South African Class 39-000
Encyclopedia
In 2005 Transwerk commenced a project of rebuilding one hundred existing locomotives to new Class 39-000 EMD GT26CU-3 locomotives for Spoornet. Only five were eventually rebuilt and placed in service between April 2006 and 2009.
, 34-800
and 37-000
locomotives, all designed by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) and built by General Motors South Africa
(GMSA) in Port Elizabeth between 1974 and 1981. The project commenced in 2005, using suitable frames from wrecked locomotives.
(BEE) company dealing with locomotives and spares. The Sibanye venture produced only one locomotive, rebuilt from Class 37-000 number 37-010 in 2008 and numbered 39-251. The locomotive was tested, but rejected by Transnet, reportedly due to poor quality. Furthermore, when serious tender irregularities came to light, the locomotive rebuilding deal between Transnet and Sibanye was cancelled.
Number 39-251 never worked for Transnet and was later reported as sold to RRL, a company that came out of the abortive joint venture between EMD and Sibanye. RRL, based at a workshop in the old Pretoria Steel Works complex and with several of its locomotives active around Welkom in the Free State, was reported in 2011 as having hired out the locomotive to one of the platinum mines.
It was intended to produce one hundred Class 39-000 locomotives, but in spite of the technical success of the TRE part of the project, rebuilding was halted after completing the first five locomotives, allegedly due to higher than anticipated cost. It was decided, instead of rebuilding one hundred old locomotives, to rather continue the program by building fifty new Class 39-200
locomotives from imported and locally produced components. This was to take place at the Koedoespoort shops of Transnet Rail Engineering (TRE).
in Mozambique
, to work in conjunction with Class 37-000 locomotives on the heavy grades on the Belfast to Steelpoort section in Mpumalanga
. The intention was to redeploy them to the Thabazimbi iron ore line once the Class 39-200 were placed in service.
Manufacturer
One hundred Class 39-000 type EMD GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives were to be rebuilt for Spoornet from Class 34-600South 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:...
, 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...
and 37-000
South African Class 37-000
Between May 1981 and 1982 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 37-000 EMD GT26M2C diesel-electric locomotives in service. After these locomotives were commissioned, the national carrier was not to invest in new diesel-electric locomotives before 2009, nearly three decades later.-...
locomotives, all designed by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) and built by General Motors South Africa
General Motors South Africa
General Motors South Africa, or GMSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of American automobile manufacturer General Motors. It manufacturers and distributes automobiles under the Chevrolet, Opel and Isuzu brands...
(GMSA) in Port Elizabeth between 1974 and 1981. The project commenced in 2005, using suitable frames from wrecked locomotives.
Number 39-251
Two companies were invited to produce prototypes for the project. One was Electro-Motive Sibanye, a joint venture between EMD and Sibanye Trade and Services, a South African Black Economic EmpowermentBlack Economic Empowerment
Black Economic Empowerment is a programme launched by the South African government to redress the inequalities of Apartheid by giving previously disadvantaged groups economic opportunities previously not available to them...
(BEE) company dealing with locomotives and spares. The Sibanye venture produced only one locomotive, rebuilt from Class 37-000 number 37-010 in 2008 and numbered 39-251. The locomotive was tested, but rejected by Transnet, reportedly due to poor quality. Furthermore, when serious tender irregularities came to light, the locomotive rebuilding deal between Transnet and Sibanye was cancelled.
Number 39-251 never worked for Transnet and was later reported as sold to RRL, a company that came out of the abortive joint venture between EMD and Sibanye. RRL, based at a workshop in the old Pretoria Steel Works complex and with several of its locomotives active around Welkom in the Free State, was reported in 2011 as having hired out the locomotive to one of the platinum mines.
Numbers 39-001 to 39-005
The other company was Transwerk, later Transnet Rail Engineering (TRE), who produced five locomotives at its Bloemfontein shops between 2006 and 2008, rebuilt from three Class 34-600 and two Class 34-800 locomotives. These five were tested and approved by Transnet and placed in service between April 2006 and 2009 as Class 39-000 numbers 39-001 to 39-005.It was intended to produce one hundred Class 39-000 locomotives, but in spite of the technical success of the TRE part of the project, rebuilding was halted after completing the first five locomotives, allegedly due to higher than anticipated cost. It was decided, instead of rebuilding one hundred old locomotives, to rather continue the program by building fifty new Class 39-200
South African Class 39-200
Early in 2010 fifty Class 39-200 type EMD GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives were placed in service by Transnet Freight Rail.-The Rebuilt Class 39-000:...
locomotives from imported and locally produced components. This was to take place at the Koedoespoort shops of Transnet Rail Engineering (TRE).
Features
Improvements over the pre-rebuilt locomotives that are offered in the Class 39-000 include microprocessor control, 26% more maximum continuous tractive effort and 15% more tractive horse-power, and a Knorr-Bremse electronic brake rack (EBR) to replace the old pneumatic braking controls.Locomotives rebuilt
Three Class 34-600 and two Class 34-800, all wrecked locomotives, were rebuilt to Class 39-000. The lineage of each Class 39-000 locomotive can be visually determined by the difference in thickness of their left side sills, namely the thicker fishbelly shaped left sills of the ex Class 34-600 compared to the straight left sills of the ex Class 34-800.| Class 34 No. |
Works No. |
Class 39 No. |
|---|---|---|
| 34-635 | EMD 101035 | 39-001 |
| 34-838 | EMD 112-38 | 39-002 |
| 34-674 | EMD 101074 | 39-003 |
| 34-620 | EMD 101020 | 39-004 |
| 34-829 | EMD 112-29 | 39-005 |
Service
The Class 39-000 locomotives were initially placed in service on the Pretoria to Komatipoort line to MaputoMaputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
in 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...
, to work in conjunction with Class 37-000 locomotives on the heavy grades on the Belfast to Steelpoort section in Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
. The intention was to redeploy them to the Thabazimbi iron ore line once the Class 39-200 were placed in service.
Liveries
The main picture shows 39-005 in Transnet Freight Rail livery. Of the five locomotives, only 39-001 was delivered in Spoornet’s blue livery with outline numbers.See also
- 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:...
- 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...
- South African Class 39-200South African Class 39-200Early in 2010 fifty Class 39-200 type EMD GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives were placed in service by Transnet Freight Rail.-The Rebuilt Class 39-000:...
- Diesel-electric locomotive numbering and classification
- List of South African locomotive classes