Rhodesia Railways 4-8-0 Locomotives in Rhodesia

Class 8 - 1st batch (Locobase 20001)

Data from A E Durrant, The Smoke That Thunders (Harare, Zimbabwe: African Publishing Group, 1997), p. 50. Works numbers were 16216-16225 in 1904.

Locobase 10415 shows the Cape Government's American-influenced 8th class. Durrant singled out superintendent's H M Beatty's adoption of the bar frame and cylinders cast with half-saddles (and thus bolted together under the boiler's centerline).

But the firebox was quite narrow, offering a grate only 28 3/4" (730 mm) wide. Durrant commented that the class were "poorer steamers" than the 7th class, adding that this was "hardly a good feature on a such a heavily graded railway as the Rhodesian." A later batch shown in Locobase 20002 had a larger firebox.

Seven--55-61-- were based at Mafeking. 54 was scrapped after an accident in 1929, eight were "set aside" in the early 1930s and seven scrapped in the late 1930s. 61 was sold in 1940 to the Union Lime Company at Silverstreams. 60 served as a shunter until 1956, after which it was sold to Zambesi Sawmills Railway.

Class 8 - 2nd batch (Locobase 20002)

Data from A E Durrant, The Smoke That Thunders (Harare, Zimbabwe: African Publishing Group, 1997), p. 51. Works numbers were 19317-19319, 19356-19359 in 1910.

Locobase 20001 shows the first batch of ten Class 8 Twelve-wheelers that echoed the Cape Government engines, but were regarded as poor steamers. The second batch shown here had a higher pitch that Durrant pointed out deepened the firebox and increased the combustion volume.

Like the first batch, the 1910 septet was set aside in the early 1930s. 77-78 (ex-63-64) were soon scrapped, 73-76 (ex-66-69) were sold to Zambesi Sawmills Railway, and 79 (ex-65) was sold to Union Lime Company.

Class 9 (Locobase 4591)

Data from A E Durrant, The Smoke That Thunders (Harare, Zimbabwe: African Publishing Group, 1997), pp. 53-55. See also 1946 Beyer, Peacock catalogue hosted on Martyn Bane's website at [] (accessed 21 May 2006). North British Locomotive works numbers were 19743-19745 in June 1912, 19746-19754 in Juy, 19818-19823 in August; BP works numbers were 5914-5919 (batch #0890) in 1915; and ending with NBL 21474-21475 in September 1917 and 21476-21479 in October..

Durrant wrote that the Class 9 was based on a Cape Government Railways Twelve-wheeler built by Kitson in 1906 to provide greater steaming capacity than the Class 8s. Rhodesia Railways' "Togo" Hosgood amended the South African "Exp 6" design, Durrant speculating that he "must have obtained the Kitson drawings from Salt River and sent them to Glasgow [home of North British] with instructions to design 'an engine like this but with superheater and piston valves.'!"

These engines introduced the Walschaerts gear and piston valves (8"/203 mm diameter in this instance) to Rhodesia. Durrant noted the contemporary focus, championed by Churchward, on long-travel valves over straight-ported cylinders, then reported that the 9s had short-travel valves (4 5/8"/117 mm) and Z-ported cylinders. The grate's front two feet were bricked off to create a Gaines combustion chamber.

Their wide fireboxes proved up to the task of making enough steam, said Durrant, and "despite the deficiencies in cylinder design, [the class] proved an immediate success".

BP's contribution to the class engines in a long line of Class 9 Twelve-wheelers supplied by North British. BP's 1946 guide showed a smaller superheater area of 270.6 sq ft (25.14 sq m).

These were later rebuilt to Class 9B standards.

Class 9A (Locobase 16129)

Data from A E Durrant, The Smoke That Thunders (Harare, Zimbabwe: African Publishing Group, 1997), pp. 53-55. Works numbers were 56724-56729 in 1916.

Locobase 4591 shows the original thirty British-built Class 9 Twelve-wheelers that arrived in 1912-1917. Wartime demands on Britain's biggest builder of locomotives led the Rhodesian Railways to look to the still-neutral United States for some more.

Durrant wrote that these were thoroughly American engines in their execution. So, although most of the dimensions nearly matched those of the earlier 9s, very little was interchangeable. In at least one important respect, this led to a better design because Alco fitted their sextet with 11" (279 mm) diameter piston valves that had a 5 1/2" 140 mm) travel, "giving great freedom of exhaust".

The class ran in mainline freight service until the end of the 1920s when they were put to use as heavy shunters (switchers) to handle train makeup loads beyond the other classes then fulfilling that duty. 118 went out of service in August 1941 and 121 in October 1945. Both were scrapped in April 1947. The others all ran until the early 1960s. 117 later served at a training school at Broken Hill in Zambia. 122 was loaned to the the Que Que Steelworks and eventually was put on display at the Bulawayo Museum.

Class 9B (Locobase 16130)

Data from A E Durrant, The Smoke That Thunders (Harare, Zimbabwe: African Publishing Group, 1997), pp. 61-62.

Locobase 4591 describes this already successful class as it was configured when delivered in 1912-1917. In the late 1930s, the Rhodesia Railways shops believed the design still had many miles left in it,so it took the existing barrel, running gear, and drivers and put a new and hotter steam-generating system in it.

Every part that could contribute to producing steam had more area and the superheat ratio of 23% is quite high in any gauge. The firebox grew a bit, the grate lost its Gaines combustion chamber, and firebox heating surface area now included 19.1 sq ft (1.77 sq m) of water tubes. All this fit within the existing wheelbases and with slight decreases in weight. It's not clear when the piston valves were enlarged to 8 3/4" (222 mm), but

Durrant summed up the results quite well: "...a boiler of substantially superior steaming capabilities within the same weight limitations--an excellent exercise in design."

Most Class 9s were rebuilt after World War Two and remained in mainline service only until 1953, when 14th Class Garratts began taking their original duties. They joined their 9A stablemates in heavy shunting service and were retired in the 1960s and early 1970s.

The four engines left unrebuilt--91, 96, 109, 112--were sent to the Zambezi Sawmill Railways in the early 1960s. Three more--84, 88, and 113--were transferred to Zambia in 1967.