South African Class 3B 4-8-2 Explained

South African Classes 3B & 3BR 4-8-2
Hatnote:♠ Class 3B as built with a Belpaire firebox
Class 3BR rebuilt with a Watson Standard boiler
Steel firebox - Copper firebox
Powertype:Steam
Designer:Natal Government Railways
(D.A. Hendrie)
Builder:North British Locomotive Company
Serialnumber:19597-19601, 19688-19692
Buildmodel:Class 3B
Builddate:1911-1912
Totalproduction:10
Whytetype:4-8-2 (Mountain)
Uicclass:2'D1'h2
Driver:2nd coupled axle
Leadingdiameter:NaN0NaN0
Coupleddiameter:NaN0NaN0 as built
460NaN0 retyred
Trailingdiameter:300NaN0
Tenderdiameter:300NaN0
Wheelbase:55feet
Engine Total:30feet
Leading:60NaN0
Coupled:12feet
Tender Total:16feet
Tenderbogie:4feet
Over Couplers:63feet
Height:♠ 12feet
12feet
Frametype:Plate
Axleload:♠ 15lt
15lt
Leadingbogie/Pony:♠ 14lt
14lt
Coupled 1:♠ 14lt
14lt
Coupled 2:♠ 15lt
15lt
Coupled 3:♠ 15sigfig=4NaNsigfig=4
15lt
Coupled 4:♠ 15sigfig=4NaNsigfig=4
14lt
Trail Bogie/Pony:♠ 9lt
10lt
Tenderbogieload:Bogie 1: 21lt
Bogie 2: 21lt
Tenderaxle:10lt
Weightondrivers:♠ 60lt
59lt
Locoweight:♠ 83lt
84lt
Tenderweight:43lt
Locotenderweight:♠ 127lt
128lt
Tendertype:TM (2-axle bogies)
TJ, TL, TM permitted
Fueltype:Coal
Fuelcap:8lt
Watercap:4000sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3
Fireboxtype:Belpaire - Round-top
Firearea:♠ 34square feet
37square feet
Boiler: Watson Standard no. 2
Pitch:♠ 7feet
7feet
Diameterinside:♠ 5feet
5feet
Lengthinside:♠ 18feet
19feet
19feet
Smalltubediameter:135: NaN0NaN0
87: NaN0NaN0
Largetubediameter:24: NaN0NaN0
30: NaN0NaN0
Boilerpressure:♠ 1850NaN0
1900NaN0
Safetyvalvetype:♠ Ramsbottom
Pop
Totalsurface:♠ 2245square feet
2075square feet
Tubearea:♠ 2110square feet
1933square feet
Fireboxarea:♠ 135square feet
142square feet
Superheaterarea:♠ 617square feet
492square feet
Cylindercount:Two
Cylindersize:220NaN0 bore
240NaN0 stroke
Valvegear:Walschaerts
Valvetype:Piston
Coupling:Johnston link-and-pin
AAR knuckle (1930s)
Tractiveeffort:♠ 35030lbf @ 75%
35980lbf @ 75%
Operator:South African Railways
Operatorclass:Class 3B & 3BR
Numinclass:10
Fleetnumbers:1479-1488
Deliverydate:1912
Firstrundate:1912
Withdrawndate:1976
Notes:The leading coupled axle had flangeless wheels

The South African Railways Class 3B 4-8-2 of 1912 was a steam locomotive.

In 1912, the South African Railways took delivery of ten Class 3B steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain type wheel arrangement which had been ordered by the Natal Government Railways the year before.[1] [2]

Manufacturer

With the experience gained from the sole experimental Class B American D locomotive, Natal Government Railways (NGR) Locomotive Superintendent D.A. Hendrie redesigned his Class Hendrie D and placed orders for ten locomotives with the North British Locomotive Company on 29 March 1911. These locomotives, which would have become the NGR's Class Superheated Hendrie D, were built in two batches of five and were all delivered in 1912 after the renumbering and reclassification of the locomotives of the constituent former Colonial railways into the South African Railways (SAR). Upon delivery, they were therefore taken directly onto the SAR roster, numbered in the range from 1479 to 1488 and designated Class 3B. The first of these engines entered service in February 1912.[1] [2] [3]

Characteristics

Like the NGR Class Hendrie D which it was based on and which was later designated the SAR Class 3, the Class 3B had plate frames, Walschaerts valve gear and Belpaire fireboxes. They were the first of Hendrie's designs to have superheaters and, as a result, piston valves instead of slide valves. They also sported a new design of leading bogie with cast-steel framing and three-point suspension links.[1]

To accommodate the redesigned cylinders and the necessary alteration to the Walschaerts valve gear, the running boards had to be raised to clear the steam chests and motion. This resulted in the gentle sweeps at either end where the running boards dropped down to the buffer beam and below the cab. These curves became a Hendrie hallmark and enhanced the appear­ance of the locomotive. In other respects, however, they were practically identical to the Class 3.[1]

The locomotives were delivered with Type TM tenders with an 8lt coal capacity and a 4000sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3 water capacity. When the coupled wheels were retyred, their diameter on tread was increased from NaNto. This reduced their tractive effort to 35030lbf at 75% of boiler pressure, which was set at 1850NaN0. The engines, as built, had flangeless wheels on the leading coupled axle, but these were subsequently also flanged as shown in official SAR dimensional locomotive drawings.[1] [4] [5]

The superheated Class 3B 4-8-2 Mountain type became the forerunner of the most numerous basic type of steam locomotive to be used in South Africa.

Watson Standard boilers

In the 1930s, many serving locomotives were reboilered with a standard boiler type designed by then Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) A.G. Watson as part of his standardisation policy. Such Watson Standard reboilered locomotives were reclassified by adding an "R" suffix to their classification.[4] [5]

When all ten Class 3B locomotives were eventually reboilered with Watson Standard no. 2 boilers, they were therefore reclassified to . Reboilering raised their boiler pitch by 10NaN0, while the boiler pressure was set at 1900NaN0. Their original Belpaire boilers were fitted with Ramsbottom safety valves, while the Watson Standard boiler was fitted with Pop safety valves. Probably at the same time, their Type TM tenders were rebuilt to the more attractive smooth-sided Type TL tenders. The most obvious visual difference between an original and a Watson Standard reboilered locomotive is usually a rectangular regulator cover just to the rear of the chimney on the reboilered locomotive. In the case of the Class 3BR locomotive, an even more obvious visual distinction is the absence of the Belpaire firebox hump between the cab and the boiler.[1] [4] [5]

Service

South African Railways

The Class 3B was placed in service on the upper section of the Natal mainline. They were later also used in the Eastern Transvaal and the Eastern Cape. Towards the end of their service lives, they ended up in Cape Town, where they were used as shunting engines until the last ones were withdrawn from SAR service by 1976.

Industrial

Most of them ended up in service on South Africa's coal and gold mines. Only one of them had been withdrawn by April 1973. At the time when the other nine began to be withdrawn from railway service, the world oil crisis of the mid-1970s had erupted and all nine were virtually snapped up by industrial users responding to the South African Government's call to save oil by using alternative sources of energy. Ironically, at the same time, the State-owned SAR was replacing steam with diesel-electric locomotives.

The ten individual locomotives were disposed of as follows:

Preservation

Two 3B class survive.

Number Works nmr THF / Private Leaselend / Owner Current Location Outside South Africa ?
1486 NBL / 19690 Private Umgeni Steam Railway Kloof (Station)
1488 NBL / 19692 Private Oscar Sabitini Krugersdorp Locomotive Depot

Illustration

The main picture shows Umgeni Steam Railway's Class 3BR no. 1486 Maureen at Kloof station on 6 June 2010, while the following show the Class in its original as-delivered SAR livery and in two of the mining liveries which were applied to it while in industrial service.

Notes and References

  1. Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1945). The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VII - South African Railways (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, June 1945. pp. 431-432.
  2. Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 8, 12, 15, 46 (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. South African Railways & Harbours/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweë en Hawens (15 Aug 1941). Locomotive Diagram Book/Lokomotiefdiagramboek, 3'6" Gauge/Spoorwydte. SAR/SAS Mechanical Department/Werktuigkundige Dept. Drawing Office/Tekenkantoor, Pretoria. p. 43.
  5. South African Railways & Harbours/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweë en Hawens (15 Aug 1941). Locomotive Diagram Book/Lokomotiefdiagramboek, 2'0" & 3'6" Gauge/Spoorwydte, Steam Locomotives/Stoomlokomotiewe. SAR/SAS Mechanical Department/Werktuigkundige Dept. Drawing Office/Tekenkantoor, Pretoria. pp. 6a-7a, 41, 43.