In 1930 the South African Railways placed fourteen Class 19B 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. One of them was later reboilered and reclassified to Class 19BR.

Manufacturer

The South African Class 19B 4-8-2 steam locomotive was a later model of the original Class 19

South African Class 19 4-8-2

In 1928 the South African Railways placed four Class 19 steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement in service. One of them was later reboilered and reclassified to Class 19R.-Manufacturer:At the request of Colonel F.R...

. It was virtually identical to the Class 19 apart from the wheelbase of the front bogie, which had been increased from 6 in 2 in (1.88 m) to 6 in 4 in (1.93 m) in order to improve the clearance between the cylinders and the bogie wheels, since the bogie wheels of predecessors Class 19 and Class 19A

South African Class 19A 4-8-2

In 1929 the South African Railways placed thirty-six Class 19A steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 wheel arrangement in service. Five of them were later reboilered and reclassified to Class 19AR.-Manufacturer:...

 fouled the cylinder covers on sharp curves. Because of this difference they were classified as Class 19B.

They were built in Germany by Berliner Maschinenbau AG (BMAG), the former L. Schwartzkopff, and delivered in 1930, numbered 1401 to 1414. All but one were built with Walschaerts valve gear .

Number 1414 was equipped with Caprotti valve gear

Caprotti valve gear

The Caprotti valve gear is a type of steam engine valve gear invented in the early 1920's by Italian architect and engineer Arturo Caprotti. It uses camshafts and poppet valves rather than the piston valves used in other valve gear...

 as an experiment. After thirteen years, however, the Caprotti valve gear was removed at the Uitenhage workshops in 1943 and replaced with Walschaerts valve gear. The experiment did result in the successor 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...

 being built with Rotary Cam Poppet valve gear.

Watson Standard boilers

During the 1930s many serving locomotives were reboilered with a standard boiler type designed by then Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) A.G. Watson as part of his standardisation policy. Such Watson Standard reboilered locomotives were reclassified by adding an "R" suffix to their classification.

When Class 19B 1410 was reboilered with a Watson Standard no. 1A boiler, it therefore became the sole Class 19BR. In the process it was also equipped with a Watson cab with its distinctive slanted front, compared to the conventional vertical front of the original

South African Railways

Some Class 19B locomotives served around Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

 and between Kimberley

Kimberley, Northern Cape

Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...

 and Vryburg, but most of them spent their working lives on the line between Graaff Reinet

Graaff Reinet

Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Swellendam.-History:...

 and Rosmead across the Lootsberg Pass

Lootsberg Pass

Lootsberg Pass, , is situated in the Eastern Cape, province of South Africa, on the National road N9, between Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg, Eastern Cape....

, until they were eventually replaced by Class 19D

South African Class 19D 4-8-2

Between 1937 and 1949 the South African Railways placed two hundred and thirty-five Class 19D steam locomotives wirh a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement in service...

 locomotives. A couple were also allocated to Sydenham

Sydenham

Sydenham is an area and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham; although some streets towards Crystal Palace Park, Forest Hill and Penge are outside the ward and in the London Borough of Bromley, and some streets off Sydenham Hill are in the London Borough of Southwark. Sydenham was in...

 in Port Elizabeth and occasionally worked on the Grahamstown

Grahamstown

Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...

 branch. By 1977 they were all withdrawn from service.

Industrial

After being retired from SAR service, several were sold into a second career in industrial service.

• Number 1402 went to New Largo Colliery in Transvaal and later to the Enyati Railway.
• Numbers 1407 and 1409 went to Loraine Gold Mine in the Orange Free State.
• Number 1410 and 1411 went to the Free State Geduld Gold Mine as Numbers 8 and 7 respectively. They later became Freegold North numbers 10 and 11.
• Number 1413 went to the Fluor for Sasol plant in Transvaal.

Gallery

The main picture shows the Transnet National Collection’s preserved Class 19B 1412 taking water at Blouwater before piloting a Class GMAM and the Union Express across the Lootsberg Pass, circa 2001. When retired, 1412 was initially plinthed at Middelburg in the Cape Province and later restored.

See also

• South African Class 19 4-8-2
  South African Class 19 4-8-2
  In 1928 the South African Railways placed four Class 19 steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement in service. One of them was later reboilered and reclassified to Class 19R.-Manufacturer:At the request of Colonel F.R...
  
  
• South African Class 19A 4-8-2
  South African Class 19A 4-8-2
  In 1929 the South African Railways placed thirty-six Class 19A steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 wheel arrangement in service. Five of them were later reboilered and reclassified to Class 19AR.-Manufacturer:...
  
  
• South African Class 19C 4-8-2
  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...
  
  
• South African Class 19D 4-8-2
  South African Class 19D 4-8-2
  Between 1937 and 1949 the South African Railways placed two hundred and thirty-five Class 19D steam locomotives wirh a 4-8-2 Mountain wheel arrangement in service...
  
  
• Tender locomotive numbering and classification
• Watson Standard boilers
• The 4-8-2 "Mountain"
• List of South African locomotive classes