South African Class ES - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

In 1936 the South African Railways built two Class ES centre cab electric shunting locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement, based on the Class 1E main line electric locomotive. Between then and 1964, a total of twenty-four Class ES locomotives were eventually placed in service. Four more were built new for industry in 1952 and 1957.

Manufacturers

In 1935 a design for a centre cab electric shunting locomotive, based on the South African Class 1E

South African Class 1E

Between 1925 and 1945 the South African Railways placed altogether one hundred and seventy-two Class 1E electric locomotives in service, spread over seven orders.-Manufacturers:...

locomotives that were originally designed by 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...

(Metrovick), was prepared by A.G. Watson, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the South African Railways (SAR) from 1929 to 1936. The first two Class ES locomotives were built new in the Pietermaritzburg shops of the SAR. These two were initially numbered E96 and E97, but were later renumbered to E500 and E501, and they entered service in 1936 as South Africa's first purpose built electric shunting locomotives.

For the South African Railways

Over the next twenty-eight years more of these locomotives were built and by 1964 twenty-four Class ES locomotives had been placed in service by the SAR. As can be expected in a locomotive type that was built over a period of almost three decades, there are differences in exterior appearance between locomotives.

Two batches of ten were built by the Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen en Spoorwegmaterieel (Werkspoor).
Numbers E124 to E133 in 1937, Series 2, later renumbered E503 to E512.
Numbers E515 to E524 in 1951, Series 3.
In 1964 the last two, numbers E525 and E526, Series 4, were rebuilt from Class 1E locomotives in the SAR shops. E525 was rebuilt from Class 1E, Series 4 number E114, originally built by Metrovick, while E526 was rebuilt from Class 1E, Series 5 number E146, originally built by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works
Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works
Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works were a railway equipment manufacturer based in Winterthur in Switzerland...

(SLM).

For Driefontein

In 1952 two more Class ES locomotives were built new for the Driefontein Consolidated Gold Mine (Dries) by Werkspoor, numbered 1 and 2. Another two were delivered new to the mine in 1957, numbered 3 and 4, also built by Werkspoor.

The builders, works numbers, years built and renumberings of the Class ES are shown in the table below.

**Class ES locomotive**
Series	Builder	Works no.	Year	Old no.	New no.	Notes
1	SAR		1935	E96	E500
1	SAR		1935	E97	E501
2	Werkspoor	737	1937	E124	E503
2	Werkspoor	738	1937	E125	E504
2	Werkspoor	739	1937	E126	E505
2	Werkspoor	740	1937	E127	E506
2	Werkspoor	741	1937	E128	E507
2	Werkspoor	742	1937	E129	E508
2	Werkspoor	743	1937	E130	E509
2	Werkspoor	744	1937	E131	E510
2	Werkspoor	745	1937	E132	E511
2	Werkspoor	746	1937	E133	E512
3	Werkspoor	913	1951		E515
3	Werkspoor	914	1951		E516
3	Werkspoor	915	1951		E517
3	Werkspoor	916	1951		E518
3	Werkspoor	917	1951		E519
3	Werkspoor	918	1951		E520
3	Werkspoor	919	1951		E521
3	Werkspoor	920	1951		E522
3	Werkspoor	921	1951		E523
3	Werkspoor	922	1951		E524
3	Werkspoor	923	1952		1	Dries GM
3	Werkspoor	924	1952		2	Dries GM
3	Werkspoor	1053	1957		3	Dries GM
3	Werkspoor	1054	1957		4	Dries GM
4	Metrovick		1964	E114	E525	1E rebuilt
4	SLM	3662	1964	E146	E526	1E rebuilt

Orientation

On these centre cab locomotives the end with hatches on the hood is designated the number 2 end.

Service

The "S" in the locomotive’s class designation identifies it as a shunter locomotive, designed for and usually limited to yard work. With a maximum safe speed of 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph), they ran on an overhead power supply of the highest direct current overhead voltage in use when they were placed in service, while the traction motors operated on 1.5 kV DC.

Although the class ES was initially largely confined to service in Natal, members of the class became quite common working on the Western Transvaal System in later years, mainly being employed around the Witwatersrand. Beginning in 1983, they were eventually replaced by the Class 8E

South African Class 8E

Between 1983 and 1985 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 8E centre-cab electric locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement in shunting service...

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