South African Class 17 4-8-0TT

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South African Class 17 4-8-0TT
SAR Class 17 1432 (4-8-0).jpg
SAR Class 17 no. 1432, circa 1930
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerNatal Government Railways
(William Milne)
BuilderDübs and Company
South African Railways
Serial numberSee table
ModelSAR Class 17
Build date1926-1929
Total produced21
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte4-8-0TT (Mastodon)
 • UIC2’Dn2t
Driver2nd coupled axle
Gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Leading dia.25+34 in (654 mm)
Coupled dia.39 in (991 mm)
Tender wheels34 in (864 mm)
Wheelbase44 ft 11+12 in (13,703 mm)
 • Engine19 ft 9 in (6,020 mm)
 • Leading5 ft (1,524 mm)
 • Coupled11 ft (3,353 mm)
 • Tender16 ft 1 in (4,902 mm)
 • Tender bogie4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm)
Length:
 • Over couplers52 ft 2+12 in (15,913 mm)
Height12 ft 2+12 in (3,721 mm)
Frame typePlate
Axle load8 LT 10 cwt (8,636 kg)
 • Leading9 LT 6 cwt (9,449 kg)
 • 1st coupled8 LT 2 cwt (8,230 kg)
 • 2nd coupled8 LT 10 cwt (8,636 kg)
 • 3rd coupled8 LT 3 cwt (8,281 kg)
 • 4th coupled8 LT 3 cwt (8,281 kg)
 • Tender bogieBogie 1: 16 LT 15 cwt (17,020 kg)
Bogie 2: 17 LT 18 cwt (18,190 kg)
Adhesive weight32 LT 18 cwt (33,430 kg)
Loco weight42 LT 4 cwt (42,880 kg)
Tender weight34 LT 13 cwt (35,210 kg)
Total weight76 LT 17 cwt (78,080 kg)
Tender type2-axle bogies or 3-axle
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity5 LT 10 cwt (5.6 t)
Water cap1,358 imp gal (6,170 l) engine
Tender cap.2,600 imp gal (11,800 l) tender
Firebox typeBelpaire
 • Firegrate area24 sq ft (2.2 m2)
Boiler:
 • Pitch7 ft (2,134 mm)
 • Diameter3 ft 10+34 in (1,187 mm)
 • Tube plates10 ft 10+18 in (3,305 mm)
 • Small tubes187: 1+34 in (44 mm)
Boiler pressure160 psi (1,103 kPa)
Safety valveRamsbottom
Heating surface992 sq ft (92.2 m2)
 • Tubes930 sq ft (86 m2)
 • Firebox62 sq ft (5.8 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size17 in (432 mm) bore
21 in (533 mm) stroke
Valve gearStephenson
Valve typeSlide
CouplersJohnston link-and-pin
AAR knuckle (1930s)
Performance figures
Tractive effort18,670 lbf (83.0 kN) @ 75%
Career
OperatorsSouth African Railways
ClassClass 17
Number in class21
Numbers1415–1435
Delivered1926-1929
First run1926
Withdrawn1961
The leading coupled axle had flangeless wheels

The South African Railways Class 17 4-8-0TT of 1926 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Natal Colony.

Between 1926 and 1929, to address a shortage of suitable shunting locomotives, the South African Railways rebuilt twenty-one Class A 4-8-2 Mountain type tank steam locomotives to Class 17 4-8-0 Mastodon type tank-and-tender locomotives.[1][2][3][4]

Manufacturers[]

The Natal Government Railways (NGR) Class D 4-8-2T Mountain type tank locomotive was designed by William Milne, the locomotive superintendent of the NGR from 1877 to 1896, and built by Dübs and Company. One hundred of these locomotives were delivered in ten batches by Dübs between 1888 and 1899 and in 1915 another two were built from spare parts by the South African Railways (SAR) in their Durban shops.[1][5]

Belpaire firebox[]

Beginning in 1905, these NGR Class D locomotives, originally known on the NGR as the "Dübs A", were gradually reboilered and fitted with Belpaire fireboxes with wider firegrates. The unmodified locomotives were then designated NGR Class D1 while the modified locomotives with Belpaire fireboxes were designated Class D2.[1][5][6]

In SAR service, the NGR Class D1 and D2 were both designated Class A in 1912 while the modified locomotives were referred to as Class A Belpaire.[1][5]

Rebuilding[]

NGR Class D1 no. 105, c. 1900

When a shortage of suitable shunting locomotives developed in the 1920s as a result of increasing traffic throughout the country and particularly on the Witwaters­rand, the SAR modified twenty-one of the Class A Belpaire 4-8-2 Mountain type tank loco­mo­tives.[1][4][7]

The modifications were done between 1926 and 1929 and consisted of the removal of their trailing bissel bogies and coal bunkers, the shortening of their main frames and the addition of tenders to increase their coal and water capacity, thereby converting them to 4-8-0 Mastodon type tank-and-tender locomotives.[1][4][7]

Tenders from various scrapped locomotive types were used. The tender depicted in the main picture is a three-axle tender while the official SAR locomotive diagram depicts a tender with four axles on two bogies.[1][2][3]

Service[]

These rebuilt 4-8-2TT locomotives were reclassified to Class 17 and renumbered in the range from 1415 to 1435. They were employed as shunting engines around Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Port Elizabeth and gave more than thirty years service in this format. In October 1957 Pietermaritzburg’s last two Class 17s were transferred from Masons Mill to Greyville near Durban. The locomotives were all withdrawn from service by 1961, more than seventy years after the first Class A locomotive was built.[3][4][7][8]

In November 1953 two of these locomotives, numbers 1423 and 1431, were purchased by the Zambezi Saw Mills Company for use on their Livingstone-Mulobezi logging railway in Northern Rhodesia. These two engines were scrapped between 1961 and 1963.

Works numbers and renumbering[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1944). The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter III - Natal Government Railways. (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, June 1944. p. 423.
  2. ^ a b South African Railways and Harbours Locomotive Diagram Book, 2'0" & 3'6" Gauge Steam Locomotives, 15 August 1941, pp. 21 & 21A, as amended
  3. ^ a b c Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 10–11, 26–27, 68. ISBN 0869772112.
  4. ^ a b c d Soul of A Railway, System 6, Part 2: Greyville Loco, Greyville Station to Umgeni & Berea Road to Rossburgh. Caption 7. (Accessed on 26 November 2016)
  5. ^ a b c Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
  6. ^ The Railway Report for year ending 31 Dec. 1908, Natal Government Railways, p. 39, par 14.
  7. ^ a b c Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
  8. ^ Soul of A Railway, System 6, Part 5: The New Main Line from Rossburgh to Pietermaritzburg compiled by Les Pivnic. Caption 103. (Accessed on 26 August 2017)
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