| Rand Mines NG 0-4-0T South African NG 99999-4-0T | |
| Powertype: | Steam |
| Designer: | Avonside Engine Company |
| Builder: | Avonside Engine Company |
| Buildmodel: | Avonside "Imperial" Class |
| Builddate: | 1899-1900 |
| Uicclass: | Bn2t |
| Driver: | 2nd coupled axle |
| Gauge: | Two narrow One narrow |
| Coupleddiameter: | 200NaN0 |
| Wheelbase: | 3feet |
| Over Couplers: | 12feet |
| Over Bufferbeams: | 10feet |
| Height: | 8feet |
| Frametype: | Plate |
| Fueltype: | Coal |
| Fuelcap: | 4lcwt |
| Watercap: | 110impgal |
| Fireboxtype: | Round-top |
| Firearea: | 5.5square feet |
| Pitch: | 40NaN0 |
| Boilerpressure: | 1200NaN0 |
| Safetyvalvetype: | Ramsbottom |
| Cylindercount: | Two |
| Cylindersize: | 70NaN0 bore 100NaN0 stroke |
| Valvegear: | Stephenson |
| Coupling: | Johnston link-and-pin |
| Tractiveeffort: | 2572lbf @ 75% |
| Operator: | Rand Mines Limited Reynolds Brothers Sugar Estates South African Railways |
| Numinclass: | 3 |
| Fleetnumbers: | NG91, NG92, NG95 |
| Deliverydate: | 1899-1900 |
| Firstrundate: | 1899 |
| Withdrawndate: | 1918 |
The South African Railways NG 0-4-0T of 1899 was a narrow-gauge steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal and Natal.
In 1899, Rand Mines acquired two narrow-gauge steam locomotives from Avonside Engine Company and, in 1900, a similar locomotive was delivered to Reynolds Brothers Sugar Estates of Esperanza in Natal. In 1915, when an urgent need arose for additional narrow-gauge locomotives in German South West Africa during the First World War, these three locomotives were purchased second-hand by the South African Railways.[1]
In 1899, Avonside Engine Company delivered two 24inches locomotives to Rand Mines on the Witwatersrand. In 1900, a third similar locomotive, but of 200NaN0 gauge, was delivered to Reynolds Brothers Sugar Estates in Natal. The latter was one of several of the same type which saw service on the Reynolds, Huletts and Chakaskraal sugar plantations in Natal.
In 1915, while the military campaign was in progress against German forces in Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika (DSWA) during the First World War, an urgent need arose for additional locomotives for use on the narrow-gauge lines in that territory. The South African Railways (SAR) therefore purchased these three 0-4-0T locomotives second-hand on behalf of the Defence Department. The two engines from Rand Mines were numbered NG91 and NG92, while the engine from Reynolds Brothers was numbered NG95. Since a narrow-gauge locomotive classification system had not yet been implemented on the SAR, they were not classified.[1]
Whether all three were placed in service by the SAR is not certain, since engine no. NG95 from Reynolds Brothers would not be usable without first being regauged to 240NaN0 gauge. It is also unclear whether any of them were actually placed in service in DSWA or whether they were used to replace other SAR narrow-gauge locomotives which had been commandeered by the Union Defence Forces for war service in DSWA.
The locomotives were withdrawn from SAR service and sold towards the end of the war in 1918.