South African Class 8C 4-8-0
Encyclopedia
In 1903, soon after the establishment of the Central South African Railways
, a second batch of thirty Cape Class 8 4-8-0
Mastodon steam locomotive
s were ordered and placed in service as the Class 8-L3, immediately following a previous order in that same year for a variation on the same locomotive type. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8C.
The comparatively small number of serviceable locomotives immediately available for service, compounded by the poor condition of many of the original NZASM, PPR, Selati and OVGS locomotives and an expected post-war increase in traffic, led to an order for altogether sixty new steam locomotives. They were to be built in two variations, to the specifications of the Class 8
4-8-0 Mastodon type that was designed by H.M. Beatty, the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) from 1896 to 1910.
Orders were placed with Neilson, Reid and Company in 1903, but while they were being built, Neilson, Reid amalgamated with Dübs and Company
and Sharp, Stewart and Company to form the North British Locomotive Company
(NBL). As a result, the thirty locomotives of the second batch, numbered 471 to 500, were all delivered as built by the North British Locomotive Company
(NBL) at the Hyde Park shops of the former Neilson, Reid.
They differed from the first batch of the same order only by not being equipped with Drummond
water tubes in the fireboxes. To differentiate them from the Class 8-L1 and the Drummond tube equipped Class 8-L2, these locomotives became the CSAR Class 8-L3. These were the last locomotives to be ordered by the CSAR built to the design of another railway.
These locomotives, together with the CSAR’s Class 8-L1 and 8-L2 4-8-0 Mastodon locomotives and all the CGR’s Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidations and 4-8-0 Mastodons, were grouped into ten different sub-classes by the SAR. The 4-8-0 locomotives became SAR Classes 8 and 8A to 8F and the 2-8-0 locomotives became Classes 8X to 8Z.
Of the Class 8C locomotives, seven were equipped with superheated boilers, 19 inches (482.6 mm) bore cylinders and outside admission piston valves while retaining their Class 8C classification.
Five were equipped with superheated boilers, 20 inches (508 mm) bore cylinders and inside admission piston valves, and were reclassified to Class 8CW.
The Class 8C and 8CW works numbers, renumbering and superheating modifications are shown in the table.
Central South African Railways
From 1902 to 1904, the area of power of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Girouard later also included the lines of The Netherlands-South African Railway Company; together this dominion covered all lines in the Transvaal that belonged to NZASM ....
, a second batch of thirty Cape Class 8 4-8-0
4-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. The type was nicknamed the Mastodon or Twelve-wheeler in North America....
Mastodon 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 ordered and placed in service as the Class 8-L3, immediately following a previous order in that same year for a variation on the same locomotive type. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8C.
Manufacturers
Upon the establishment of the Central South African Railways (CSAR) in July 1902, soon after the end of the Second Freedom War, Chief Locomotive Superintendent P.A. Hyde became the custodian of a mixed bag of locomotives inherited from the Imperial Military Railways (IMR). These included locomotives that originated with the Selati Railway, the Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij (NZASM), the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR) and the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwermentspoorwegen (OVGS).The comparatively small number of serviceable locomotives immediately available for service, compounded by the poor condition of many of the original NZASM, PPR, Selati and OVGS locomotives and an expected post-war increase in traffic, led to an order for altogether sixty new steam locomotives. They were to be built in two variations, to the specifications of the Class 8
South African Class 8 4-8-0
In 1902 and 1903 the Cape Government Railways placed twenty-three Class 8 steam locomotives with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement in service, three on the Cape Western System, eight on the Cape Midland System and twelve on the Cape Eastern System...
4-8-0 Mastodon type that was designed by H.M. Beatty, the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) from 1896 to 1910.
Orders were placed with Neilson, Reid and Company in 1903, but while they were being built, Neilson, Reid amalgamated with Dübs and Company
Dûbs and Company
Dübs & Co. was a locomotive works in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it became part of the North British Locomotive Company.-Preserved locomotives:...
and Sharp, Stewart and Company to form the North British Locomotive Company
North 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). As a result, the thirty locomotives of the second batch, numbered 471 to 500, were all delivered as built by the North British Locomotive Company
North 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) at the Hyde Park shops of the former Neilson, Reid.
They differed from the first batch of the same order only by not being 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 fireboxes. To differentiate them from the Class 8-L1 and the Drummond tube equipped Class 8-L2, these locomotives became the CSAR Class 8-L3. These were the last locomotives to be ordered by the CSAR built to the design of another railway.
Class 8 sub-classes
In 1912, when these thirty locomotives were assimilated into the newly established South African Railways (SAR), they were renumbered 1162 to 1191 and reclassified to Class 8C.These locomotives, together with the CSAR’s Class 8-L1 and 8-L2 4-8-0 Mastodon locomotives and all the CGR’s Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidations and 4-8-0 Mastodons, were grouped into ten different sub-classes by the SAR. The 4-8-0 locomotives became SAR Classes 8 and 8A to 8F and the 2-8-0 locomotives became Classes 8X to 8Z.
Modification
During A.G. Watson’s term as the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the SAR from 1929 to 1936, many of the Class 8 to Class 8F locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers, larger bore cylinders and either inside or outside admission piston valves. The outside admission locomotives had their cylinder bore increased from 18.5 inches (469.9 mm) to 19 inches (482.6 mm) and retained their existing SAR classifications, while the inside admission locomotives had their cylinder bore increased to 20 inches (508 mm) and were reclassified by having a "W" suffix added to their existing SAR classifications.Of the Class 8C locomotives, seven were equipped with superheated boilers, 19 inches (482.6 mm) bore cylinders and outside admission piston valves while retaining their Class 8C classification.
Five were equipped with superheated boilers, 20 inches (508 mm) bore cylinders and inside admission piston valves, and were reclassified to Class 8CW.
The Class 8C and 8CW works numbers, renumbering and superheating modifications are shown in the table.
| Works No. |
CSAR No. |
SAR No. |
SAR Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15803 | 471 | 1162 | |
| 15804 | 472 | 1163 | |
| 15805 | 473 | 1164 | Superheated |
| 15806 | 474 | 1165 | |
| 15807 | 475 | 1166 | Class 8CW |
| 15808 | 476 | 1167 | |
| 15809 | 477 | 1168 | |
| 15810 | 478 | 1169 | |
| 15811 | 479 | 1170 | Superheated |
| 15812 | 480 | 1171 | Class 8CW |
| 15813 | 481 | 1172 | |
| 15814 | 482 | 1173 | |
| 15815 | 483 | 1174 | |
| 15816 | 484 | 1175 | |
| 15817 | 485 | 1176 | |
| 15818 | 486 | 1177 | |
| 15819 | 487 | 1178 | Superheated |
| 15820 | 488 | 1179 | |
| 15821 | 489 | 1180 | Superheated |
| 15822 | 490 | 1181 | Class 8CW |
| 15823 | 491 | 1182 | |
| 15824 | 492 | 1183 | Class 8CW |
| 15825 | 493 | 1184 | Superheated |
| 15826 | 494 | 1185 | Superheated |
| 15827 | 495 | 1186 | |
| 15828 | 496 | 1187 | |
| 15829 | 497 | 1188 | |
| 15830 | 498 | 1189 | Class 8CW |
| 15831 | 499 | 1190 | Superheated |
| 15832 | 500 | 1191 | |
Service
In SAR service, the 4-8-0 Class 8 family of locomotives worked on every system in the country and in the 1920s became the mainstay of motive power on many branch lines. Their final days were spent in shunting service and by 1972 they were all withdrawn.See also
- South African Class 8 4-8-0South African Class 8 4-8-0In 1902 and 1903 the Cape Government Railways placed twenty-three Class 8 steam locomotives with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement in service, three on the Cape Western System, eight on the Cape Midland System and twelve on the Cape Eastern System...
- South African Class 8A 4-8-0South African Class 8A 4-8-0In 1902 the Central South African Railways placed forty Class 8-L1 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8A.-Manufacturers:...
- South African Class 8B 4-8-0South African Class 8B 4-8-0In 1903, soon after its establishment, the Central South African Railways placed thirty Class 8-L2 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8B.-Manufacturers:Upon the...
- South African Class 8D 4-8-0South African Class 8D 4-8-0In 1903, when the first batch of Class 8 4-8-0 Mastodons had been tried and proven successful, the Cape Government Railways placed another thirty-eight Class 8 4-8-0 steam locomotives in service, six on the Cape Western System, twenty on the Cape Midland System and twelve on the Cape Eastern System...
- South African Class 8E 4-8-0South African Class 8E 4-8-0In 1903, at the same time that the Cape Government Railways ordered its second batch of thirty-eight Class 8 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives, four additional locomotives of the same class were ordered, but built to modified specifications in order to accommodate a larger grate area...
- South African Class 8F 4-8-0South African Class 8F 4-8-0In 1904 the Cape Government Railways placed its final batch of ten Class 8 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8F.-Evolution:...
- South African Class 8X 2-8-0South African Class 8X 2-8-0Between 1901 and 1902 the Cape Government Railways placed sixteen Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidation type steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8X...
- South African Class 8Y 2-8-0South African Class 8Y 2-8-0In 1903 the Cape Government Railways placed four more Cape Class 8 2-8-0 steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8Y.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 8Z 2-8-0South African Class 8Z 2-8-0In 1904 the Cape Government Railways placed its last eight Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidation type steam locomotives in service. All subsequent Cape Class 8 locomotives were built with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement...
- Tender locomotive numbering and classification
- The 4-8-0 "Mastodon"
- List of South African locomotive classes