South African Class 2C 4-6-2

This article is about one of two different Natal Government Railways locomotive types to be designated "Class A". For the other NGR Class A locomotive, see South African Class 2 4-6-2.

NGR Class A 4-6-2 1910
South African Class 2C 4-6-2

300px NGR Class A, c. 1910

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Natal Government Railways (D.A. Hendrie) Builder Natal Government Railways Model NGR Hendrie C Build date 1910 Total produced 2

Specifications Configuration 4-6-2 (Pacific) Driver axle 2nd coupled axle Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Leading dia Coupled dia Trailing dia 30 in (762 mm) Tender wheels 30 in (762 mm) Wheelbase  • Engine 28 ft (8,534 mm)  • Leading 6 ft (1,829 mm)  • Coupled 9 ft 6 in (2,896 mm)  • Tender 16 ft 6 in (5,029 mm)  • Tender bogie 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) Length:  • Over couplers Height 12 ft 6 in (3,810 mm) Frame type Plate Axle load  • Leading  • 1st coupled  • 2nd coupled  • 3rd coupled  • Trailing  • Tender bogie Bogie 1: Bogie 2:  • Tender axle Adhesive weight Loco weight Tender weight Loco & tender weight Tender type TJ (2-axle bogies) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 6 LT (6.1 t) Water cap Boiler:  • Pitch 7 ft 4 in (2,235 mm)  • Diameter  • Tube plates  • Small tubes 248: 2 in (51 mm)  • Firebox type Belpaire Boiler pressure Safety valve Ramsbottom Firegrate area 29 sq ft (2.7 m2) Heating surface 2,322 sq ft (215.7 m2)  • Tubes 2,201 sq ft (204.5 m2)  • Firebox 121 sq ft (11.2 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 19 in (483 mm) bore 24 in (610 mm) stroke Valve gear Walschaerts Couplers Bell link-and-pin

Performance figures Tractive effort 22,910 lbf (101.9 kN) @ 75%

Career Operators Natal Government Railways South African Railways Class NGR Class A SAR Class 2C Number in class 2 Numbers NGR 11-12 SAR 765-766 Nicknames Hendrie C Delivered 1910 First run 1910 Withdrawn 1936

The 2nd coupled axle had flangeless wheels

The South African Railways Class 2C 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Natal Colony.

In 1910, the Natal Government Railways placed two Class A steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement in service, built in their Durban workshops. In 1912, when these locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and classified as Class 2C. The 2A and 2B classifications were never used.

Manufacturer

When more locomotives were required for passenger traffic on the Natal Government Railways (NGR) mainline, on the section between Estcourt and Charlestown on the Transvaal border, where gradients were less severe than in the coastal region, two 4-6-2 Pacific type locomotives were built in the Durban workshops of the NGR, with Type TJ tenders. The locomotive was designed during 1907 by NGR Locomotive Superintendent D.A. Hendrie, as a redesigned version of his NGR Class A Hendrie A of 1905.

Characteristics

File:D.A. Hendrie.jpg

D.A. Hendrie

The Hendrie C, as it was also known, was similar to the Class A Hendrie A in general proportions, but with Walschaerts valve gear, larger diameter coupled wheels, a larger boiler with a higher boiler pressure, and a more enclosed cab, which offered better protection to the crew. They were equipped with Hendrie's steam reversing gear and had wide Belpaire fireboxes, carried down between the rear frames, which had been widened by using a bridle casting.

The cylinders were mounted horizontal, since the Walschaerts valve gear did not require inclined cylinders, like those on the Class A Hendrie A with its Stephenson valve gear. The coupled wheels were later retyred to a larger diameter, from .

Service

Natal Government Railways

When they were placed in service in 1910, they were also designated NGR Class A, with engine numbers 11 and 12. The two locomotives joined the two Class A Hendrie A Pacifics of 1905 on the section from Estcourt to Charlestown.

South African Railways

When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (Cape Government Railways, NGR and Central South African Railways) were united under a single administration to control and administer the railways, ports and harbours of the Union. Although the South African Railways and Harbours came into existence in 1910, the actual classification and renumbering of all the rolling stock of the three constituent railways required careful planning and was only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.

In 1912, the locomotives were renumbered 765 and 766 and designated Class 2C on the South African Railways (SAR). The 2A and 2B classifications were never used by the SAR.

After serving on the Estcourt to Charlestown section for many years, they were transferred to the Witwatersrand for a short period, after which they were transferred to the section between Komatipoort and Waterval Boven in the Eastern Transvaal. Here they worked passenger and fast perishables trains, until they were withdrawn in 1936.

Illustration

The main picture and the following illustrate two of the NGR liveries which were applied to these locomotives.

• SAR Klasse 2C.jpg

  NGR no. 12, later SAR no. 766, c. 1910

• Class 2C 4-6-2 no. 11.jpg

  NGR no. 11, later SAR no. 765, c. 1912