was designed at the Salt River works of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) at the same time as the Class 7

South African Class 7 4-8-0

In 1892 the Cape Government Railways placed six Class 7 steam locomotives with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement in service and between 1892 and 1893 another thirty-two were acquired. They were initially placed in service on the Cape Midland System, but were later distributed between the Cape...

. Whereas the Class 7 was conceived primarily as a goods locomotive, the Class 6 was intended to be its fast passenger service counterpart.

These twenty-one Class 6 locomotives that were placed in service by the CGR in 1901 were built by Neilson, Reid and Company. With these locomotives, CGR Chief Locomotive Superintendent H.M. Beatty kept to the older plate frame design, but fitted the larger type of cab. These locomotives also reverted to the 17 inches (431.8 mm) diameter cylinders that were used on all previous Class 6 locomotives with the exception of the Class 6G

South African Class 6G 4-6-0

In 1901 eight redesigned Class 6 4-6-0 steam locomotives were placed in service by the Cape Government Railways. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 6G.-Manufacturer:...

. Another similarity to the early Class 6 locomotives was the visually obvious distinguishing feature of lower running boards with driving wheel fairings.

Upon delivery, nine of them were numbered 278 to 286 and allocated to the Western System of the CGR. The other twelve were numbered 601 to 612 for the Midland System, but later renumbered 541 to 552.

Drummond tubes

One of these twenty-one locomotives, the Western System’s number 286, was an experimental locomotive equipped with Drummond

Dugald Drummond

Dugald Drummond was a Scottish steam locomotive engineer. He had a career with the North British Railway, LB&SCR, Caledonian Railway and London and South Western Railway...

water tubes in the firebox and a very large panelled cab. Drummond tubes involved the installation of cross-water tubes in the firebox, as featured on the London and South Western Railway

London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

’s T9 Class and L11 Class

LSWR L11 Class

The London and South Western Railway L11 class was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives designed for mixed traffic work. They were introduced in 1903 and were nicknamed "Large Hoppers"...

, in an attempt to increase the heat surface area of the water, albeit at the cost of increased boiler complexity. On the as built CGR 286 visual exterior evidence of the presence of Drummond tubes was rectangular covers attached to the sides of the boiler just ahead of the cab.

In service, it was found that the tubes did not affect the steaming capacity of the boiler to any significant extent. Instead, the tubes were inclined to leak and were difficult to maintain. It was therefore not long before the tubes were removed, and at the same time the cab was changed to the standard type employed on the other twenty locomotives.

Class 6 sub-classes

When these locomotives were assimilated into the newly established South African Railways (SAR) in 1912, they were renumbered 614 to 634 and reclassified to Class 6H.

The rest of the CGR’s Class 6 locomotives, together with the Central South African Railways (CSAR) Classes 6-L1 to 6-L3 locomotives that were inherited from the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwermentspoorwegen (OVGS) via the Imperial Military Railways (IMR), were grouped into thirteen more sub-classes by the SAR. The 4-6-0 locomotives became SAR Classes 6, 6A to 6G and 6J to 6L, the 2-6-2 locomotives became Class 6Y and the 2-6-4 locomotives became Class 6Z.

Service

The Class 6 series of locomotives were introduced primarily as passenger locomotives, but when the class became displaced by larger and more powerful locomotive classes, it literally became a "Jack-of-all-trades" that proved itself as one of the most useful and successful locomotive classes ever to be designed at the Salt River shops. It went on to see service in all parts of the country except Natal and was used on all types of traffic.

In Cape Town they held a monopoly over the suburban services until electrification arrived in 1928, and on the Reef they also worked these services between Randfontein and Springs until the loads became too heavy for them. They were employed on branch lines all over the country, Natal excluded, and practically every big station and many smaller ones had its quota of these locomotives to work the local passenger, goods and shunting services.

Like the Class 7, the Class 6 family gave good service for many years. By the time the last ones were retired in 1973, the Class 6 series had achieved a service life of eighty years, a performance that can be matched by few, if any, other locomotive classes world wide.

Renumberings

The table shows the Class 6H works numbers and renumberings.

Class 6H 4-6-0
Works Numbers & Renumbering
Works no.	CGR no.	CGR Renumber	SAR no.
5883	278		614
5884	279		615
5885	280		616
5886	281		617
5887	282		618
5888	283		619
5889	284		620
5891	285		621
5890	286		622
5871	601	541	623
5872	602	542	624
5873	603	543	625
5874	604	544	626
5875	605	545	627
5876	606	546	628
5877	607	547	629
5878	608	548	630
5879	609	549	631
5880	610	550	632
5881	611	551	633
5882	612	552	634

Commemoration

A 25c postage stamp depicting a Class 6H locomotive was one of a set of four commemorative postage stamps that were issued by the South African Post Office on 27 April 1983, to commemorate the steam locomotives of South Africa that were rapidly being withdrawn from service at the time. The artwork and stamp design was by the noted stamp designer and artist Hein Botha.

The particular locomotive depicted was ex CGR (Midland System) Class 6 605, renumbered to CGR 545 and later SAR Class 6H 627, that was withdrawn from service in 1971 and plinthed at the Mafikeng Museum in 1972. The outline of a traditional SAR locomotive number plate was used as a commemorative cancellation for De Aar on the date of release.

Gallery

The main picture shows ex CGR (Midland System) Class 6 607, renumbered to CGR 547 and later SAR Class 6H 629, at Midlandia locomotive depot at Noupoort on 1 May 1967.