South African Class 34-900
Encyclopedia
Between October 1979 and February 1981 the South African Railways placed thirty Class 34-900 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.
diesel-electric locomotive was designed by General Electric
and built for the South African Railways (SAR) by the South African General Electric-Dorman Long Locomotive Group (SA GE-DL, later Dorbyl).
, 34-400
, 34-500
(also known as "34-400 ex Iscor") and 34-900, and the EMD Class 34-200
, 34-600
and 34-800
. Both these manufacturers also produced locomotives for the South African Classes 33, 35 and 36.
At some stage during the mid 1980s all Class 34-000, 34-400 and 34-500 locomotives had saddle filters installed across the long hood, mounted just to the rear of the screens behind the cab on the sides. Since then Class 34-900 locomotives could be distinguished from the older models by the absence of the saddle filter.
to the harbour at Saldanha in the Western Cape
.
Since circa 2009 other mainline diesel-electric locomotive types also emerged from the Koedoespoort Transwerk shops with running board mounted handrails after major overhauls.
In order to be usable on the iron ore line, Class 34-900s that end up working there are modified to a similar fuel capacity. The inter-bogie linkage is removed and the fuel tank is enlarged by changing it from saddle shaped to rectangular shaped, as illustrated by the welds on the end of 34-080’s fuel tank in the picture alongside.
and Class 15E
electric locomotives to haul the 342 wagon iron ore trains. Each wagon has a 100 ton capacity and the trains are at least 3.72 kilometres (2.3 mi) in length, powered by mixed consists of Class 9E and Class 15E electric and GE U26C Class 34-000
, 34-400
, 34-500
and 34-900
diesel-electric locomotives. In South Africa mixed electric and diesel-electric consists are unique to the iron ore line.
A Class 9E or Class 15E electric locomotive serves as the master of each mixed electric and diesel-electric consist, with a total of between nine and twelve locomotives per train, twelve being the maximum number allowed. Before the Class 15E was placed in service in 2010, motive power usually consisted of three sets of locomotives, each set made up of one or two Class 9E electrics and one or two Class 34 diesel-electrics, with each set’s leading electric locomotive controlling its respective set of diesel-electrics by means of a slimkabel (smart cable). In effect each ore train was made up of three separate 114 wagon trains consisted together, with the locomotives of all three trains controlled by means of a Locotrol
radio distributed power control system by one crew in the leading electric locomotive. A typical train would therefore be made up of locomotive set A, 114 wagons, locomotive set B, 114 wagons, locomotive set C, and 114 wagons.
Some problems were experienced using this configuration, and after a couple of major derailments the locomotive configuration was changed to four sets, with locomotive set D initially made up of two Class 34 diesel-electric locomotives at the rear end of the train, pushing at between 40% and 50% of tractive power at all times, depending on the grades being traversed. The total maximum number allowed was still between nine and twelve locomotives per train.
As more Class 15Es were delivered and placed in service, Class 9E or Class 15E electrics replaced the pair of Class 34 diesel-electrics in set D. At the same time the more powerful Class 15E also made it possible to use as few as seven locomotives per train, with locomotive sets A, B and C each made up of one Class 15E and one Class 34, and set D of a single Class 15E.
Seven Class 34-900 locomotives, numbers 34-924 to 34-930, were painted in the SAR Blue Train livery and took the place of the five SAR Blue Train liveried Class 34-000 locomotives, numbers 34-055 to 34-059, which were then all eventually repainted in Spoornet’s orange livery. Some of the Class 34-900 locomotives, numbers 34-925 to 34-927, 34-929 and 34-930, were repainted later in Spoornet’s orange era Blue Train livery, while the other two, numbers 34-924 and 34-928, received the Spoornet blue with outline numbers livery.
The main picture shows 34-926 in Spoornet’s orange era Blue Train
livery.
Manufacturer
The Class 34-900 type GE U26CGE U26C
The GE U26C diesel locomotive model was introduced by GE Transportation Systems in 1971. All examples of this model are six axle units, and have the wheel arrangement C-C or Co'Co' ....
diesel-electric locomotive was designed 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...
and built for the South African Railways (SAR) by the South African General Electric-Dorman Long Locomotive Group (SA GE-DL, later Dorbyl).
GE and EMD designs
South Africa’s Class 34 locomotive group consists of seven series, the GE Class 34-000South African Class 34-000
Between July 1971 and March 1973 the South African Railways placed one hundred and twenty-five Class 34-000 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
, 34-400
South African Class 34-400
Between April 1973 and November 1974 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-400 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
, 34-500
South African Class 34-500
Between 1974 and 1977 the state owned South African Iron and Steel Corporation, now Kumba Iron Ore, placed forty-four GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service on its 1974 built Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line and as heavy shunters at the Sishen mine. In 1977 another two locomotives were built...
(also known as "34-400 ex Iscor") and 34-900, and the EMD Class 34-200
South African Class 34-200
Between October 1971 and March 1972 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 34-200 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
, 34-600
South African Class 34-600
Between December 1974 and July 1976 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-600 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.-Manufacturer:...
and 34-800
South African Class 34-800
Between August 1978 and December 1979 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 34-800 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service. In 1979 one more of the same type was placed in service by Iscor in Newcastle, and between April and July 1980 a further eight of these locomotives were...
. Both these manufacturers also produced locomotives for the South African Classes 33, 35 and 36.
Distinguishing Features
As built, the GE Class 34-000, 34-400 and 34-900 locomotives were visually indistinguishable from each other. The Class 34-500 locomotives could be visually distinguished from the other series by the air conditioning units mounted on their cab roofs and initially, when it was still a feature unique to them, by their running board mounted handrails.At some stage during the mid 1980s all Class 34-000, 34-400 and 34-500 locomotives had saddle filters installed across the long hood, mounted just to the rear of the screens behind the cab on the sides. Since then Class 34-900 locomotives could be distinguished from the older models by the absence of the saddle filter.
Systems
Class 34-900 locomotives work on most mainlines and some branchlines in the central, western, southern and southeastern parts of the country. Some eventually joined the Class 34-500 on the 861 kilometres (535 mi) Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line to haul export ore from the open cast iron mines at Sishen near Kathu in the Northern CapeNorthern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
to the harbour at Saldanha in 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...
.
Running board mounted handrails
Class 34-900 locomotives that are allocated to the Sishen-Saldanha Orex line are usually modified by having removable running board mounted handrails installed. All South African diesel-electric locomotives have their side handrails mounted along the upper edges of their long hoods. The ex Iscor Class 34-500s, however, came equipped with additional removable running board mounted handrails. Since these handrails are slide-fit into brackets welded onto the running board, they are easily removed.Since circa 2009 other mainline diesel-electric locomotive types also emerged from the Koedoespoort Transwerk shops with running board mounted handrails after major overhauls.
Fuel capacity
The Class 34-900 has a 5400 litre fuel tank as built, while the Class 34-500 was delivered new to Iscor with a 7000 litre fuel tank in order to cope with the longer distance between refuelling points on the Sishen-Saldanha Orex line. To facilitate the larger fuel tank, the inter-bogie linkage found on all other models was omitted on the Class 34-500.In order to be usable on the iron ore line, Class 34-900s that end up working there are modified to a similar fuel capacity. The inter-bogie linkage is removed and the fuel tank is enlarged by changing it from saddle shaped to rectangular shaped, as illustrated by the welds on the end of 34-080’s fuel tank in the picture alongside.
Mixed Power
On the Sishen–Saldanha Orex line GE Class 34 series diesel-electric locomotives run consisted to Class 9ESouth African Class 9E, Series 1
In 1978 and 1979 the South African Railways placed twenty-five Class 9E, Series 1 electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.-Manufacturer:...
and Class 15E
South African Class 15E
In 2010 Transnet Freight Rail placed the first of seventy-six Class 15E 50 kV AC heavy electric freight locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.-Manufacturers:...
electric locomotives to haul the 342 wagon iron ore trains. Each wagon has a 100 ton capacity and the trains are at least 3.72 kilometres (2.3 mi) in length, powered by mixed consists of Class 9E and Class 15E electric and GE U26C Class 34-000
South African Class 34-000
Between July 1971 and March 1973 the South African Railways placed one hundred and twenty-five Class 34-000 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
, 34-400
South African Class 34-400
Between April 1973 and November 1974 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-400 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
, 34-500
South African Class 34-500
Between 1974 and 1977 the state owned South African Iron and Steel Corporation, now Kumba Iron Ore, placed forty-four GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service on its 1974 built Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line and as heavy shunters at the Sishen mine. In 1977 another two locomotives were built...
and 34-900
South African Class 34-900
Between October 1979 and February 1981 the South African Railways placed thirty Class 34-900 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.-Manufacturer:...
diesel-electric locomotives. In South Africa mixed electric and diesel-electric consists are unique to the iron ore line.
A Class 9E or Class 15E electric locomotive serves as the master of each mixed electric and diesel-electric consist, with a total of between nine and twelve locomotives per train, twelve being the maximum number allowed. Before the Class 15E was placed in service in 2010, motive power usually consisted of three sets of locomotives, each set made up of one or two Class 9E electrics and one or two Class 34 diesel-electrics, with each set’s leading electric locomotive controlling its respective set of diesel-electrics by means of a slimkabel (smart cable). In effect each ore train was made up of three separate 114 wagon trains consisted together, with the locomotives of all three trains controlled by means of a Locotrol
Locotrol
Locotrol is a product of GE Transportation Systems that permits railway locomotives to be distributed throughout the length of a train...
radio distributed power control system by one crew in the leading electric locomotive. A typical train would therefore be made up of locomotive set A, 114 wagons, locomotive set B, 114 wagons, locomotive set C, and 114 wagons.
Some problems were experienced using this configuration, and after a couple of major derailments the locomotive configuration was changed to four sets, with locomotive set D initially made up of two Class 34 diesel-electric locomotives at the rear end of the train, pushing at between 40% and 50% of tractive power at all times, depending on the grades being traversed. The total maximum number allowed was still between nine and twelve locomotives per train.
As more Class 15Es were delivered and placed in service, Class 9E or Class 15E electrics replaced the pair of Class 34 diesel-electrics in set D. At the same time the more powerful Class 15E also made it possible to use as few as seven locomotives per train, with locomotive sets A, B and C each made up of one Class 15E and one Class 34, and set D of a single Class 15E.
Liveries
In the SAR and Spoornet eras, when the official liveries were Gulf Red and whiskers for the SAR, and initially orange and later maroon for Spoornet, many selected electric locomotives and some diesels were painted blue for use with the Blue Train, but without altering the layout of the various paint schemes. Blue Train locomotives were therefore blue with yellow whiskers in the SAR era, blue with the Spoornet logo and "SPOORNET" in Spoornet’s orange era, and blue with the Spoornet logo but without "SPOORNET" in Spoornet’s maroon era. In Spoornet’s blue era there was no need for a separate Blue Train livery, while in the TFR era the Blue Train was relegated to the very bottom of the railway’s business priority list.Seven Class 34-900 locomotives, numbers 34-924 to 34-930, were painted in the SAR Blue Train livery and took the place of the five SAR Blue Train liveried Class 34-000 locomotives, numbers 34-055 to 34-059, which were then all eventually repainted in Spoornet’s orange livery. Some of the Class 34-900 locomotives, numbers 34-925 to 34-927, 34-929 and 34-930, were repainted later in Spoornet’s orange era Blue Train livery, while the other two, numbers 34-924 and 34-928, received the Spoornet blue with outline numbers livery.
The main picture shows 34-926 in Spoornet’s orange era Blue Train
Blue Train (South Africa)
The Blue Train travels an approximately journey in South Africa between Pretoria and Cape Town. It is one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world...
livery.
See also
- South African Class 34-000South African Class 34-000Between July 1971 and March 1973 the South African Railways placed one hundred and twenty-five Class 34-000 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
(GE) - South African Class 34-200South African Class 34-200Between October 1971 and March 1972 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 34-200 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
(EMD) - South African Class 34-400South African Class 34-400Between April 1973 and November 1974 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-400 GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service.- Manufacturer :...
(GE) - South African Class 34-500South African Class 34-500Between 1974 and 1977 the state owned South African Iron and Steel Corporation, now Kumba Iron Ore, placed forty-four GE U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service on its 1974 built Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line and as heavy shunters at the Sishen mine. In 1977 another two locomotives were built...
(GE) - South African Class 34-600South African Class 34-600Between December 1974 and July 1976 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-600 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.-Manufacturer:...
(EMD) - South African Class 34-800South African Class 34-800Between August 1978 and December 1979 the South African Railways placed fifty Class 34-800 EMD GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service. In 1979 one more of the same type was placed in service by Iscor in Newcastle, and between April and July 1980 a further eight of these locomotives were...
(EMD) - Diesel-electric locomotive numbering and classification
- South African Class 9E, Series 1South African Class 9E, Series 1In 1978 and 1979 the South African Railways placed twenty-five Class 9E, Series 1 electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 9E, Series 2South African Class 9E, Series 2In 1982 and 1983 the South African Railways expanded its existing Class 9E fleet by placing six new Class 9E, Series 2 electric locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 15ESouth African Class 15EIn 2010 Transnet Freight Rail placed the first of seventy-six Class 15E 50 kV AC heavy electric freight locomotives with a Co-Co wheel arrangement in service on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line.-Manufacturers:...
- List of South African locomotive classes