South African Class 14 4-8-2

South African Class 14 & 14R 4-8-2
No. 1707, as built, at Greyville Sheds, c. 1930
Type and origin ♠ Class 14 as built with a Belpaire firebox ♥ Class 14R rebuilt with a Watson Standard boiler ♣ Steel firebox - ♦ Copper firebox Power type Steam Designer South African Railways (D.A. Hendrie) Builder Robert Stephenson and Company Serial number 3543-3562, 3605-3614, 3630-3644 Model Class 14 Build date 1913-1915 Total produced 45
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-8-2 (Mountain)  • UIC 2'D1'h2 Driver 2nd coupled axle Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Leading dia. 28 1⁄2 in (724 mm) Coupled dia. 48 in (1,219 mm) Trailing dia. 33 in (838 mm) Tender wheels 34 in (864 mm) Minimum curve 300 ft (91 m) Wheelbase 56 ft 11 3⁄8 in (17,358 mm)  • Engine 30 ft 7 in (9,322 mm)  • Leading 6 ft 2 in (1,880 mm)  • Coupled 12 ft 9 in (3,886 mm)  • Tender 16 ft 9 in (5,105 mm)  • Tender bogie 4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm) Length: ​  • Over couplers 65 ft 3 1⁄2 in (19,901 mm) Height ♠ 12 ft 7 1⁄2 in (3,848 mm) ♥ 12 ft 11 3⁄4 in (3,956 mm) Axle load ♠ 16 LT 3 cwt (16,410 kg) ♥ 16 LT 10 cwt (16,760 kg)  • Leading ♠ 15 LT 14 cwt (15,950 kg) ♥ 15 LT 6 cwt (15,550 kg)  • 1st coupled ♠ 16 LT 1 cwt (16,310 kg) ♥ 15 LT 17 cwt (16,100 kg)  • 2nd coupled ♠ 16 LT 3 cwt (16,410 kg) ♥ 16 LT 10 cwt (16,760 kg)  • 3rd coupled ♠ 16 LT 3 cwt (16,410 kg) ♥ 15 LT 15 cwt (16,000 kg)  • 4th coupled ♠ 16 LT 1 cwt (16,310 kg) ♥ 15 LT 11 cwt (15,800 kg)  • Trailing ♠ 10 LT 14 cwt (10,870 kg) ♥ 11 LT 10 cwt (11,680 kg)  • Tender bogie Bogie 1: 27 LT 10 cwt (27,940 kg) Bogie 2: 23 LT 11 cwt (23,930 kg)  • Tender axle 13 LT 15 cwt (13,970 kg) Adhesive weight ♠ 64 LT 8 cwt (65,430 kg) ♥ 63 LT 13 cwt (64,670 kg) Loco weight ♠ 90 LT 16 cwt (92,260 kg) ♥ 90 LT 4 cwt (91,650 kg) Tender weight 51 LT 1 cwt (51,870 kg) Total weight ♠ 141 LT 17 cwt (144,100 kg) ♥ 141 LT 5 cwt (143,500 kg) Tender type MP1 (2-axle bogies) MP, MP1, MR, MS, MT, MT1, MT2, MX, MY, MY1 permitted Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 10 LT (10.2 t) Water cap 4,250 imp gal (19,300 l) Generator Pyle National turbo Firebox type ♠ Belpaire - ♥ Round-top  • Firegrate area ♠♥ 37 sq ft (3.4 m2) Boiler: ​  • Model Watson Standard no. 2  • Pitch ♠ 7 ft 7 in (2,311 mm) ♥ 8 ft 1⁄2 in (2,451 mm)  • Diameter ♠♥ 5 ft 7 1⁄2 in (1,714 mm)  • Tube plates ♠ 19 ft (5,791 mm) ♥♣ 19 ft 4 in (5,893 mm) ♥♦ 19 ft 3 5⁄8 in (5,883 mm)  • Small tubes ♠ 139: 2 1⁄4 in (57 mm) ♥ 87: 2 1⁄2 in (64 mm)  • Large tubes ♠ 24: 5 1⁄2 in (140 mm) ♥ 30: 5 1⁄2 in (140 mm) Boiler pressure ♠♥ 190 psi (1,310 kPa) Safety valve ♠ Ramsbottom - ♥ Pop Heating surface ♠ 2,362 sq ft (219.4 m2) ♥ 2,075 sq ft (192.8 m2)  • Tubes ♠ 2,212 sq ft (205.5 m2) ♥ 1,933 sq ft (179.6 m2)  • Firebox ♠ 150 sq ft (14 m2) ♥ 142 sq ft (13.2 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area ♠ 540 sq ft (50 m2) ♥ 492 sq ft (45.7 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 22 in (559 mm) bore 26 in (660 mm) stroke Valve gear Walschaerts Valve type Piston Couplers Johnston link-and-pin AAR knuckle (1930s)
Performance figures Tractive effort ♠♥ 37,360 lbf (166.2 kN) @ 75%
Career Operators South African Railways Class Classes 14 & 14R Number in class 45 Numbers 1701-1745 Delivered 1913-1915 First run 1913 Withdrawn 1982
The leading coupled axle had flangeless wheels

External video

South African Steam: 14R Grootvlei Proprietary Mines June 1997 Ex Class 14R no. 1705 as Grootvlei Proprietary Mines no. 5 "Joyce", June 1997. (Time 6:30)

The South African Railways Class 14 4-8-2 of 1913 was a steam locomotive.

Between 1913 and 1915, the South African Railways placed 45 Class 14 steam locomotives with a 4-8-2 Mountain type wheel arrangement in service in Natal.

The Class 14 locomotive was a development of the Class 12 and was similar enough to it that many components were interchangeable. It was ordered from Robert Stephenson and Company in 1913 and was delivered in three batches between 1913 and 1915, numbered in the range from 1701 to 1745.

At the time the Class 14 was designed by D.A. Hendrie, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the South African Railways (SAR), it was believed that small differences in wheel diameter had disproportionate effects on performance. The SAR already had the Class 3B Mountain type with 45 inches (1,143 millimetres) diameter coupled wheels and the Class 12 Mountain type with 51 inches (1,295 millimetres) diameter coupled wheels, but for the 300 feet (91 metres) radius curves and 1 in 30 (3⅓%) compensated gradients of the Natal mainline, the Class 14 with 48 inches (1,219 millimetres) diameter coupled wheels was designed as an intermediate-sized locomotive.

Steam locomotives were shipped in a dismantled state and erected at one of the SAR Shops. They were then steam-tested and painted before being released into traffic. Upon delivery, the Class 14 locomotives could not be erected departmentally owing to the congestion of work in the Durban workshops. The assembly work was therefore contracted to Messrs. James Brown and Company of Congella.

The Class 14 had Walschaerts valve gear and a Belpaire firebox and was superheated. It was delivered with Type MP1 tenders, which had a coal capacity of 10 long tons (10.2 tonnes) and a water capacity of 4,250 imperial gallons (19,300 litres). Apart from the differences in their coupled wheel diameters, the Class 14 was a better locomotive with a more modern cylinder design, having straighter ports and a larger steam chest volume than the other two classes.

A feature in the design of the leading bogie was that the bogie frame was a single steel casting to which the cast steel horns were bolted to take the axle boxes. An innovation was the arrangement of the laminated side control springs in combination with two point swing links, which would be part of all Hendrie's subsequent designs. To prevent trouble which had been experienced earlier owing to the fracture of the smokebox saddle and frame stretcher castings which contained steam chest passages, and also leakage at exhaust joints, the blast pipe breeches were made separate castings and not integral with the centre stretcher casting.