2-8-2 Steam 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 "Central South African Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XII [12], No 161 (15 January 1906), p.13. See also "Witbank, Railway Station, SAR Class 11 No 942", posted 15 May 2009 at old Steam Locomotives in South Africa at []; and "Class 11 CSAR 700-735 & SAR 912-947-2-8-2-Central South African Railways & South African Railways" on the Preserved British Steam Locomotives website at [] 3ft 6in" , both last accessed 1 August 2026. Works numbers 16250-12684 in 1904.

CSAR's Chief Locomotive Superintendent P A Hyde adopted the Mikado wheel arrangement only recently introduced presumably to spread out the weight of an engine powerful enought to handle traffic in the Reef section (aka Witwatersrand). Although the railway had begun upgrading track from 60 lb/yard (30 kg/metre) to 80 lb (40 kg) and beefing up bridges as well, not all of the section between Witbank and Germiston was ready for them. So they didn't enter service until 1905.

11s used plate frames, a prominent Belpaire firebox, and constant-lead radial valve gear. According to the lead source in this entry (Railway Magazine, Volume 15-1904), the class did not come equipped with superheaters.

According to the PBST site, they proved to be "powerful locomotives which gave good service at moderate speeds, but at higher speed the lightly loaded leading truck proved unsatisfactory on curves."

In 1912, the SAR renumbered 11th Class engines were in the 912-947 range. They were fitted later with superheaters see Locobase 4385

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.