South African Class 7 4-8-0 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Cape Government Railways

The Cape Government Railways was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways in 1910.-Private railways:...

placed six Class 7 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 4-8-0

4-8-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. The type was nicknamed the Mastodon or Twelve-wheeler in North America....

Mastodon wheel arrangement in service and between 1892 and 1893 another thirty-two were acquired. They were initially placed in service on the Cape Midland System, but were later distributed between the Cape Midland and Cape Eastern Systems. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered but retained their Class 7 classification.

Manufacturers

In 1890 Michael Stephens, then Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the Cape Western System of the Cape Government Railways (CGR), accompanied by General Manager C.B. Elliot, visited Durban to examine and report on the new Dübs A 4-8-2T

South African Class A 4-8-2T

In 1888 the Natal Government Railways placed the first five of its eventual one hundred Class Dübs A 4-8-2T tank steam locomotives in service. The last of the one hundred was delivered in 1899. In 1912, when these locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered...

tank locomotives that had been placed in service by the Natal Government Railways

Natal government railways

The Natal Government Railways was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal.In 1877 the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban to Umgeni...

(NGR) in 1888. In Elliot’s subsequent report he stated his conviction that locomotives with eight-coupled wheels should be adopted for the coastal sections of the Cape Midland and Cape Eastern Systems, where fog and the damp atmosphere were detrimental to tractive adhesion.

Following this report, a complete design for such a locomotive was prepared at the Salt River works under the supervision of Locomotive Superintendent H.M. Beatty. The last six of an order for fifty-six Cape 5th Class 4-6-0 locomotives from Dübs and Company

Dûbs and Company

Dübs & Co. was a locomotive works in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it became part of the North British Locomotive Company.-Preserved locomotives:...

were cancelled and substituted with an order for six of these new Class 7 locomotives. They were delivered in 1892 and numbered 315 to 320 for the Cape Midland System. Two of them, 318 and 320, were later renumbered 701 and 702 and re-allocated to the Cape Eastern System.

These six locomotives were followed by an order for another thirty-two locomotives, delivered from Neilson and Company

Neilson and Company

Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland.The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines...

between 1892 and 1893. These were initially numbered 321 to 352 for the Midland System. Fifteen of these, numbers 325, 326, 330 to 333, 337 to 339 and 347 to 352, were later renumbered 703 to 717 and re-allocated to the Eastern System.

While the Class 6

South African Class 6 4-6-0

In 1893 and 1894 the Cape Government Railways placed forty Class 6 4-6-0 steam locomotives in service, twenty-two on its Western System and eighteen on its Midland System. In 1897 ten of them were sold to the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwermentspoorwegen. At the end of the Second Boer War in 1901, these...

, which was designed and ordered at the same time as the Class 7, was conceived as a fast passenger locomotive, the Class 7 was conceived as its heavy goods locomotive counterpart. The Class 7 turned out to be a most useful and well liked class. It continued the good looks of the Cape’s locomotives with a strong construction and of sound design, and some remained in service for nearly eighty years.

Class 7 sub-classes

When these thirty-eight locomotives were assimilated into the newly established South African Railways (SAR) in 1912, they were renumbered 950 to 987, but they retained their Class 7 classification.

The rest of the CGR’s Class 7 locomotives, together with Class 7 locomotives from the Central South African Railways

Central South African Railways

From 1902 to 1904, the area of power of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Girouard later also included the lines of The Netherlands-South African Railway Company; together this dominion covered all lines in the Transvaal that belonged to NZASM ....

(CSAR), Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR), Rhodesian Railways (RR), the NGR and, in 1925, the New Cape Central Railways (NCCR), were grouped into six different sub-classes by the SAR, becoming SAR Classes 7A to 7F.

Modification

During the 1930s many of the Class 7 series locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers or piston valves or both. On the Class 7C

South African Class 7C 4-8-0

In 1902 the Cape Government Railways placed its last ten Class 7 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives in service on the Cape Eastern System. In 1912, when all these locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 7C.-Manufacturer:The last of...

this conversion was sometimes indicated with an "S" suffix to the class number on the locomotive number plate, but on the rest of the Class 7 family this distinction was rarely applied. The superheated versions could be visually identified by the position of the chimney on the smokebox, with the chimney displaced forward to provide space behind it in the smokebox for the superheater header.

Government railways

The Class 7 became the main goods locomotive for the last twenty years of the existence of the CGR. Three of them also saw service with the Imperial Military Railways (IMR) during the Second Freedom War (the Anglo-Boer War) from 1899 to 1902, having been allocated to the IMR for the duration of the war.

In SAR service, the Class 7 did duty on every system in the country. In 1915, during the South West African Campaign in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, twenty-nine Class 7 series locomotives were sent to 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....

(SWA) to assist the expeditionary forces. Eleven of these were Class 7 locomotives, numbers 950, 952, 954, 957, 962, 967 to 969, 973, 979 and 984. One of them was lost at sea in the process and was subsequently replaced with Class 7A number 1000. The lost locomotive was recorded as being number 984; however, number 984 was photographed in service at Walvisbaai circa 1955.

They proved so successful in that territory that more were gradually transferred there in later years. By the time the Class 24

South African Class 24 2-8-4

In 1949 and 1950 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 24 branch line steam locomotives with a 2-8-4 Berkshire wheel arrangement in service.-Design:...

arrived in SWA in 1949, there were still fifty-three Class 7 series locomotives in use there.

Most remained there and were only transferred back to South Africa when the Class 32-000

South African Class 32-000

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.- Manufacturer :...

diesel-electric locomotives replaced them in 1961. In South Africa they remained in branch line service, particularly at Tarkastad and Ladysmith and also on the Touws River-Ladismith branch line, until they were finally withdrawn in 1972.

Industrial

In 1966 two Class 7 locomotives, numbers 955 and 956, as well as four Class 7A

South African Class 7A 4-8-0

Between 1896 and 1901 the Cape Government Railways placed a second batch of altogether forty-six Class 7 steam locomotives with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement in service on its Midland and Eastern Systems...

and two Class 7B

South African Class 7B 4-8-0

In 1900 the Imperial Military Railways placed twenty-five Cape Class 7 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives in service. In that same year, three Cape Class 7 locomotives that had been ordered by the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway were also placed in service. All these locomotives were taken on to the...

were sold to the Zambesi Saw Mills (ZSM) in Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...

(Zambia). The company worked the teak forests that stretched 100 miles (160.9 km) to the north-west of Livingstone

Livingstone, Zambia

Livingstone or Maramba is a historic colonial city and present capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, a tourism centre for the Victoria Falls lying north of the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls...

in Northern Rhodesia and it built one of the longest logging railways in the world to serve its sawmill at Mulobezi

Mulobezi

Mulobezi is a small town in the Southern Province of Zambia, and the centre of its timber industry. Timber extends into Southern Province with which the town is economically linked....

. These eight locomotives joined eight ex RR Class 7 locomotives that had been acquired by the ZSM between 1925 and 1956.

Railway operations ceased at Mulobezi around 1972, whilst operation of the line to Livingstone was taken over by the Zambia Railways in 1973. While most of the Class 7 locomotives remained at Mulobezi out of use, number 955 was preserved at the Livingstone Railway Museum.

Renumberings

During their long service lives some of the Class 7 locomotives underwent multiple renumberings. All were initially numbered into the Cape Midland System roster. Some were later renumbered into the Cape Eastern System roster, three saw service with the IMR and were temporarily renumbered accordingly, and all were eventually renumbered into the SAR’s roster in 1912. The table lists these renumberings as well as their builders and works numbers.

**Class 7 builders, works numbers and renumbering**
Builder	Works Number	CGR Midland	CGR Eastern	IMR Number	SAR Number
Dübs	2882	315			950
Dübs	2883	316		C520	951
Dübs	2884	317			952
Dübs	2885	318	701		968
Dübs	2886	319			953
Dübs	2887	320	702		969
Neilson	4446	321			954
Neilson	4447	322			955
Neilson	4448	323			956
Neilson	4449	324			957
Neilson	4450	325	703		970
Neilson	4451	326	704		971
Neilson	4452	327			958
Neilson	4453	328			959
Neilson	4454	329		C524	960
Neilson	4455	330	705		978
Neilson	4456	331	706		979
Neilson	4457	332	707		980
Neilson	4458	333	708		981
Neilson	4459	334			961
Neilson	4460	335			962
Neilson	4461	336			963
Neilson	4462	337	709		972
Neilson	4463	338	710		973
Neilson	4464	339	711		974
Neilson	4465	340			964
Neilson	4466	341			965
Neilson	4467	342		C521	966
Neilson	4468	343			967
Neilson	4469	344			975
Neilson	4470	345			976
Neilson	4471	346			977
Neilson	4472	347	712		982
Neilson	4473	348	713		983
Neilson	4474	349	714		984
Neilson	4475	350	715		985
Neilson	4476	351	716		986
Neilson	4477	352	717		987

Gallery

The main picture shows ex Cape Midland System Class 7 344, later SAR Class 7 975, plinthed at the Women’s Memorial in Bloemfontein. Of the plinthed locomotives displayed below, CGR 345 (SAR 976) at Klerksdorp is actually Midland 332, later Eastern 707 and eventually SAR 980. It was restored incorrectly bearing the CGR number plate and builder’s works plate of CGR 345.