CGR 0-4-0ST 1881

The Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST of 1881 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Table Bay Harbour 0-4-0ST (3'6") CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 South African 0-4-0ST 1881
Table Bay Harbour's no. 14, then CGR no. 14, then SAR no. 014, in Port Elizabeth c. 1930
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Black, Hawthorn & Co. Builder Black, Hawthorn & Co. Chapman and Furneaux Hawthorn Leslie and Company Serial number See table Build date 1881-1904
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-4-0ST  • UIC Bn2t Driver 2nd coupled axle Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Coupled dia. 34 in (864 mm) Wheelbase 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) Length: ​  • Over couplers 18 ft 4+1⁄2 in (5,601 mm)  • Over beams 16 ft 1 in (4,902 mm) Height 9 ft 7 in (2,921 mm) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 10 long hundredweight (0.5 t) Water cap. 350 imp gal (1,590 L) Firebox: ​  • Type Round-top  • Grate area 5 sq ft (0.46 m2) Boiler: ​  • Type Domeless  • Pitch 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm)  • Diameter 2 ft 11+1⁄4 in (895 mm) outside  • Tube plates 8 ft (2,438 mm)  • Small tubes 70: 1+3⁄4 in (44 mm) Boiler pressure 130 psi (896 kPa) Safety valve Ramsbottom Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 29 sq ft (2.7 m2)  • Tubes 274 sq ft (25.5 m2)  • Total surface 303 sq ft (28.1 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 10 in (254 mm) bore 17 in (432 mm) stroke Valve gear Stephenson Couplers Johnston link-and-pin
Performance figures Tractive effort 4,875 lbf (21.69 kN) @ 75%
Career Operators Table Bay Harbour Board Cape Government Railways South African Railways Number in class 13 Numbers 1, 6, 7, 9-17, 29 Delivered 1881-1904 First run 1881 Last run 1938

Between 1881 and 1904, thirteen 0-4-0ST locomotives entered shunting service at the Table Bay Harbour in Cape Town. They were virtually identical to three Brunel gauge locomotives which entered service as breakwater construction locomotives in Table Bay Harbour between 1881 and 1893. In 1908, they were taken onto the Cape Government Railways roster and in 1912, when the South African Railways was established, eleven were still in stock.^[1][2][3][4]

Manufacturers

Thirteen 0-4-0ST locomotives were acquired by the Table Bay Harbour Board in Cape Town between 1881 and 1904, for use as dock shunters at the harbour. They were delivered in five batches from three manufacturers.^[3]

• One locomotive, no. 6, was delivered from Black, Hawthorn & Co. in 1881.^[1][3][5]
• Between 1890 and 1893, it was followed by three more locomotives from the same manufacturer, numbered 1, 7 and 9.^[1][3][5]
• Two more locomotives followed from Black, Hawthorn in late 1895 or early 1896, numbered 10 and 11.^[3]
• During 1896, the firm of Black, Hawthorn was taken over by Chapman and Furneaux, who delivered another six of these locomotives in 1897 and 1898, numbered in the range from 12 to 17.^[1][3][4]

• In 1904, a single 0-4-0ST locomotive, no. 29, was delivered from Hawthorn Leslie and Company. Although it is not known, it is possible that it was built to the same design as the aforementioned locomotives since, when Chapman and Furneaux closed, its drawings, patterns and goodwill were bought by Hawthorn Leslie.^[6]

Characteristics

The locomotives were virtually identical to three Brunel gauge 0-4-0ST locomotives which entered service as breakwater construction engines in Table Bay Harbour between 1881 and 1893. Apart from the gauge difference, the Brunel gauge engines had larger bore cylinders of 11 inches (279 millimetres) diameter, compared to the 10 inches (254 millimetres) bore of the Cape gauge engines. Both engine types had domeless boilers with a sandbox mounted in the centre of the saddle tank.^[1][3]

Service

Cape Government Railways

By 1908, no. 1 was already either scrapped or sold. The remaining twelve locomotives were all taken onto the Cape Government Railways (CGR) roster in 1908. They retained their original Harbour Board numbers while in CGR service.^[3]

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. Even though 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 was only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.^[7][8]

Black, Hawthorn-built no. 11, c. 1912

By 1912, eleven of these locomotives survived, but they were considered obsolete and excluded from the South African Railways (SAR) classification and renumbering program. While ten of them were listed in the notes to the renumbering lists as having been excluded, no. 15 was not mentioned. They were initially staged in a shed in Cape Town, but appear to have been placed back in service since a number of them survived into the late 1930s before being scrapped.^[1][2][3][8]

Obsolete locomotives on the SAR had the numeral "0" prefixed to their existing numbers, although on these engines it appears that new number plates to that effect were never affixed to them. In the SAR era, no. 09 was transferred to Mossel Bay Harbour and two, numbers 010 and 014, went to Port Elizabeth Harbour. These three engines were eventually scrapped at Uitenhage between 1916 and 1938. No. 15, which was not mentioned in the SAR renumbering lists of 1912, was sold to Lourenco Marques Forwarding Agency in Mozambique in 1913 and employed in the Lourenco Marques docks. The rest remained in service in Table Bay Harbour until they were withdrawn and scrapped between 1913 and 1935.^[1][3]

Works numbers and disposition

The numbers, builders, works numbers, dates ordered, SAR numbers and disposition of these locomotives are listed in the table.^[1][3][5][8]

Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST of 1881

No.	Builder	Works no.	Order date	SAR no.	Sold or scrapped
6	Black, Hawthorn	648	1881-07	06	1913-05 Salt River
1	Black, Hawthorn	1005	1889-12		1908 c. Scrapped or sold
7	Black, Hawthorn	1021	1890-08	07	1935-10 Salt River
9	Black, Hawthorn	1083	1893-03	09	1916-12 Uitenhage
10	Black, Hawthorn	1128	1895-10	010	1935-10 Uitenhage
11	Black, Hawthorn	1129	1895-10	011	1935-10 Salt River
12	Chapman & Furneaux	1149	1897-03	012	1929-03 Salt River
13	Chapman & Furneaux	1152	1897-05	013	1929-02 Salt River
14	Chapman & Furneaux	1168	1898-07	014	1938-08 Uitenhage
15	Chapman & Furneaux	1169	1898-07		1913-03 Sold to LM
16	Chapman & Furneaux	1170	1898-07	016	1929-03 Salt River
17	Chapman & Furneaux	1171	1898-07	017	1935-10 Salt River
29	Hawthorn Leslie	2567	1904	029	1935-10 Salt River

Illustration

• 
  Chapman & Furneaux-built no. 17 in Table Bay Harbour, c. 1898

References

1. Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 116–117, 122–123. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
2. Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 25. ISBN 0869772112.
3. Contents of emails received from Dr John Middleton, Washington. Transcripts copied to Table Bay Harbour locomotives by Black, Hawthorn & Chapman and Furneaux for retention and easy reference.
4. Soul of A Railway, System 1, Part 16: Table Bay Harbour © Les Pivnic. Caption 8. Archived 24 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed on 30 June 2017)
5. Contents of emails received from Dr John Middleton, Washington. Transcripts copied to Table Bay Harbour construction locomotives for retention and easy reference.
6. Contents of emails received from Dr John Middleton, Washington. Transcripts copied to Table Bay Harbour locomotive no. 29 by Hawthorn Leslie for retention and easy reference.
7. The South African Railways - Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 25.
8. Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pretoria, January 1912, p. 2. (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)