South African Class 8Z 2-8-0

CGR 8th Class 2-8-0 1904
South African Class 8Z 2-8-0

300px CGR 8th Class no. 825, SAR Class 8Z no. 904

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Cape Government Railways (H.M. Beatty) Builder North British Locomotive Company Serial number 16095-16102 Model CGR 8th Class (2-8-0) Build date 1904 Total produced 8

Specifications Configuration 2-8-0 (Consolidation) Driver axle 3rd coupled axle Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Leading dia Coupled dia 48 in (1,219 mm) Tender wheels as built 34 in (864 mm) retyred Wheelbase 47 ft (14,326 mm)  • Engine 21 ft 8 in (6,604 mm)  • Coupled 14 ft 6 in (4,420 mm)  • Tender 14 ft 7 in (4,445 mm)  • Tender bogie 4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm) Wheel spacing (Assymetrical) 1-2: 4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm) 2-3: 4 ft 3 in (1,295 mm) 3-4: 5 ft 8 in (1,727 mm) Length:  • Over couplers Height 12 ft 10 in (3,912 mm) Frame type Bar Axle load  • Leading  • 1st coupled  • 2nd coupled  • 3rd coupled  • 4th coupled  • Tender bogie Bogie 1: Bogie 2:  • Tender axle Adhesive weight Loco weight Tender weight Loco & tender weight Tender type XE1 (2-axle bogies) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 10 LT (10.2 t) Water cap Boiler:  • Pitch 7 ft 3 in (2,210 mm)  • Diameter 4 ft 11 in (1,499 mm)  • Tube plates  • Small tubes 194: 2 in (51 mm)  • Firebox type Round-top Boiler pressure 180 psi (1,241 kPa) Safety valve Ramsbottom Firegrate area 32 sq ft (3.0 m2) Heating surface 1,461 sq ft (135.7 m2)  • Tubes 1,355 sq ft (125.9 m2)  • Firebox 106 sq ft (9.8 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size bore 24 in (610 mm) stroke Valve gear Stephenson Valve type Slide Couplers Bell link-and-pin

Performance figures Tractive effort 23,110 lbf (102.8 kN) @ 75%

Career Operators Cape Government Railways South African Railways Class CGR 8th Class (2-8-0) SAR Class 8Z Number in class 8 Numbers CGR 821-828, SAR 900-907 Delivered 1904 First run 1904 Withdrawn 1935

The 2nd & 3rd coupled axles had flangeless wheels

The South African Railways Class 8Z 2-8-0 of 1904 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1904, the Cape Government Railways placed its last eight 8th Class 2-8-0 Consolidation type steam locomotives in service. Most of its other 8th Class locomotives were built with a 4-8-0 Mastodon type wheel arrangement. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, these eight were renumbered and designated Class 8Z.

Manufacturer

File:H.M. Beatty.jpg

H.M. Beatty

The first locomotive in the Cape Government Railways (CGR) 2-8-0 Consolidation type 8th Class, 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 was ordered from the North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow, Scotland. All eight were allocated to the Western System of the CGR, numbered in the range from 821 to 828. After these engines, all subsequent CGR 8th Class locomotives were built with a 4-8-0 Mastodon type 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 and cylinders with overhead slide valves, actuated by inside Stephenson valve gear. Of the three models of Type XE1 tender which were in use at the time, these locomotives were equipped with the version which had the largest coal capacity.

Class 8 sub-classes

When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR, Natal Government Railways and Central South African Railways) were united under a single administration to control and administer the railways, ports and harbours of the Union. Although the South African Railways and Harbours came into existence in 1910, the actual classification and renumbering of all the rolling stock of the three constituent railways required careful planning and was only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.

In 1912, these locomotives were designated Class 8Z on the South African Railways (SAR) and renumbered in the range from 900 to 907.

In spite of the difference in wheel arrangement, the CGR grouped its 2-8-0 Consolidation and post-7th Class 4-8-0 Mastodon locomotives together as the 8th Class. In 1912, all these 2-8-0 and 4-8-0 locomotives, together with the Classes 8-L1 to 8-L3 4-8-0 Mastodon locomotives from the Central South African Railways (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 Class 8Z was used mainly in the Western Cape, shedded at Touws River. A few later ended up at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State and Klerksdorp in Transvaal. They were withdrawn by 1935.

Illustration

The main picture shows no. 804 at Touws River, c. 1935.

• Class 8Z (2-8-0) Playing Cards.jpg

  Class 8Z as depicted on a SAR museum playing card