South African locomotive numbering and classification
Encyclopedia
The Union of South Africa
was established on 31 May 1910 by the unification of the former Cape Colony
, Natal Colony and the two colonised former republics, the Transvaal
and the Orange Free State
. Two years later, in 1912, the creation of the South African Railways, later renamed Spoornet and then Transnet Freight Rail, mirrored the national union in railway terms by amalgamating the former Cape Government Railways
, Natal Government Railways
and Central South African Railways
into one national carrier for the Union. These component railways were themselves created through the amalgamation of several smaller predecessors.
steam locomotives were all numbered sequentially beginning with number 1, more or less in the order of their new 1912 classifications.
To cut down on maintenance costs, he abandoned the Belpaire firebox
altogether and adopted the round-top type. He was also opposed to the use of combustion chambers. He then introduced seven standard boilers (numbers 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B), later to become known as the Watson Standard boilers. Locomotives that were reboilered with Watson Standard boilers were reclassified with an additional “R” (for reboilered) suffix to their Class numbers.
locomotives that carry all their coal and water on the engine itself instead of in a separate tender, were classed alphabetically from Class A to H and J to K while variations within classes were indicated by a numerical suffix, for example Class H, H1 and H2.
locomotives were classed alphabetically but with an M prefix, from Class MA to MJ, while variations within classes were indicated by a numerical suffix, for example Class MC and MC1.
Garratt locomotives were classed alphabetically with a G prefix, from Class GA to GO, variations being indicated by an additional letter as in Class GCA or GDA. The Class GMA Garratt exists in two forms, the GMA for branch line use and the GMAM for main line use.
Two of the three Modified Fairlie locomotive types were classed alphabetically with an F prefix and with the second letters corresponding to the second letter in the equivalent Garratt class, namely the Class FC and FD. An exception was the third type, the Class HF.
The sole Kitson-Meyer
locomotive was classed KM.
The Union-Garratt was a unique locomotive type that can best be described as a hybrid between a Garratt
and a Modified Fairlie. Of the two Union-Garratt types, the 2-6-2+2-6-2 was classed U while the 4-6-2+2-6-4 was classed in the Garratt range as Class GH.
(2 feet/610 millimetre) locomotives were included in the SAR’s 1912 numbering scheme and were allocated running numbers with an “NG” prefix in order to distinguish them from Cape gauge
locomotives that shared the same locomotive number, but a system of grouping narrow gauge locomotives into classes was only adopted somewhere between 1928 and 1930. These classifications were also prefixed with “NG”, for example “Class NG1” or “Class NG15” for tank or tender locomotives, or “Class NG G16” for Garratts.
The inscriptions on the number plates were not always in a consistent format. On Garratts, for example, the class could be found indicated as “Class NG G16”, “Class NG/G16”, “Class NGG16” or even simply as “Class NGG”. Also, the engine number on the number plate was sometimes prefixed with the “NG”, sometimes not.
As a result of the late inplementation of the narrow gauge locomotive classification system, some early non-obsolete narrow gauge locomotives that had been taken onto the SAR roster in 1912 were never sorted into classes since they had already been witdrawn from service by 1928.
Circa 1960 the SAR adopted a new classification system for electric and diesel powered locomotives. In terms of the new system, electric locomotives continued to be classed from Class 1E up, with the “E” suffix to distinguish them from steam locomotives with the same class number. Diesel-electric locomotives were classed from Class 31 up, diesel-hydraulic locomotives as Class 61
and narrow gauge diesel-electric locomotives as Class 91.
Beginning with the arrival of the Class 31 diesel-electric and Class 61 diesel-hydraulic locomotives, the diesels were numbered in their own numbering series with the “D” prefix, overlapping with steam and electric numbers but starting at D700. The Class 31 was therefore initially numbered D700-D744 and the Class 61 D745-D751.
With the implementation of the new classification system for electric and diesel powered locomotives, the numbering system for diesel-electric locomotives was changed to include the locomotive class and series in the locomotive number, for example 32-001 to 32-115 and 32-201 to 32-210. For differentiation between diesel-electric locomotive series within each class and simultaneously indicating the number range of the series, three digits were added to the class number, for example Class 32-000 and 32-200. The “D” prefix was done away with.
In the process the early diesels were renumbered, so Class 31 numbers D700 to D744 became 31-001 to 31-045 and Class 61 numbers D745 to D751 became 61-001 to 61-007. The Class 61-000 diesel-hydraulics were sold to the Rhodesia Railway shortly thereafter.
.
The number plates date back to the early years of the CGR and NGR and are highly sought after by collectors as well as scrap metal peddlers. Unfortunately, this has led to a rhinoceros horn type situation where the plates were illegally removed from many locomotives. In later years most modern engines wore plates that were cast in aluminium instead of brass in an attempt to discourage theft.
Eventually, when the SAR was renamed to Spoornet in 1990, it was decided to permanently remove these prized items from all electric and diesel-electric locomotives when they were repainted in post SAR liveries.
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
was established on 31 May 1910 by the unification of the former Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, Natal Colony and the two colonised former republics, the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
and the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
. Two years later, in 1912, the creation of the South African Railways, later renamed Spoornet and then Transnet Freight Rail, mirrored the national union in railway terms by amalgamating the former 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:...
, Natal Government Railways
Natal government railways
The Natal Government Railways was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal.In 1877 the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban to Umgeni...
and Central South African Railways
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 ....
into one national carrier for the Union. These component railways were themselves created through the amalgamation of several smaller predecessors.
Background
Each of the component railways of the new South African Railways (SAR) used their own locomotive classification and numbering system. Nearly two years after the establishment of the Union of South Africa, on 1 January 1912, a carefully planned reclassification and renumbering scheme was brought into operation. Most of the locomotives of the Cape Government Railways (CGR), Natal Government Railways (NGR) and Central South African Railways (CSAR) were renumbered into the SAR roster and, with some exceptions, reclassified. Locomotives that retained their old classifications were mostly from the CGR and CSAR, since the SAR more or less followed the CGR’s classification system while the CSAR’s was similar to that of the CGR.Cape gauge steam locomotives
The SAR used different classification systems for its steam locomotives, according to locomotive type. Tender locomotives, shunters excluded, were classified numerically while tank, articulated and shunting locomotives were classified using letters of the alphabet. Cape gaugeCape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...
steam locomotives were all numbered sequentially beginning with number 1, more or less in the order of their new 1912 classifications.
Tender locomotives
Tender type steam locomotives were arranged in numerical classes (Class 1 to 21 and 23 to 26) while variations within classes were indicated by an alphabetical suffix, for example Class 12, 12A and 12B. Locomotives reboilered with Watson Standard boilers (see below) were reclassified with an additional “R” suffix, for example Class 12R and 12AR. Some engines were rebalanced to redistribute their axle loads for either main line or branch line service on lighter rail and were reclassified with an additional “M” (for main line) or “B” (for branch line) suffix, for example Class 14CRM and 14CRB.Shunting tender locomotives
The only dedicated shunting steam locomotives were also tender types and were classed S. Subsequent models became Class S1 and S2.Watson Standard boilers
At the time that A.G. Watson was appointed Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the SAR in 1929, no fewer than eighty-eight different types of steam locomotives were in SAR service, for which some fifty different types of boilers were required. He implemented a long overdue policy of standardisation in locomotive parts, specifically boilers.To cut down on maintenance costs, he abandoned the Belpaire firebox
Belpaire firebox
The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium. It has a greater surface area at the top of the firebox, improving heat transfer and steam production...
altogether and adopted the round-top type. He was also opposed to the use of combustion chambers. He then introduced seven standard boilers (numbers 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B), later to become known as the Watson Standard boilers. Locomotives that were reboilered with Watson Standard boilers were reclassified with an additional “R” (for reboilered) suffix to their Class numbers.
| No. | Inner diameter | Distance between tube plates |
Firebox area | Tubes area (total) | Superheater area | Grate area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 in 0 in (1.52 m) | 17 in 9 in (5.41 m) | 123 sq ft (11.427 m²) | 1497 sq ft (139.076 m²) | 366 sq ft (34.003 m²) | 36 sq ft (3.345 m²) |
| 1A | 5 in 0 in (1.52 m) | 20 in 2 in (6.15 m) | 123 sq ft (11.427 m²) | 1700 sq ft (157.935 m²) | 404 sq ft (37.533 m²) | 36 sq ft (3.345 m²) |
| 2 | 5 foot | 19 in 4 in (5.89 m) | 142 sq ft (13.192 m²) | 1933 sq ft (179.582 m²) | 492 sq ft (45.708 m²) | 37 sq ft (3.437 m²) |
| 2A | 5 foot | 21 in 8 in (6.6 m) | 142 sq ft (13.192 m²) | 2171 sq ft (201.692 m²) | 537 sq ft (49.889 m²) | 37 sq ft (3.437 m²) |
| 2B | 5 foot | 18 in 4 in (5.59 m) | 142 sq ft (13.192 m²) | 1836 sq ft (170.57 m²) | 472 sq ft (43.85 m²) | 37 sq ft (3.437 m²) |
| 3A | 6 foot | 19 foot | 206 sq ft (19.138 m²) | 2682 sq ft (249.166 m²) | 592 sq ft (54.999 m²) | 63 sq ft (5.853 m²) |
| 3B | 6 foot | 22 in 6 in (6.86 m) | 206 sq ft (19.138 m²) | 3168 sq ft (294.317 m²) | 676 sq ft (62.802 m²) | 63 sq ft (5.853 m²) |
Tank locomotives
TankTank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
locomotives that carry all their coal and water on the engine itself instead of in a separate tender, were classed alphabetically from Class A to H and J to K while variations within classes were indicated by a numerical suffix, for example Class H, H1 and H2.
Articulated locomotives
MalletMallet locomotive
The Mallet Locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive, invented by a Swiss engineer named Anatole Mallet ....
locomotives were classed alphabetically but with an M prefix, from Class MA to MJ, while variations within classes were indicated by a numerical suffix, for example Class MC and MC1.
Garratt locomotives were classed alphabetically with a G prefix, from Class GA to GO, variations being indicated by an additional letter as in Class GCA or GDA. The Class GMA Garratt exists in two forms, the GMA for branch line use and the GMAM for main line use.
Two of the three Modified Fairlie locomotive types were classed alphabetically with an F prefix and with the second letters corresponding to the second letter in the equivalent Garratt class, namely the Class FC and FD. An exception was the third type, the Class HF.
The sole Kitson-Meyer
Meyer locomotive
A Meyer locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive. The design was never as popular as the Garratt or Mallet locomotives. It can be best regarded as 19th Century competition for the early compound Mallet and also the Fairlie articulated designs....
locomotive was classed KM.
The Union-Garratt was a unique locomotive type that can best be described as a hybrid between a Garratt
Garratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
and a Modified Fairlie. Of the two Union-Garratt types, the 2-6-2+2-6-2 was classed U while the 4-6-2+2-6-4 was classed in the Garratt range as Class GH.
Obsolete locomotives
Classes that were considered obsolete but that were still retained in service when the SAR renumbering came into effect, were numbered with an O prefix, as in Class O5, while obsolete locomotives taken over from German South West Africa retained their original German class descriptions.Narrow gauge steam locomotives
Narrow gaugeNarrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
(2 feet/610 millimetre) locomotives were included in the SAR’s 1912 numbering scheme and were allocated running numbers with an “NG” prefix in order to distinguish them from Cape gauge
Cape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...
locomotives that shared the same locomotive number, but a system of grouping narrow gauge locomotives into classes was only adopted somewhere between 1928 and 1930. These classifications were also prefixed with “NG”, for example “Class NG1” or “Class NG15” for tank or tender locomotives, or “Class NG G16” for Garratts.
The inscriptions on the number plates were not always in a consistent format. On Garratts, for example, the class could be found indicated as “Class NG G16”, “Class NG/G16”, “Class NGG16” or even simply as “Class NGG”. Also, the engine number on the number plate was sometimes prefixed with the “NG”, sometimes not.
As a result of the late inplementation of the narrow gauge locomotive classification system, some early non-obsolete narrow gauge locomotives that had been taken onto the SAR roster in 1912 were never sorted into classes since they had already been witdrawn from service by 1928.
Electric and diesel locomotives
When the first electric locomotives were commissioned in 1924, they were also numbered sequentially beginning at number 1, also more or less in the order of being taken on roster and irrespective of class. To distinguish them from steam locomotives with the same running number, an “E” prefix was used with their numbers.Circa 1960 the SAR adopted a new classification system for electric and diesel powered locomotives. In terms of the new system, electric locomotives continued to be classed from Class 1E up, with the “E” suffix to distinguish them from steam locomotives with the same class number. Diesel-electric locomotives were classed from Class 31 up, diesel-hydraulic locomotives as Class 61
South African Class 61-000
Between May and July 1959, in order to also gain experience with other forms of diesel motive power, the South African Railways placed seven Class 1-DH diesel-hydraulic locomotives in service. These were later reclassified to Class 61-000...
and narrow gauge diesel-electric locomotives as Class 91.
Diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic locomotives
Diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic locomotives were distinguished from steam and electric locomotives with a “D” prefix to their numbers. The first diesel-electric locomotives, two early diesel shunters, were numbered in the same number range as electric locomotives, but with the “D” prefix. These were Class DS D137 and Class DS1 D138.Beginning with the arrival of the Class 31 diesel-electric and Class 61 diesel-hydraulic locomotives, the diesels were numbered in their own numbering series with the “D” prefix, overlapping with steam and electric numbers but starting at D700. The Class 31 was therefore initially numbered D700-D744 and the Class 61 D745-D751.
With the implementation of the new classification system for electric and diesel powered locomotives, the numbering system for diesel-electric locomotives was changed to include the locomotive class and series in the locomotive number, for example 32-001 to 32-115 and 32-201 to 32-210. For differentiation between diesel-electric locomotive series within each class and simultaneously indicating the number range of the series, three digits were added to the class number, for example Class 32-000 and 32-200. The “D” prefix was done away with.
In the process the early diesels were renumbered, so Class 31 numbers D700 to D744 became 31-001 to 31-045 and Class 61 numbers D745 to D751 became 61-001 to 61-007. The Class 61-000 diesel-hydraulics were sold to the Rhodesia Railway shortly thereafter.
Electro-diesel locomotives
In 1992, when the only South African electro-diesel locomotives to date were taken into service, they were grouped with the diesel-electrics as Class 38-000South African Class 38-000
Between 1992 and 1994 Spoornet placed fifty Class 38-000 locomotives in service. They are still the only dual powered electro-diesel locomotives in use by Transnet Freight Rail, capable of running either on 3 kV electricity off the catenary or on diesel alone....
.
Electric locomotives
With electric locomotives this new numbering practice was gradually implemented in four stages.- All electric locomotives up to and including the Class 6E1s were still numbered sequentially, irrespective of class, up to E2185, the last Class 6E1.
- With the introduction of the Class 7E, sequential numbering was done away with and the class number was made part of the locomotive number (E7001 to E7100). Series variations within classes, however, were still sequentially numbered, for example Class 7E1 (E7101 to E7150), Class 7E2, Series 1 (E7151 to E7169) and Class 7E2, Series 2 (E7170 to E7215).
- With the introduction of the Class 10E, the numbering system became partially similar to that of diesel-electric locomotives (10-001 to 10-050). The class series, however, was not yet incorporated into the number, but followed the old practice (10E, 10E1, 10E2). Numbering of such series within the class was still sequential, thus the Class 10E1 was still numbered sequentially following on the last Class 10E number (10-051 to 10-100).
- On electric locomotives the incorporation of the locomotive series into the locomotive number was first used in 1993 with the introduction of the Class 14E, Series 2South African Class 14E, Series 2In December 1994 Spoornet took delivery of the last of ten locally manufactured Class 14E1 dual voltage electric main line locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement...
. The three Series 1 engines were numbered 14-001 to 14-003 and the Series 2 engines 14-100 to 14-110, with the “E” prefix finally done away with.
Number plates
The traditional number plates on the cab sides of SAR steam and diesel locomotives and the middle sides of electric locomotives displayed the engine’s number and class. They were originally always cast in brass and usually kept brightly polished by engine crews. During the SAR era they were also often unofficially used to display the engine’s home depot by the colour of the recessed middle part of the plate.The number plates date back to the early years of the CGR and NGR and are highly sought after by collectors as well as scrap metal peddlers. Unfortunately, this has led to a rhinoceros horn type situation where the plates were illegally removed from many locomotives. In later years most modern engines wore plates that were cast in aluminium instead of brass in an attempt to discourage theft.
Eventually, when the SAR was renamed to Spoornet in 1990, it was decided to permanently remove these prized items from all electric and diesel-electric locomotives when they were repainted in post SAR liveries.