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

In 1903, when the first batch of 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 Mastodons had been tried and proven successful, the Cape Government Railways

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 another thirty-eight Class 8 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....

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, six on the Cape Western System, twenty on the Cape Midland System and twelve on the Cape Eastern System. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8D.

Evolution

The first Class 8 locomotive of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) was a 2-8-0 Consolidation type designed by H.M. Beatty, the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the CGR from 1896 to 1910. It was later to become the South African Railways (SAR) Class 8X

South African Class 8X 2-8-0

Between 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...

. While these first Schenectady and ALCO built 2-8-0 locomotives were being subjected to exhaustive testing on all types of traffic and under varying conditions, some trouble was experienced with the leading two wheeled pony truck and, when designs were prepared at Salt River for a later order for more locomotives, it was replaced with a four wheeled bogie.

These thirty-eight locomotives were the second batch of CGR Class 8 locomotives to be built with a 4-8-0 Mastodon type wheel arrangement. In spite of the difference in wheel arrangement, the CGR’s new post Class 7 Consolidations and Mastodons were all grouped together into Class 8.

Builders

They were ordered from Neilson, Reid and Company in 1902 and delivered in four batches in 1903. 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 last four of these locomotives were delivered as having been built by NBL at the Hyde Park shops of the former Neilson, Reid.

The locomotives were distributed between the CGR’s Midland, Eastern and Western systems as follows:

Twenty were allocated to the Midland System, with nineteen of them numbered 366 to 384 and the twentieth numbered 399.
Twelve, numbered 783 to 794, went to the Eastern System.
Six, numbered 807 to 812, went to the Western System.

Class 8 sub-classes

When these thirty-eight locomotives were assimilated into the newly established SAR in 1912, they were renumbered 1192 to 1229 and reclassified to Class 8D.

These locomotives, together with the rest of the CGR’s Class 8 2-8-0 Consolidations and Class 8 4-8-0 Mastodons and the Class 8-L1 to 8-L3 4-8-0 Mastodon 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), 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.

Modification

During A.G. Watson’s term as the Chief Mechanical Engineer 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 valve 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 valve locomotives had their cylinder bore increased to 20 inches (508 mm) and were reclassified by having a "W" suffix added to their existing SAR classifications.

Of the Class 8D locomotives, nine were equipped with superheated boilers, 19 inches (482.6 mm) bore cylinders and outside admission piston valves while retaining their Class 8D classification.

Fourteen were equipped with superheated boilers, 20 inches (508 mm) bore cylinders and inside admission piston valves, and were reclassified to Class 8DW.

The Class 8D and Class 8DW locomotive builders, works numbers, CGR to SAR renumbering and superheating modifications are shown in the table.

**Class 8D 4-8-0 Builders, Works Numbers & Renumbering**
Builder	Year	Works No.	CGR No.	CGR System	SAR No.	SAR Model
Neilson Reid	1903	6325	807	Western	1192	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1903	6326	808	Western	1193
Neilson Reid	1903	6327	809	Western	1194
Neilson Reid	1903	6328	810	Western	1195
Neilson Reid	1903	6329	811	Western	1196	Superheated
Neilson Reid	1903	6330	812	Western	1197	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1902	6284	366	Midland	1198	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1902	6285	367	Midland	1199
Neilson Reid	1902	6286	368	Midland	1200	Superheated
Neilson Reid	1902	6287	369	Midland	1201
Neilson Reid	1902	6288	370	Midland	1202	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1902	6289	371	Midland	1203
Neilson Reid	1902	6290	372	Midland	1204
Neilson Reid	1902	6291	373	Midland	1205	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1902	6292	374	Midland	1206	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1902	6293	375	Midland	1207	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1902	6294	376	Midland	1208	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1902	6295	377	Midland	1209
Neilson Reid	1903	6303	378	Midland	1210
Neilson Reid	1903	6304	379	Midland	1211	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1903	6305	380	Midland	1212	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1903	6308	381	Midland	1213	Superheated
NBL	1903	15833	382	Midland	1214	Superheated
NBL	1903	15834	383	Midland	1215
NBL	1903	15835	384	Midland	1216	Class 8DW
NBL	1903	15836	399	Midland	1217	Superheated
Neilson Reid	1902	6296	783	Eastern	1218
Neilson Reid	1902	6297	784	Eastern	1219	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1902	6298	785	Eastern	1220
Neilson Reid	1902	6299	786	Eastern	1221	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1903	6306	787	Eastern	1222
Neilson Reid	1902	6300	788	Eastern	1223	Superheated
Neilson Reid	1903	6307	789	Eastern	1224	Superheated
Neilson Reid	1902	6301	790	Eastern	1225	Superheated
Neilson Reid	1903	6331	791	Eastern	1226	Class 8DW
Neilson Reid	1903	6332	792	Eastern	1227
Neilson Reid	1903	6333	793	Eastern	1228
Neilson Reid	1903	6334	794	Eastern	1229	Superheated

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, some being sold into industry, like number 1211 which became "Puffing Duggie" at Grootvlei Proprietary Mines (GVPM).

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