Central South African / South African Railways 2-8-2 Locomotives in South_Africa

Class 11 (Locobase 2719)

Data from "The Walschaert Valve Gear and Its Inventor" , The Railway magazine, Volume 15 (October 1904), p. 300; and "South African Class 11 2-8-2" in Wikipedia at [], last accessed 1 November 2022. See also Class 11 SAR No. 929 2-8-2 & CSAR No. 717" on the

Sandstone Estates website at [], last accessed 1 November 2022. Works numbers were 16207 and 16250-16284 in 1904.

This Mikado promised to be a standard freight engine for the South African Railways. This was the saturated-boiler design as delivered. Its large boiler made it the largest and heaviest Cape gauge 2-8-2 at the time of its delivery. Its design included a Belpaire firebox and 10" (254 mm) piston valves. Wikipedia says that CSAR's P A Hyde sought to take "full advantage" of a recent decision to upgrade all 60 lb/yard (30 kg/metre) rail to 80 lb (40 kg).

Sandstone Estates's commentary explains the CSAR/CAR reluctance to procure any more Mikados as arising from their experience with the engines they put on the Witbank-Johnannesburg run. At first, the line was too lightly built, so the CSAR has to store the class "for nearly a year while a number of bridges and sections were strengthened."

Even with the reinforcements "[t]he concentrated weight over the driving axles often led to derailments of the lightly loaded front pony axle," stated Sandstone and Wikipedia points to the relatively low 6 ton 1 cwt (13,552 lb/6,147 kg) as perhaps the leading culprit. Sandstone added "it is not surprising that no further 2-8-2 locomotives were ordered in South Africa."

Subsequent freight engines were 4-8-2 Mountains.

The Class 11's later superheated manifestation appears in Locobase 4385.

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Class 11 (Locobase 4385)

Data from Index of Diagrams of Steam Locomotives, South African Railways & Harbours, 1941 supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange collection.

Locobase 2719 shows the saturated-boiler Class 11 as it arrived on the Central South African Railways in 1904. Atlhough it displayed discomfiting ride qualities when pressed for speed, the locomotives offered enough positive qualities to remain on the SAR for decades. Initial problems with the trailing truck's helical springs were solved when the railway retrofitted laminated springs. Other than that issue, notes Wikipedia, "the engines were trouble-free and gave more than seventy years of service."

Upgrades included installing a firetube superheater. Although locomotive superintendent A G Watson introduced a round-topped boiler for most classes in the 1930s, the Class 11 kept its Belpaire firebox throughout their working lives. Heavier, more powerful locomotives replaced them on main line freight routes and the Class 11s served as shunters and headed local freights.

As they headed into retirement, fifteen of the class found second careers. Ten worked for gold mines as President Brand Gold Mines numbers 6-8 (and 938 for spare parts), President Steyn Gold Mines 6-8, Free State Geduld Gold Mine #6, Free State Saaiplaas Gold Mine #2, and Western Holding #6.. Four worked in collieries, three of those ultimately combining forces as Tavistock Colliery 1-3. SAR 946 went its own way to work for the Blue Circle Cement facility in Lichtenburg.

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Class NG15 (Locobase 981)

Data from Wikipedia--[] 12/12/12.

These were the earliest 2' Mikados. The first 3 (builder numbers 21905-21907) were delivered in 1931 and 3 more (24475-24477) in 1938. 15 more were delivered after World War II; see NG 15 for 1949.

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Class NG5-71 (Locobase 16058)

Data from South African Railways & Harbors 8 - 1941 locomotive diagrams supplied in August 2013 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. See also Wikipedia AT [], last accessed 1 June 2015. Works numbers were 18578-18583 in 1921

Apparently the three SWA 2-ft-gauge Mikados of 1912 (Locobase 993) were very satisfactory pocket haulers because after World War I, the SAR ordered six more for its SouthWest Africa Mandate in 1921. The design's only difference was a subtle shift in the tube-flue balance from 112 tubes and 14 tubes to 114 tubes and 12 flues.

The Wikipedia entry says that this class worked the 567 km (352 miles) line between Swakopmund on the Atlantic coast to Tsumeb and Grootfontein in South West Africa.

These engines served the SAR well for almost forty years before entering retirement in November 1960.