South African Class 10A 4-6-2 Explained

CSAR Class 10-2 4-6-2 Saturated
Hatnote:♠ Class 10A as built with a Belpaire firebox
Class 10BR rebuilt with a Watson Standard boiler
Powertype:Steam
Designer:Central South African Railways
(G.G. Elliot)
Builder:North British Locomotive Company
Serialnumber:18971-18975
Buildmodel:CSAR Class 10-2
Builddate:1910
Totalproduction:5
Whytetype:4-6-2 (Pacific)
Uicclass:♠ 2'C1'n2 – 2'C1'h2
Driver:2nd coupled axle
Leadingdiameter:NaN0NaN0
Coupleddiameter:620NaN0
Trailingdiameter:330NaN0
Tenderdiameter:340NaN0
Wheelbase:55feet
Engine Total:30feet
Leading:60NaN0
Coupled:10feet
Tender Total:16feet
Tenderbogie:4feet
Over Couplers:63feet
Height:♠ 12feet
12feet
Frametype:Plate
Axleload:♠ 15lt
16lt
Leadingbogie/Pony:♠ 14lt
15lt
Coupled 1:♠ 15lt
15lt
Coupled 2:♠ 15lt
16lt
Coupled 3:♠ 15lt
16lt
Trail Bogie/Pony:♠ 12lt
13lt
Tenderbogieload:Bogie 1: 24lt
Bogie 2: 25lt
Tenderaxle:12lt
Weightondrivers:♠ 47sigfig=4NaNsigfig=4
48lt
Locoweight:♠ 73lt
76lt
Tenderweight:49lt
Locotenderweight:♠ 123lt
125lt
Tendertype:XM2 (2-axle bogies)
XC, XC1, XD, XE, XE1, XF, XF1, XF2, XJ, XM, XM1, XM2, XM3, XM4, XP1, XS permitted
Fueltype:Coal
Fuelcap:101NaN1
Watercap:4000sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3
Fireboxtype:Belpaire – Round-top
Firearea:♠ 34.6square feet
36square feet
Boiler: Watson Standard no. 1
Pitch:♠ 7feet
80NaN0
Diameterinside:♠ 4feet
50NaN0
Lengthinside:♠ 18feet
17feet
Smalltubediameter:154: NaN0NaN0
76: NaN0NaN0
Largetubediameter: 24: NaN0NaN0
Boilerpressure:♠ 2000NaN0
1800NaN0
Safetyvalvetype:♠ Ramsbottom
Pop
Feedwaterheater:Trevithick exhaust steam type
Totalsurface:♠ 1810square feet
1620square feet
Tubearea:♠ 1682square feet
1497square feet
Fireboxarea:♠ 128square feet
123square feet
Superheaterarea: 366square feet
Cylindercount:Two
Cylindersize:♠ NaN0NaN0 bore
200NaN0 bore
♠ 280NaN0 stroke
Valvegear:Walschaerts
Valvetype:Piston
Coupling:Johnston link-and-pin
AAR knuckle (1930s)
Tractiveeffort:♠ 23180lbf @ 75%
24390lbf @ 75%
Operator:Central South African Railways
South African Railways
Operatorclass:CSAR Class 10-2, SAR Class 10A
Numinclass:5
Fleetnumbers:CSAR 665-669, SAR 747-751
Deliverydate:1910
Firstrundate:1910
Withdrawndate:1974
Notes:The 2nd coupled axle had flangeless wheels

The South African Railways Class 10A 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.

In 1910, the Central South African Railways placed ten Class 10-2 Pacific type steam locomotives in service, of which five were built with and five without superheaters. In 1912, when the five saturated steam locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and designated Class 10A.[1] [2]

Manufacturer

Ten heavy Pacific type passenger locomotives, designed by Central South African Railways (CSAR) Chief Mechanical Engineer G.G. Elliot and based on the Class 10 design of his predecessor, CSAR Chief Locomotive Superintendent P.A. Hyde, were ordered from the North British Locomotive Company and delivered in 1910. They had plate frames, Belpaire fireboxes and Walschaerts valve gear and were delivered in two variants, with five of them using saturated steam while the rest were superheated. They were all designated Class 10-2 by the CSAR, numbered in the range from 665 to 674, and entered service in March 1910.[3]

Characteristics

The Class 10-2 saturated locomotives were similar to the Class 10, except that their boilers were arranged NaN0NaN0 further forward and their firebox throats and back plates were sloped instead of being vertical. This modification brought the chimney in line with the cylinders and avoided a "set" in the blastpipe. The cylinders were arranged outside the plate frames. Like the Class 10, the locomotives had 620NaN0 diameter coupled wheels, the largest yet used in South Africa at the time.[1]

The Walschaerts valve gear was controlled by a vertical type of steam reversing engine which was attached to the right-hand side of the boiler, just below the dome. It consisted of a NaN0NaN0 diameter steam cylinder and a 40NaN0 diameter oil cylinder, fitted with a common piston rod with a crosshead which was machined integral with the piston rod. This crosshead was connected to a lever fitted to the reversing shaft. After 1912, these reversing engines were replaced with Hendrie steam reversers.[1]

While the Class 10 had outside admission valves, the Class 10-2 saturated used inside admission piston valves. Two Trevithick exhaust steam feedwater heaters were mounted on the running boards on either side of the smokebox above the cylinders and a Weir's feedwater pump was mounted on the left-hand side of the firebox. Each feedwater heater cylinder was of 1feet external diameter and 5feet between tube plates, and contained 108 NaN0NaN0 external diameter brass tubes. The feedwater heaters and the feedwater pump were removed after a few years since the feedwater heater tubes proved to be troublesome to clean.[1]

A Wakefield mechanical-feed lubricator was arranged on the right-hand side running board and was operated through a lever and crank, actuated from the crosshead. Mechanical lubricators had the advantage that the rate of oil-feed was always proportional to the speed of the engine. This type of oil feed was later superseded for the sight-feed lubricator.[1]

The engines were fitted with the Flaman speed recorder, of which the driving gear was connected to the right trailing crank pin. The records obtained from these indicators were of considerable value when operating fast passenger services. The sand boxes were arranged in front of the leading coupled wheels and fitted with steam sanding gear, which was later found to be an unnecessary refinement for South African conditions.[1]

South African Railways

When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (Cape Government Railways, Natal Government Railways and CSAR) 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 were only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.[2] [4]

When they were assimilated into the South African Railways (SAR) in 1912, the five saturated steam locomotives, numbered in the CSAR range from 665 to 669, were designated Class 10A and renumbered in the range from 747 to 751. The five superheated locomotives were designated Class 10B.[2]

Watson standard boilers

In the 1930s, many serving locomotives were reboilered with a standard round-topped boiler type, designed by then Chief Mechanical Engineer A.G. Watson as part of his standardisation policy. Such Watson Standard reboilered locomotives were reclassified by adding an "R" suffix to their classification letter.[5]

All five Class 10A locomotives were eventually reboilered with Watson Standard no. 1 boilers. Since the original difference between the Class 10A and Class 10B lay only in the fact that their respective boilers were constructed without or with superheaters, distinction between the two types became unnecessary after this reboilering. The reboilered Class 10A locomotives were therefore reclassified to Class 10BR along with similarly reboilered Class 10B locomotives.[5]

Their original boilers were fitted with Ramsbottom safety valves, while the Watson Standard boilers were fitted with Pop safety valves. An obvious difference between an original and a Watson Standard reboilered locomotive is usually the rectangular regulator cover just to the rear of the chimney on the reboilered locomotive. In the case of the Class 10BR locomotives, an even more obvious difference was the absence of the Belpaire firebox hump between the cab and boiler on the reboilered engines.[5]

Service

The Class 10-2 saturated locomotives were placed in service to haul passenger trains out of Johannesburg. In service, it was found that their superheated sister locomotives could handle almost 25% more load, so much so that double-heading of passenger trains in the Orange Free State became unnecessary with the Class 10-2 superheated locomotive.[1]

The Class 10-2 saturated locomotives were therefore soon taken off mainline passenger service and put to good use on suburban work. After reboilering and reclassification to Class 10BR, most of the rest of their working lives were spent on the Cape Midland system where they were used on the mainline out of Port Elizabeth.

Two worked as station pilots at Kimberley until 1960, when they joined the rest of the Class which were by then working the suburban between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage. In later years, they again served on the Reef's suburban routes, while a few were used in the same type of service around Cape Town until they were eventually relegated to shunting work. All but one were scrapped in 1974.

Preservation

Of the Class 10BR, three survived into preservation. By 2019

Number Works nmr THF / Private Leaselend / Owner Current Location Outside SOUTH AFRICA ?
750 THF Transnet Heritage Foundation Roodepoort Station
756 THF Transnet Heritage Foundation Kroonstad Station
758 Private Uitenhage Railway Museum Uitenhage Railway Museum

Notes and References

  1. Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1945). The Locomotive in South Africa – A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VI – Imperial Military Railways and C.S.A.R. (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, March 1945. pp. 181-186.
  2. Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 9, 12, 14, 34 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)
  3. North British Locomotive Company works list, compiled by Austrian locomotive historian Bernhard Schmeiser
  4. The South African Railways – Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 25.
  5. South African Railways and Harbours Locomotive Diagram Book, 2'0" & 3'6" Gauge Steam Locomotives, 15 August 1941, as amended