South African Class 14C 4-8-2 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Between 1918 and 1922 the South African Railways placed seventy-three Class 14C steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s with a 4-8-2

4-8-2

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...

Mountain wheel arrangement in service. Through reboilerings and rebalancings during its service life this single class eventually ended up as six different locomotive classes.

Manufacturer

As a result of wartime disruption in Europe and Britain, the fourth version of the Class 14

South African Class 14 4-8-2

Between 1913 and 1915 the South African Railways placed forty-five Class 14 steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement in service.-Manufacturer:...

locomotive was ordered from the Montreal Locomotive Works

Montreal Locomotive Works

Montreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company...

(MLW) in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

in 1918. It was designated Class 14C and was delivered between 1918 and 1922. The original order had been for twenty locomotives, but this was followed by three further orders from the same manufacturer between 1919 and 1922.

The first delivery was in 1918 and early 1919, numbered 1761 to 1780. The second and third orders were both delivered in 1919, with the locomotives numbered 1881 to 1900 and 1991 to 2010. The final order of thirteen locomotives arrived in 1922, numbered 2026 to 2038.

All four batches differed in terms of maximum axle loading, weight on driving wheels and engine weight, as set out in Table 2 below. In addition, the first twenty locomotives had their boiler operating pressure set at 180 pound per square inches (1,241.1 kPa), while the subsequent batches had their boiler operating pressure set at 190 pound per square inches (1,310 kPa).

Characteristics

While these locomotives were built to the specifications of D.A. Hendrie, then the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the South African Railways (SAR), they were designed by the Canadian manufacturer and the result was a locomotive with some typical American characteristics. They had large cabs, bar frames, Walschaerts valve gear, Belpaire firebox

Belpaire firebox

The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium. It has a greater surface area at the top of the firebox, improving heat transfer and steam production...

es and were superheated.

A prominent visual distinction from the earlier Class 14, Class 14A

South African Class 14A 4-8-2

In 1914 and 1915 the South African Railways placed forty-one Class 14A steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement in service.-Manufacturer:...

and Class 14B

South African Class 14B 4-8-2

In 1915 the South African Railways placed fifteen Class 14B steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement in service.-Manufacturer:...

locomotives was the American style high running boards. It had an even better cylinder design than the Class 14, with larger and straighter ports that resulted in a very sharp, free exhaust.

The Class 14C proved to be good locomotives, even though they initially suffered from some rather bad teething troubles. Once these were rectified, they went on to become fine performers that were associated with hard work all through their service lives.

Watson Standard boilers

During the 1930s many serving locomotives were reboilered with a standard boiler type designed by A.G. Watson, CME of the SAR from 1929 to 1936, as part of his standardisation policy. Such Watson Standard reboilered locomotives were reclassified by adding an "R" suffix to their classification.

Six Class 14C locomotives, numbers 1762 to 1764, 1894, 1898 and 2035, were reboilered with Watson Standard no 2 boilers and reclassified to Class 14CR. In the process they were also equipped with Watson cabs, with their distinctive slanted fronts compared to the conventional vertical fronts of their original cabs, while some were equipped with steel and others with copper fireboxes.

An obvious visual difference between an original and a Watson Standard reboilered locomotive is usually a rectangular regulator cover just to the rear of the chimney on the reboilered locomotive. In the case of the Class 14C two even more obvious visual differences are the Watson cab and the absence of the Belpaire firebox hump between the cab and boiler on the reboilered locomotives.

Rebalancing

The first sixty locomotives, numbers 1761 to 1780, 1881 to 1900 and 1991 to 2010, at an empty weight of between 166000 and 168000 lb (75.3 and 76.2 t), were considerably lighter than the final thirteen, numbers 2026 to 2038, which had weights attached to the frames to increase adhesion that gave them an empty weight of 183000 pounds (83 t).

Over time most of the Class 14C family of locomotives were "rebalanced", having their weight redistributed to either reduce or increase the axle load and adhesion weight by altering the loads on the driving wheels, leading bogies and trailing pony trucks. Driving wheel axle load adjustment was achieved by attaching steel boxes of about 18 cubic inches (295.2 cm³), filled with an appropriate amount of lead, over each axle between the frames.

The lighter version of the rebalanced locomotives was reclassified to Class 14CB, the "B" indicating branch line service. Fifty-three locomotives became Class 14CB, and when they were subsequently reboilered with Watson Standard no 2 boilers, they were once again reclassified, this time to Class 14CRB.

The heavy version of the rebalanced locomotives was reclassified to Class 14CM, the "M" indicating main line service. Eleven locomotives became Class 14CM, and when they were subsequently reboilered with Watson Standard no 2 boilers, they were once again reclassified, this time to Class 14CRM.

Reclassified Class 14C locomotives often did not receive new number plates. Instead, the previous Class number was milled out and a separate small plate inscribed with the new Class number and "R" suffix was attached to the number plate.

Cylinder bushing

Several of the Class 14C, 14CR, 14CRM and 14CRB locomotives had their cylinders bushed to reduce the bore from the as built 22 to 21.75 in (558.8 to 552.5 mm). At the same time the boiler pressure of the Class 14C, 14CR and 14CRM locomotives was adjusted upwards from 190 to 195 psi (1,310 to 1,344.5 kPa), while that of the Class 14CRB locomotives was adjusted upwards from 180 to 183 psi (1,241.1 to 1,261.7 kPa) in order to keep their tractive effort unaffected by the reduction in piston diameter.

Table 1 shows their years built, running numbers and eventual classifications.

Table 1
Class 14C 4-8-2
Works Numbers & Reclassification
Year	Works No.	Running No.	Class
1918	58637	1761	14CRB
1918	58638	1762	14CR
1918	58639	1763	14CR
1918	58640	1764	14CR
1918	58641	1765	14CRB
1918	58642	1766	14CRB
1918	58643	1767	14CRB
1918	58644	1768	14CRB
1918	58645	1769	14CRB
1918	58646	1770	14CRB
1918	58647	1771	14CRB
1918	58648	1772	14CRB
1918	58649	1773	14CRB
1918	58650	1774	14CRB
1919	58651	1775	14CRB
1919	58652	1776	14CRB
1919	58653	1777	14CRB
1919	58654	1778	14CRB
1919	58655	1779	14CRB
1919	58656	1780	14CRB
1919	60255	1881	14CRB
1919	60256	1882	14CRB
1919	60257	1883	14CRB
1919	60258	1884	14CRB
1919	60259	1885	14CRB
1919	60260	1886	14CRB
1919	60261	1887	14CRB
1919	60262	1888	14CRB
1919	60263	1889	14CRB
1919	60264	1890	14CRB
1919	60265	1891	14C
1919	60266	1892	14CRB
1919	60267	1893	14CRB
1919	60268	1894	14CR
1919	60269	1895	14CRB
1919	60270	1896	14CRB
1919	60271	1897	14CRB
1919	60272	1898	14CR
1919	60273	1899	14CRB
1919	60274	1900	14CRB
1919	60546	1991	14CRB
1919	60547	1992	14CRB
1919	60548	1993	14CRB
1919	60549	1994	14CRB
1919	60550	1995	14CRB
1919	60551	1996	14CRB
1919	60552	1997	14CRB
1919	60553	1998	14CRB
1919	60554	1999	14CRB
1919	60555	2000	14CRB
1919	60556	2001	14CRB
1919	60557	2002	14CRB
1919	60558	2003	14CRB
1919	60559	2004	14CRB
1919	60560	2005	14CRB
1919	60561	2006	14CRB
1919	60562	2007	14CRB
1919	60563	2008	14CRB
1919	60564	2009	14CRB
1919	60565	2010	14CRB
1922	63078	2026	14CRM
1922	63079	2027	14CRM
1922	63080	2028	14CRM
1922	63081	2029	14CRM
1922	63082	2030	14CRM
1922	63083	2031	14CRM
1922	63084	2032	14CRM
1922	63085	2033	14CRM
1922	63086	2034	14CRM
1922	63087	2035	14CR
1922	63075	2036	14CRM
1922	63076	2037	14CRM
1922	63077	2038	14CRM

Axle load and weight

Since all four batches of Class 14C, as built, already differed in terms of maximum axle loading, weight on driving wheels and engine weight, the variety in weights between them became even greater when they were reboilered and rebalanced, to such an extent that the Class 14C eventually ended up as six different locomotive classes.

The variety in axle loading and weight is shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2
Class 14C, 14CR, 14CB, 14CRB, 14CM, 14CRM
maximum axle load & weight
Class	Batch No.	Maximum axle load	Weight on drivers	Engine weight
14C	1	15.8 LT (16.1 t) on 4th driver	61.85 LT (62.8 t)	84.85 LT (86.2 t)
14C	2	15.8 LT (16.1 t) on 4th driver	61.65 LT (62.6 t)	83.65 LT (85 t)
14C	3	15.95 LT (16.2 t) on 4th driver	62.3 LT (63.3 t)	85.35 LT (86.7 t)
14C	4	16.8 LT (17.1 t) on 3rd & 4th drivers	65 LT (66 t)	91.2 LT (92.7 t)
14CR	1, 2 & 4	16.75 LT (17 t) on 4th driver	65.3 LT (66.3 t)	90.55 LT (92 t)
14CM	4	16.8 LT (17.1 t) on 3rd & 4th drivers	65 LT (66 t)	91.2 LT (92.7 t)
14CRM	4	16.75 LT (17 t) on 4th driver	65.8 LT (66.9 t)	90.55 LT (92 t)
14CB	1	14.8 LT (15 t) on 1st & 4th drivers	59 LT (59.9 t)	83.35 LT (84.7 t)
14CB	2	14.7 LT (14.9 t) on 1st & 4th drivers	58.65 LT (59.6 t)	83.3 LT (84.6 t)
14CB	3	14.9 LT (15.1 t) on 1st & 4th drivers	58.45 LT (59.4 t)	83.85 LT (85.2 t)
14CRB	1	14.85 LT (15.1 t) on 1st & 4th drivers	59.15 LT (60.1 t)	83.6 LT (84.9 t)
14CRB	2	14.75 LT (15 t) on 1st & 4th drivers	58.8 LT (59.7 t)	83.5 LT (84.8 t)
14CRB	3	14.95 LT (15.2 t) on 1st & 4th drivers	59.55 LT (60.5 t)	84.1 LT (85.4 t)

South African Railways

The Class 14C was placed in service in the Cape Eastern system, working the Umtata branch into Transkei

Transkei

The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...

and on the main line to Cookhouse. Some went to the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

where they banked up the Hex River Pass

Hex River Pass

Hex River Pass, Is situated in the Western Cape, province of South Africa, on the National road N1 road between De Doorns and Touws River.-Be Aware:* Driving Skill level: Novice* Road Condition: Tarred surface, sweeping turns...

from De Doorns and later worked with Class 19C

South African Class 19C 4-8-2

In 1935 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 19C steam locomotives with a Mountain wheel arrangement in service.-Manufacturer:When the need for more branch line locomotives became apparent in 1934, tenders were invited by the South African Railways for another fifty Class 19B locomotives...

locomotives across Sir Lowry's Pass to Caledon and Bredasdorp in the Overberg

Overberg

Overberg is a district in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the east...

. A few were also used on the Cape Midlands system, in Natal and the Eastern Transvaal.

In their later years many of these locomotives remained in the Cape Western system, most being shedded at Paardeneiland in Cape Town and at Beaufort West, and one at De Aar, mostly used as shunters and on short local pick-ups. A large number were also used in the Cape Eastern system, shedded at East London and used as shunters, on local pick-ups and also in suburban service. A few also served their last years in the Eastern Transvaal, shedded at Pietersburg and Witbank.

Other operators

Between 1918 and 1921 the Rhodesia Railways (RR) purchased a slightly lighter version of the original Class 14C from MLW. These became the RR Class 11. A further batch was built in 1948, as RR Class 11A. Some of the RR Class 11s and all the RR Class 11As were eventually sold to Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) and were utilised on the line between Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

and Swaziland

Swaziland

Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...

Gallery

The main picture shows third batch Class 14CRB 2004 "Purdey" taking water at Robertson, Western Cape, on 11 November 1979.