In 1947 and 1948 the South African Railways placed twenty-eight Class 3E electric locomotives with a Co+Co wheel arrangement in service.

Manufacturer

The South African Railways (SAR) placed orders for the design of the Class 3E 3 kV DC electric locomotive with Metropolitan-Vickers

Metropolitan-Vickers

Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, they were particularly well known for their industrial electrical equipment such as generators, steam...

 (Metrovicks) in 1944 and twenty-eight were delivered and placed in service between 1947 and 1948, numbered E191 to E218. Although they were designed by Metrovicks, who also supplied the electrical equipment, they were built by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns

Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns

Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Ltd was a locomotive builder with works in North East England.-History:The company was formed in September 1937 when Robert Stephenson and Company, which was based in Darlington took over the locomotive building department of Hawthorn Leslie and Company, based in...

 (RSH).

Orientation

These dual cab locomotives have three windows on one side and four on the other side. The number 1 end is at the front when the side with three windows is to the left. Like the Class 1E, Class 2E and Class 4E, the Class 3E has bogie mounted draft gear, therefore no train forces are transmitted to the locomotive body. It had a Co+Co wheel arrangement with an articulated inter-bogie linkage.

Service

The Class 3E was the first South African six axle electric locomotive and was designed for use where higher speeds were possible on track with less severe curvature than on the Natal main line. It served mainly on the Witwatersrand

Witwatersrand

The Witwatersrand is a low, sedimentary range of hills, at an elevation of 1700–1800 metres above sea-level, which runs in an east-west direction through Gauteng in South Africa. The word in Afrikaans means "the ridge of white waters". Geologically it is complex, but the principal formations...

 in both freight and passenger working and had a maximum safe speed of 105 kilometres per hour (65 mph).

For the passenger role, provision was made for both electric and steam heating of passenger coaches, although the electric heating feature was never used. The Class 3E had an integral steam boiler for train heating, unlike later electric locomotives like the Class 4E, Class 5E and Class 6E that used separate steam wagons on passenger service.

Preservation

Now long retired, E201, the best preserved survivor of the class, is being staged under a shelter at the Bellville

Bellville

Bellville may refer to:Canada* Belleville, OntarioSouth Africa* Bellville, Western Cape** Bellville railway stationUnited States* Bellville, Georgia* Bellville, Ohio* Bellville, Texas...

 locomotive depot in 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...

 along with a few other early SAR electric locomotives that were earmarked for preservation.

See also

• Numbering and classification: Electric locomotives
• List of South African locomotive classes