CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1891

This article is about one of two different Cape Government Railways locomotive types to be designated "5th Class". For the other CGR 5th Class locomotive, see CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1890.

CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1891
OVGS 5th Class K 4-6-0 1891
South African Class 05 4-6-0 1891

300px CGR no. 122, SAR no. 0122, c. 1920

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Cape Government Railways (Michael Stephens) Builder Dübs and Company Serial number 2712-2741 Model CGR 5th Build date 1891 Total produced 30

Specifications Configuration 4-6-0 (Tenwheeler) Driver axle 2nd coupled axle Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Leading dia 28 in (711 mm) Coupled dia 49 in (1,245 mm) Tender wheels Wheelbase  • Engine  • Leading 5 ft (1,524 mm)  • Coupled 10 ft (3,048 mm)  • Tender 10 ft (3,048 mm) Wheel spacing (Assymetrical) 1-2: 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) 2-3: 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) Length:  • Over couplers Height Axle load  • Leading  • 1st coupled  • 2nd coupled  • 3rd coupled Loco weight w/o Tender weight w/o Loco & tender weight w/o Tender type 3-axle Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 4 LT (4.1 t) Water cap Boiler:  • Pitch  • Diameter 4 ft (1,219 mm)  • Tube plates  • Small tubes 185:  • Firebox type Round-top, as built Belpaire, by CSAR Boiler pressure 150 psi (1,034 kPa) Safety valve Ramsbottom Firegrate area 16.18 sq ft (1.503 m2) Heating surface 1,037.28 sq ft (96.366 m2)  • Tubes 946.32 sq ft (87.916 m2)  • Firebox 90.96 sq ft (8.450 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 16 in (406 mm) bore 24 in (610 mm) stroke Valve gear Stephenson Couplers Bell link-and-pin

Performance figures Tractive effort 14,110 lbf (62.8 kN) @ 75%

Career Operators Cape Government Railways OVGS New Cape Central Railway Imperial Military Railways Central South African Railways South African Railways Class CGR 5th Class, SAR Class 05 Number in class 30 Numbers Eastern 55-58 Midland 136-138 & 309-314 Western 117-118, 121-135 Delivered 1891 First run 1891 Withdrawn 1953

The Cape Government Railways 5th Class 4-6-0 of 1891 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1891, the Cape Government Railways placed a second batch of thirty 5th Class tender locomotives with a 4-6-0 Tenwheeler type wheel arrangement in mainline service on all three Cape Systems. They were similar to the previous batch of 1890, but differed in respect of the diameter of their coupled wheels, the length of their smokeboxes and their tractive effort.

Manufacturer

File:Michael Stephens - CGR.jpg

Michael Stephens

The second batch of Cape Government Railways (CGR) 5th Class 4-6-0 Tenwheeler type tender locomotives was delivered from Dübs and Company in 1891.

Of the thirty locomotives, four went to the Eastern System to work out of East London, numbered in the range from 55 to 58, nine went to the Midland System to work out of Port Elizabeth, numbered in the ranges from 136 to 138 and 309 to 314, and seventeen went to the Western System for service between Touws River and Beaufort West, numbered 117, 118 and in the range from 121 to 135.

Characteristics

While the 1891 locomotive was identical to the batch of 1890 in most respects, it differed in three aspects.

• It had larger coupled wheels with a diameter, compared to the of the earlier locomotives.
• As a result of the larger coupled wheels, its tractive effort was reduced from 15,030 to 14,110 pounds-force (66.9 to 62.8 kilonewtons) at 75% boiler pressure.
• It had a longer smokebox. On the 1890 locomotive, the chimney was so close to the front of the smokebox that the headlight had to be mounted on a platform attached to the front of the smokebox, while on the 1891 locomotive, there was sufficient space ahead of the chimney to mount the huge headlight on top of the smokebox.

Service

Cape Government Railways

The 5th Class was considered to be the first really efficient all-round locomotive in the Cape of Good Hope. It was used on all kinds of traffic, wherever the mainline had severe gradients and curves.

File:CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 no. 134, SAR no. 0134.jpg

No. 134 with extended smokebox, c. 1910

At least one of the Western System locomotives, no. 134, was modified by the CGR by having the smokebox extended even further forward, to almost flush with the buffer beam. The reason for this modification is not known, but it was possibly done to make room for a spark arrester, as was done with the 4th Class 4-6-0TT of 1880 on the Eastern system.

Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen

In late 1896, ten of these locomotives, six from the Midland System and four from the Western System, were sold to the newly established Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen (OVGS) of the Orange Free State. On the OVGS, they were designated 5th Class K and renumbered in the range from 49 to 58.

New Cape Central Railway

The New Cape Central Railway (NCCR) was a private railway company which, by 1894, operated a branchline from Worcester via Robertson and Roodewal to Swellendam. In 1897, one of these locomotives, the Midland System's no. 136, was sold to the NCCR, where it was renumbered to no. 8.

Central South African Railways

During the Second Boer War, control of all railways in the Orange Free State and Transvaal was taken over by the Imperial Military Railways. At the end of the war in 1902, the ten ex-OVGS locomotives came onto the roster of the Central South African Railways (CSAR), where they were renumbered in the ranges from 315 to 317 and 326 to 332.

File:CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 no. 127, SAR no. 0327.jpg

Reboilered SAR no. 0327, ex CSAR no. 327, c. 1920

In 1904, the CSAR reboilered three of these locomotives, no. 327, 328 and 329, with larger boilers with Belpaire fireboxes, which were equipped with Drummond tubes. This involved the installation of cross-water tubes into the firebox, as featured on the London and South Western Railway's T9 Class and L11 Class, in an attempt to increase the heating surface area of the water, albeit at the cost of increased boiler complexity. Visible external evidence of the presence of Drummond tubes was the rectangular inspection covers, which were attached to the sides of the firebox, just ahead of the cab.

The larger boilers and Drummond tubes increased their heating surface by 272.72 square feet (25.337 square metres) and, at a higher operating boiler pressure of 180 pounds per square inch (1,241 kilopascals), these three locomotives were able to easily haul the load of the next higher class. Since, by then, these locomotives were being withdrawn from mainline traffic, no more such reboilerings were carried out.

South African Railways

When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR, Natal Government Railways 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.

By 1912, twenty-five of these locomotives survived, nineteen on the CGR and six, including the three which had been reboilered, on the CSAR. They were considered obsolete by the South African Railways (SAR), designated Class 05 and renumbered by having the numeral "0" prefixed to their existing numbers.

During 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, military planners followed the example set by the British invading forces during the Second Boer War and identified a requirement for armoured trains. For this purpose, five Class 05 locomotives were specially protected with armour plate and named Trafalgar, Scot, Erin, Karoo and Schrikmaker. The armour-plating was fitted by the workshops in Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Salt River. Their engine numbers are not known, nor whether they were from this Class or the Class 05 of 1890, or both.

In spite of being considered obsolete, some of the Class 05 locomotives survived as shunting engines in SAR service for another four decades, with some even getting reboilered while in SAR service. One confirmed example is no. 0138, which was still equipped with boiler no. 4825 of 1922 when it was withdrawn from service in 1953.

When they were eventually withdrawn from service in 1953, they were the last obsolete locomotives to be still in service.

Works numbers

By 1896, all the locomotives of the Eastern System and one of the Midland System had been renumbered. The works numbers, CGR System, original numbers, renumberings and distribution of the Cape 5th Class of 1891 are listed in the table.

CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 of 1891

Works no.	CGR System	Orig. no.	1896 no.	1897 no.	1902 no.	SAR no.	Notes
2712	Western	117	117	117	117	0117
2713	Western	118	118	118	118	0118
2714	Western	121	121	121	121	0121
2715	Western	122	122	122	122	0122
2716	Western	123	123	123	123	0123
2717	Western	124	124	124	124	0124
2718	Western	125	125	49	326	0326	OVGS 49, CSAR 326
2719	Western	126	126	126	126	0126
2720	Western	127	127	50	327	0327	OVGS 50. CSAR 327
2721	Midland	311	311	51	328	0328	OVGS 51, CSAR 328
2722	Western	129	129	129	129	0129
2723	Western	130	130	130	130	0130
2724	Midland	309	509	52	329	0329	OVGS 52, CSAR 329
2725	Midland	310	310	53	330		OVGS 53, CSAR 330
2726	Western	131	131	131	131	0131
2727	Western	132	132	132	132	0132
2728	Western	133	133	54	331		OVGS 54, CSAR 331
2729	Western	134	134	134	134	0134
2730	Western	135	135	55	332	0332	OVGS 55, CSAR 332
2731	Midland	136	136	8	8	8	NCCR 8
2732	Eastern	55	651	651	651	0651
2733	Eastern	56	652	652	652	0652
2734	Western	128	128	128	128	0128
2735	Midland	138	138	138	138	0138	Boiler 4825/1922
2736	Midland	137	137	137	137	0137
2737	Eastern	57	653	653	653	0653
2738	Eastern	58	654	654	654	0654
2739	Midland	313	313	56	315		OVGS 56, CSAR 315
2740	Midland	312	312	57	316	0316	OVGS 57, CSAR 316
2741	Midland	314	314	58	317		OVGS 58, CSAR 317

Illustration

The main picture shows no. 0122 in SAR service, while the following pictures serve to illustrate the locomotives in service, as well as some of the modifications which some of them underwent.

• CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 no. 128, SAR no. 0128.jpg

  No. 128, later SAR no. 0128, on the old Kei River bridge, c. 1904

• CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 no. 309, SAR no. 0329.jpg

  SAR no. 0329, ex no. 309, renumbered to 509, OVGS no. 52 and CSAR no. 329, with a Belpaire firebox, Drummond tubes and a new headlight, c. 1920