South African Class 32-000 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Between November 1959 and November 1961 the South African Railways placed one hundred and fifteen Class 32-000 GE U18C1 diesel-electric locomotives in service in South West Africa

South West Africa

South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....

Manufacturer

The South African Class 32-000 type GE U18C1

GE Universal Series locomotives

The GE Universal Series locomotives were diesel locomotives launched by GE in early 1956.Initially, there were nine U-series models: U4B, U6B, U9B, U9C, U12B, U12C, U18B, U18C and UD18B. They were designed to be readily adaptable to different track gauges for export markets. The U5B and U8B...

diesel-electric locomotive was designed and built to South African Railways (SAR) requirements by General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

(GE) and imported.

Class 32 series

The South African Class 32 consists of two series, the high short hood Class 32-000 and the low short hood Class 32-200

South African Class 32-200

In June and July 1966 the South African Railways placed ten Class 32-200 GE U20C1 diesel-electric locomotives in service in South West Africa..- Manufacturer :...

, both GE products. On the Class 32-000 the short hood end is the front. It has single station controls.

The pony truck affair

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

the South African Class 32-000 is credited with being a major factor in the demise of the American Locomotive Company

American Locomotive Company

The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...

(ALCO) and the rise of GE in the locomotive building business.

In the late 1950s South Africa, at the time one of the last bastions of steam traction, planned to embark on a massive dieselisation program. An SAR technical team was sent to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

and to the United States to prepare an assessment of design alternatives, finalise specifications and compile a list of qualified bidders.

In the United States only ALCO, Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) and GE were considered to be qualified bidders. The SAR was not very enthusiastic about two-stroke cycle engines and had a strong preference for ALCO's Model 251 engine and GE's transmission systems. As a prior supplier of steam locomotives for the SAR, ALCO appeared to be virtually assured of receiving the order.

The SAR's tender for bid was issued in 1957, with two options:

One hundred and fifteen units of a 1800 hp locomotive with a 1Co+Co1 wheel arrangement; or
Two hundred and thirty units of a 1000 hp locomotive with a Co+Co wheel arrangement

These units were intended for operation in South West Africa (SWA, now Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

) under very light rail conditions, which necessitated lighter axle loadings that could not be achieved with conventional Co bogies under a heavy locomotive. General Steel Castings

General Steel Castings

The General Steel Castings Corporation was a steel casting corporation in the United States established in 1928by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, American Locomotive Company, and American Steel Foundries....

had a design on paper for a 1Co bogie (a Co bogie with a pony truck

Pony truck

A pony truck, in railway terminology, is a leading truck with only two wheels.Its invention is generally credited to Levi Bissell, who devised one in 1857 and patented it the following year. Hence the term Bissel bogie or axle is used in continental Europe...

) which could be utilised by either ALCO or GE and which would enable the SAR's specification to be met for the heavier 1800 hp units.

The SAR made it clear that, despite the two options afforded by the tender, its strong preference was for a 1Co+Co1 locomotive. However, the use of a pony truck was not universally accepted by ALCO's engineering management. The result was that ALCO bid on only the Co+Co option and lost out to GE, who had bid on both options.

In South Africa, this virtually opened the floodgates for GE since more than half of the SAR’s vast diesel-electric locomotive fleet that was acquired between 1959 and 1981 are GE products.

South African Railways

The Class 32-000 was designed specifically for service in SWA and most of them spent their entire SAR lives there. Between 1964 and 1976 several were also allocated to the Eastern Transvaal for service around Waterval-Boven.

Of the original one hundred and fifteen locomotives, only five survived into the Spoornet era in the 1990s. In SWA they were replaced by the Class 33-400

South African Class 33-400

Between July 1968 and March 1970 the South African Railways placed one hundred and fifteen Class 33-400 GE U20C diesel-electric locomotives in service...

during the 1980s. After being withdrawn from Spoornet service, a few were allocated to the National Collection, later the Transnet Heritage Foundation (THF), and some of these still saw occasional service as Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe

Outeniqua Choo Tjoe

The Outeniqua Choo Tjoe was the last remaining continually-operated passenger steam train in Africa, ending operation in June 2009. The railway was completed in 1928, and links the towns of George and Knysna in the Western Cape, South Africa. The 3 hour journey also stops in the towns of...

excursion locomotives, based at George, Western Cape

George, Western Cape

George is a city with 203,253 inhabitants in South Africa's Western Cape province. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub of the Garden Route.- Location :...

Post SAR service

After withdrawal from SAR service, a large number of the Class 32-000 were sold to Zaire

Zaire

The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

’s Congo Railway (SNCZ) (now, after the country's name change, the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

's SNCC), while three went to Consortium ARZ (CARZ), an Italian per-way contractor working in Zaire and later also in Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

. Two went to Nchanga and three to Nkana

Nkana

Nkana is a section of the city of Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia which started off in the early part of the 20th century as a railway station to support the growing complex of copper mining operations. It was named after Chief Nkana, the local traditional ruler...

, two copper mines in Zambia.

Class 32-000, GE U18C1 1958-1961
Works numbers and disposition
SAR no	GE works no	Post SAR owner	Post SAR no
32-001	33722
32-002	33723
32-003	33724
32-004	33725	SNCZ	32-004
32-005	33726
32-006	33727	SNCZ
32-007	33728	Nchanga	26
32-008	33729	SNCZ
32-009	33730	SNCZ
32-010	33731	Nkana
32-011	33732
32-012	33733
32-013	33734	Nkana
32-014	33735
32-015	33736
32-016	33737
32-017	33738	SNCZ
32-018	33739	SNCZ
32-019	33740	SNCZ	1405
32-020	33741	SNCZ
32-021	33742	THF	32-021
32-022	33743	SNCZ
32-023	33744
32-024	33745
32-025	33746	SNCZ
32-026	33747
32-027	33748
32-028	33749
32-029	33750	THF	32-029
32-030	33751	SNCZ
32-031	33752
32-032	33753
32-033	33754
32-034	33755	SNCZ
32-035	33756	SNCZ
32-036	33757	SNCZ
32-037	33758	SNCZ
32-038	33759
32-039	33760
32-040	33761
32-041	33762
32-042	33763	THF	32-042
32-043	33764	SNCZ	1410-5
32-044	33765
32-045	33766
32-046	33767
32-047	33768	THF	32-047
32-048	33769
32-049	33770	SNCZ
32-050	33771	SNCZ	32-050
32-051	33772	SNCZ
32-052	33773
32-053	33774
32-054	33775	SNCZ
32-055	33776
32-056	33777	CARZ
32-057	33778	CARZ
32-058	33779	SNCZ
32-059	33780
32-060	33781
32-061	33782	SNCZ
32-062	33783
32-063	33784
32-064	33785
32-065	33786
32-066	33787	SNCZ
32-067	33788	SNCZ
32-068	33789	SNCZ
32-069	33790	Nchanga	27
32-070	33791
32-071	33792	SNCZ
32-072	33793	SNCZ
32-073	33794
32-074	33795
32-075	33796	SNCZ
32-076	33797	SNCZ
32-077	33798
32-078	33799	SNCZ
32-079	33800
32-080	33801
32-081	33802	SNCZ
32-082	33803	SNCZ
32-083	33804
32-084	33805
32-085	33806	SNCZ
32-086	33807	SNCZ
32-087	33808	CARZ
32-088	33809
32-089	33810	SNCZ
32-090	33811
32-091	33812	SNCZ
32-092	33813	SNCZ
32-093	33814	SNCZ
32-094	33815	THF	32-094
32-095	33816
32-096	33817
32-097	33818	SNCZ
32-098	33819	SNCZ
32-099	33820
32-100	33821	SNCZ
32-101	33822
32-102	33823	SNCZ
32-103	33824
32-104	33825
32-105	33826
32-106	33827
32-107	33828
32-108	33829
32-109	33830
32-110	33831	SNCZ
32-111	33832	SNCZ
32-112	33833	SNCZ
32-113	33834	Nkana
32-114	33835	SNCZ
32-115	33836	SNCZ

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