South African Dock Shunter 0-4-0ST

The South African Railways Dock Shunter 0-4-0ST of 1903 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

South African Dock Shunter 0-4-0ST
The engine Stormberg, Outeniqua Transport Museum, 15 April 2013
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerHudswell, Clarke and Company
BuilderHudswell, Clarke and Company
Serial number686-687
Build date1903
Total produced2
Specifications
Configuration:
  Whyte0-4-0ST (Four-coupled)
  UICBn2t
Driver2nd coupled axle
Gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Coupled dia.33 in (838 mm)
Wheelbase5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
Length:
  Over couplers20 ft 7 in (6,274 mm)
  Over beams17 ft (5,182 mm)
Height10 ft 2 in (3,099 mm)
Frame typePlate
Axle load7 LT 18 cwt (8,027 kg) average
Adhesive weight15 LT 16 cwt (16,050 kg)
Loco weight15 LT 16 cwt (16,050 kg)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity5 long hundredweight (0.3 t)
Water cap400 imp gal (1,820 l)
Firebox typeRound-top
  Firegrate area5.25 sq ft (0.488 m2)
Boiler:
  Pitch5 ft 2 in (1,575 mm)
  Tube plates8 ft 7 in (2,616 mm)
  Small tubes58: 2 in (51 mm)
Boiler pressure150 psi (1,034 kPa)
Heating surface234 sq ft (21.7 m2)
  Tubes201.5 sq ft (18.72 m2)
  Firebox32.5 sq ft (3.02 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size10 in (254 mm) bore
16 in (406 mm) stroke
Valve gearStephenson
CouplersJohnston link-and-pin
Performance figures
Tractive effort5,454 lbf (24.26 kN) @ 75%
Career
OperatorsCape Colony Irrigation Department
South African Railways
ClassHarbour shunter
Number in class2
NumbersPWD 1 & 2
Official nameSAR Thebus & Stormberg
Delivered1903
First run1903 (PWD), 1916 (SAR)

Two 0-4-0 saddle-tank locomotives named Thebus and Stormberg, which were originally built for the Irrigation Department of the Public Works Department of the Cape of Good Hope in 1903, were acquired by the South African Railways in 1916 for use as harbour shunting engines. In railway service they were named instead of being classified and numbered.[1][2]

Origin

During the First World War, when the South African Railways (SAR) experienced an acute shortage of locomotive power, it acquired a number of locomotives from private concerns and other government departments.[1][2]

The Public Works Department (PWD) of the Cape Province had two locomotives, used by the Irrigation Department as dam construction engines, which it could spare. These two were donated to the SAR by the Department of Water Affairs in 1916. Numbered l and 2 by Water Affairs, they were 0-4-0 saddle-tank locomotives which had been built by Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited in 1903.[1][2][3][4]

Names

The locomotives were not classified or numbered by the SAR and were named instead. The first was named Thebus after the town Teebus on the line between Stormberg and Rosmead on the Cape Midland System, while the second was named Stormberg after the town of that name on the Cape Eastern System mainline from Springfontein to East London.[1][2]

Service

The engine Thebus spent most of its SAR service life as dock shunter at the Port Elizabeth Harbour.[2]

The engine Stormberg spent most of its SAR service life as a dock shunter in East London Harbour until it was eventually semi-retired and used to test the steam-heating equipment on passenger coaches. During the Second World War, it was transferred to Cape Town for use as a construction locomotive during the expansion works at Table Bay Harbour. From there it went to Mosselbaai to once again serve as harbour shunting engine until it was transferred to Germiston in Transvaal, where it was retired and placed in storage for a number of years.[1][2]

By then, the engine Stormberg was sporting a balloon-type spark arrester on its chimney and a headlight mounted on a shelf attached to the front of the smokebox.[4]

Preservation

In 1964, the engine Stormberg was refurbished at Germiston before being taken back to East London, where it was plinthed at East London station. It finally ended up as an exhibit in the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George. At some stage between being in storage at Germiston and becoming a museum exhibit, the spark arrester, headlight and headlight mount were removed.[1][4]

The engine Thebus was presumably scrapped.[1]

Illustration

References

  1. Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 130–131. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
  2. Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 98. ISBN 0869772112.
  3. Hardy, Clive. Hudswell Clarke & Company Ltd Locomotive Works List, (1st ed.).
  4. Soul of A Railway, System 7, Western Transvaal, based in Johannesburg, Part 7. Germiston Steam and Diesel Running Sheds (2nd section) by Les Pivnic. Caption 1. (Accessed on 7 April 2017)
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