South African Class 8B 4-8-0
Encyclopedia
In 1903, soon after its establishment, the Central South African Railways
placed thirty Class 8-L2 4-8-0
Mastodon steam locomotive
s in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8B.
The comparatively small number of serviceable locomotives that were immediately available for service, compounded by the poor condition of many of the original NZASM, PPR, Selati and OVGS locomotives as well as an expected post-war increase in traffic, led to an order for thirty Cape Class 8 4-8-0 steam locomotives from Neilson, Reid and Company.
They were built to the specifications of the Class 8
4-8-0 "Mastodon" type designed by H.M. Beatty, the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) from 1896 to 1910, and were the first locomotives to be ordered under the CSAR administration. Since, being equipped with Drummond tubes, they differed from the Class 8-L1, these locomotives were designated CSAR Class 8-L2.
While they were being built, Neilson, Reid amalgamated with Dübs and Company
and Sharp, Stewart and Company to form the North British Locomotive Company
(NBL). As a result, the first ten of these locomotives, numbered 441 to 450, were delivered as built by Neilson, Reid while the other twenty, numbered 451 to 470, were delivered as built by NBL, although all the NBL locomotives were also built at the Hyde Park shops of the former Neilson, Reid.
These locomotives, together with the CSAR’s Class 8-L1 and 8-L3 4-8-0 Mastodon locomotives and all the CGR’s Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidations and 4-8-0 Mastodons, were grouped into ten different sub-classes by the SAR. The 4-8-0 locomotives became SAR Classes 8 and 8A to 8F and the 2-8-0 locomotives became Classes 8X to 8Z.
water tubes. This involved the installation of cross-water tubes into the firebox, as featured on the London and South Western Railway
’s T9 Class and L11 Class
, in an attempt to increase the heat surface area of the water, albeit at the cost of increased boiler complexity.
On the as built Class 8-L2 locomotives, visible exterior evidence of the presence of Drummond tubes was two offset rectangular covers attached to the sides of the firebox just ahead of the cab.
The CGR had also experimented with Drummond tubes by modifying its Class 6
number 286 and found that the benefit in improved performance was minimal while the tubes were inclined to leak and were difficult to maintain. Like the CGR, the CSAR soon learned that the increase in steaming capacity was not sufficient to warrant the initial cost and increased maintenance involved. In the SAR era the tubes were gradually removed as the boilers required repairs, but the locomotives retained their Class 8B designation.
The outside admission locomotives had their cylinder bore increased from 18.5 inches (469.9 mm) to 19 inches (482.6 mm) and retained their existing SAR classifications, while the inside admission locomotives had their cylinder bore increased to 20 inches (508 mm) and were reclassified, with a "W" suffix added to their existing SAR classifications.
Of the Class 8B locomotives, nine were equipped with superheated boilers, 19 inches (482.6 mm) bore cylinders and outside admission piston valves, while retaining their Class 8B classification.
Six locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers, 20 inches (508 mm) bore cylinders and inside admission piston valves and were reclassified to Class 8BW.
The Class 8B and 8BW builders, works numbers, renumbering and superheating modifications are shown in the table.
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 ....
placed thirty Class 8-L2 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 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 in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8B.
Manufacturers
Upon the establishment of the Central South African Railways (CSAR) in July 1902, soon after the end of the Second Freedom War, Chief Locomotive Superintendent P.A. Hyde became the custodian of a mixed bag of locomotives inherited from the Imperial Military Railways (IMR). These included locomotives that originated with the Selati Railway, the Nederlandsche Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij (NZASM), the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR) and the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwermentspoorwegen (OVGS).The comparatively small number of serviceable locomotives that were immediately available for service, compounded by the poor condition of many of the original NZASM, PPR, Selati and OVGS locomotives as well as an expected post-war increase in traffic, led to an order for thirty Cape Class 8 4-8-0 steam locomotives from Neilson, Reid and Company.
They were built to the specifications of the Class 8
South African Class 8 4-8-0
In 1902 and 1903 the Cape Government Railways placed twenty-three Class 8 steam locomotives with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement in service, three on the Cape Western System, eight on the Cape Midland System and twelve on the Cape Eastern System...
4-8-0 "Mastodon" type designed by H.M. Beatty, the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) from 1896 to 1910, and were the first locomotives to be ordered under the CSAR administration. Since, being equipped with Drummond tubes, they differed from the Class 8-L1, these locomotives were designated CSAR Class 8-L2.
While they were being built, Neilson, Reid amalgamated with 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:...
and Sharp, Stewart and Company to form the North British Locomotive Company
North British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...
(NBL). As a result, the first ten of these locomotives, numbered 441 to 450, were delivered as built by Neilson, Reid while the other twenty, numbered 451 to 470, were delivered as built by NBL, although all the NBL locomotives were also built at the Hyde Park shops of the former Neilson, Reid.
Class 8 sub-classes
In 1912, when these thirty locomotives were assimilated into the newly established South African Railways (SAR), they were renumbered 1132 to 1161 and reclassified to Class 8B.These locomotives, together with the CSAR’s Class 8-L1 and 8-L3 4-8-0 Mastodon locomotives and all the CGR’s Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidations and 4-8-0 Mastodons, were grouped into ten different sub-classes by the SAR. The 4-8-0 locomotives became SAR Classes 8 and 8A to 8F and the 2-8-0 locomotives became Classes 8X to 8Z.
Drummond tubes
When Hyde placed the order for these locomotives, he specified fireboxes equipped with DrummondDugald Drummond
Dugald Drummond was a Scottish steam locomotive engineer. He had a career with the North British Railway, LB&SCR, Caledonian Railway and London and South Western Railway...
water tubes. This involved the installation of cross-water tubes into the firebox, as featured on the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
’s T9 Class and L11 Class
LSWR L11 Class
The London and South Western Railway L11 class was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives designed for mixed traffic work. They were introduced in 1903 and were nicknamed "Large Hoppers"...
, in an attempt to increase the heat surface area of the water, albeit at the cost of increased boiler complexity.
On the as built Class 8-L2 locomotives, visible exterior evidence of the presence of Drummond tubes was two offset rectangular covers attached to the sides of the firebox just ahead of the cab.
The CGR had also experimented with Drummond tubes by modifying its Class 6
South African Class 6H 4-6-0
In 1901 twenty-one Class 6 4-6-0 steam locomotives were placed in service by the Cape Government Railways, built to the older Class 6 designs with plate frames...
number 286 and found that the benefit in improved performance was minimal while the tubes were inclined to leak and were difficult to maintain. Like the CGR, the CSAR soon learned that the increase in steaming capacity was not sufficient to warrant the initial cost and increased maintenance involved. In the SAR era the tubes were gradually removed as the boilers required repairs, but the locomotives retained their Class 8B designation.
Superheating
During A.G. Watson’s term as the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the SAR from 1929 to 1936, many of the Class 8 to Class 8F locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers, larger bore cylinders and either inside or outside admission piston valves.The outside admission locomotives had their cylinder bore increased from 18.5 inches (469.9 mm) to 19 inches (482.6 mm) and retained their existing SAR classifications, while the inside admission locomotives had their cylinder bore increased to 20 inches (508 mm) and were reclassified, with a "W" suffix added to their existing SAR classifications.
Of the Class 8B locomotives, nine were equipped with superheated boilers, 19 inches (482.6 mm) bore cylinders and outside admission piston valves, while retaining their Class 8B classification.
Six locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers, 20 inches (508 mm) bore cylinders and inside admission piston valves and were reclassified to Class 8BW.
The Class 8B and 8BW builders, works numbers, renumbering and superheating modifications are shown in the table.
| Builder |
Works No. |
CSAR No. |
SAR No. |
SAR Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neilson Reid | 6351 | 441 | 1132 | Superheated |
| Neilson Reid | 6352 | 442 | 1133 | |
| Neilson Reid | 6353 | 443 | 1134 | Class 8BW |
| Neilson Reid | 6354 | 444 | 1135 | Class 8BW |
| Neilson Reid | 6355 | 445 | 1136 | Class 8BW |
| Neilson Reid | 6356 | 446 | 1137 | Superheated |
| Neilson Reid | 6357 | 447 | 1138 | |
| Neilson Reid | 6358 | 448 | 1139 | Superheated |
| Neilson Reid | 6359 | 449 | 1140 | |
| Neilson Reid | 6360 | 450 | 1141 | |
| NBL | 15783 | 451 | 1142 | Class 8BW |
| NBL | 15784 | 452 | 1143 | |
| NBL | 15785 | 453 | 1144 | Class 8BW |
| NBL | 15786 | 454 | 1145 | |
| NBL | 15787 | 455 | 1146 | Superheated |
| NBL | 15788 | 456 | 1147 | |
| NBL | 15789 | 457 | 1148 | |
| NBL | 15790 | 458 | 1149 | |
| NBL | 15791 | 459 | 1150 | |
| NBL | 15792 | 460 | 1151 | Superheated |
| NBL | 15793 | 461 | 1152 | Superheated |
| NBL | 15794 | 462 | 1153 | Class 8BW |
| NBL | 15795 | 463 | 1154 | Superheated |
| NBL | 15796 | 464 | 1155 | Superheated |
| NBL | 15797 | 465 | 1156 | |
| NBL | 15798 | 466 | 1157 | |
| NBL | 15799 | 467 | 1158 | Superheated |
| NBL | 15800 | 468 | 1159 | |
| NBL | 15801 | 469 | 1160 | |
| NBL | 15802 | 470 | 1161 | |
Service
In SAR service, the 4-8-0 Class 8 family of locomotives served on every system in the country and in the 1920s became the mainstay of motive power on many branch lines. Their final days were spent in shunting service and by 1972 they were all withdrawn.Gallery
The main picture is a scan of a circa 1935 post card showing an SAR Class 8B, ex CSAR Class 8-L2, banking at the Waterval Boven tunnel circa 1912.See also
- South African Class 8 4-8-0South African Class 8 4-8-0In 1902 and 1903 the Cape Government Railways placed twenty-three Class 8 steam locomotives with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement in service, three on the Cape Western System, eight on the Cape Midland System and twelve on the Cape Eastern System...
- South African Class 8A 4-8-0South African Class 8A 4-8-0In 1902 the Central South African Railways placed forty Class 8-L1 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8A.-Manufacturers:...
- South African Class 8C 4-8-0South African Class 8C 4-8-0In 1903, soon after the establishment of the Central South African Railways, a second batch of thirty Cape Class 8 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives were ordered and placed in service as the Class 8-L3, immediately following a previous order in that same year for a variation on the same locomotive...
- South African Class 8D 4-8-0South African Class 8D 4-8-0In 1903, when the first batch of Class 8 4-8-0 Mastodons had been tried and proven successful, the Cape Government Railways placed another thirty-eight Class 8 4-8-0 steam locomotives in service, six on the Cape Western System, twenty on the Cape Midland System and twelve on the Cape Eastern System...
- South African Class 8E 4-8-0South African Class 8E 4-8-0In 1903, at the same time that the Cape Government Railways ordered its second batch of thirty-eight Class 8 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives, four additional locomotives of the same class were ordered, but built to modified specifications in order to accommodate a larger grate area...
- South African Class 8F 4-8-0South African Class 8F 4-8-0In 1904 the Cape Government Railways placed its final batch of ten Class 8 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8F.-Evolution:...
- South African Class 8X 2-8-0South African Class 8X 2-8-0Between 1901 and 1902 the Cape Government Railways placed sixteen Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidation type steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8X...
- South African Class 8Y 2-8-0South African Class 8Y 2-8-0In 1903 the Cape Government Railways placed four more Cape Class 8 2-8-0 steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8Y.-Manufacturer:...
- South African Class 8Z 2-8-0South African Class 8Z 2-8-0In 1904 the Cape Government Railways placed its last eight Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidation type steam locomotives in service. All subsequent Cape Class 8 locomotives were built with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement...
- Tender locomotive numbering and classification
- The 4-8-0 "Mastodon"
- List of South African locomotive classes