In 1904 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 its last eight Class 8 2-8-0

2-8-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...

 Consolidation type 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. All subsequent Cape Class 8 locomotives were built with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, these eight were renumbered and reclassified to Class 8Z.

Manufacturer

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

In 1904 a third batch of eight of these locomotives were ordered from 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...

 of Glasgow, Scotland. All eight were allocated to the Cape Western System of the CGR, numbered 821 to 828. After these, all subsequent CGR Class 8 locomotives were built with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement.

Characteristics

These locomotives were very similar to the previous four Kitson built Consolidations, but slightly larger in boiler and firegrate area dimensions. They also used saturated steam

Saturated steam

In thermodynamics, the state of saturation of a fluid indicates that the fluid is at its boiling point temperature. This term can be applied in several ways:*Saturated liquid: fully in the liquid state but is about to vaporize....

 and cylinders with overhead slide valves actuated by inside Stephenson valve gear

Stephenson valve gear

The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for all kinds of steam engine. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was actually invented by his employees....

. Of the three models of type XE1 tender that were in use at the time, these locomotives were equipped with the version that had the largest coal capacity.

Class 8 sub-classes

When they were assimilated into the newly established SAR in 1912 and renumbered, they were reclassified to Class 8Z and renumbered 900 to 907.

In spite of the difference in wheel arrangement, the CGR grouped its 2-8-0 Consolidation and post Class 7 4-8-0 Mastodon locomotives together as Class 8. In 1912 all these 2-8-0 and 4-8-0 locomotives, together with the Class 8-L1 to Class 8-L3 2-8-0 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.

Service

In SAR service, the 2-8-0 Class 8Z was used mainly in the Western Cape, shedded at Touwsrivier. A few later ended up at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State and Klerksdorp in Transvaal. They were withdrawn by 1935.

See also

• South African Class 8 4-8-0
  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...
  
  
• South African Class 8A 4-8-0
  South African Class 8A 4-8-0
  In 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 8B 4-8-0
  South African Class 8B 4-8-0
  In 1903, soon after its establishment, the Central South African Railways placed thirty Class 8-L2 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 8B.-Manufacturers:Upon the...
  
  
• South African Class 8C 4-8-0
  South African Class 8C 4-8-0
  In 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 4-8-0
  South African Class 8D 4-8-0
  In 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 4-8-0
  South African Class 8E 4-8-0
  In 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 4-8-0
  South African Class 8F 4-8-0
  In 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 2-8-0
  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...
  
  
• South African Class 8Y 2-8-0
  South African Class 8Y 2-8-0
  In 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:...
  
  
• Tender locomotive numbering and classification
• The 2-8-0 "Consolidation"
• List of South African locomotive classes