South African Class 24 2-8-4

South African Class 24 2-8-4

No. 3655 City of Cape Town leaving Monument station, 8 August 2010

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer South African Railways (Dr. M.M. Loubser) Builder North British Locomotive Company Order number L976 Serial number 26313-26412 Model Class 24 Build date 1949-1950 Total produced 100

Specifications Configuration 2-8-4 (Berkshire) Driver 3rd coupled axle Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Leading dia. 30 in (762 mm) Coupled dia. 51 in (1,295 mm) Trailing dia. 30 in (762 mm) Tender wheels 34 in (864 mm) Minimum curve 300 ft (91 m) Wheelbase 65 ft 3 in (19,888 mm)  • Engine 31 ft (9,449 mm)  • Coupled 13 ft 6 in (4,115 mm)  • Trailing 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm)  • Tender 24 ft 7 1⁄4 in (7,499 mm)  • Tender bogie 8 ft 8 in (2,642 mm) Length: ​  • Over couplers 74 ft 9 1⁄4 in (22,790 mm) Height 12 ft 10 7⁄8 in (3,934 mm) Frame type Cast Axle load 11 LT 10 cwt (11,680 kg)  • Leading 8 LT (8,128 kg)  • 1st coupled 11 LT (11,180 kg)  • 2nd coupled 11 LT 10 cwt (11,680 kg)  • 3rd coupled 11 LT 9 cwt (11,630 kg)  • 4th coupled 11 LT 5 cwt (11,430 kg)  • Trailing 10 LT 2 cwt (10,260 kg) leading 9 LT 12 cwt (9,754 kg) trailing  • Tender bogie Bogie 1: 28 LT 1 cwt (28,500 kg) Bogie 2: 28 LT 10 cwt (28,960 kg)  • Tender axle 9 LT 10 cwt (9,652 kg) Adhesive weight 45 LT 4 cwt (45,930 kg) Loco weight 72 LT 18 cwt (74,070 kg) Tender weight 56 LT 11 cwt (57,460 kg) Total weight 129 LT 9 cwt (131,500 kg) Tender type MY (Buckeye 3-axle bogies) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 9 LT (9.1 t) Water cap 4,520 imp gal (20,500 l) Firebox type Round-top  • Firegrate area 36 sq ft (3.3 m2) Boiler: ​  • Model Watson Standard no. 1  • Pitch 8 ft (2,438 mm)  • Diameter 5 ft (1,524 mm)  • Tube plates 17 ft 9 in (5,410 mm) steel 17 ft 8 5⁄8 in (5,401 mm) copper  • Small tubes 76: 2 1⁄2 in (64 mm)  • Large tubes 24: 5 1⁄2 in (140 mm) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1,379 kPa) Safety valve Pop Heating surface 1,636 sq ft (152.0 m2)  • Tubes 1,497 sq ft (139.1 m2)  • Arch tubes 16 sq ft (1.5 m2)  • Firebox 123 sq ft (11.4 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 380 sq ft (35 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 19 in (483 mm) bore 26 in (660 mm) stroke Valve gear Walschaerts Valve type Piston Loco brake Vacuum Couplers AAR knuckle

Performance figures Tractive effort 27,600 lbf (123 kN) @ 75%

Career Operators South African Railways Class Class 24 Number in class 100 Numbers 3601-3700 Delivered 1949-1950 First run 1949

External video

South African Steam: Pretoria area - Rovos Rail, THF Museum and 3664 rollover (16 March 1997) The video features a few trains on the same day in the Pretoria area. First we see Friends of the Rail's Class 24 no. 3664 heading out on the Hercules-Magaliesburg branch on a charter train. Whilst out at Meerhof, word came through that Rovos Rail were triple-heading their Pretoria train behind Class 6 no. 439 and Class 19D nos. 2701 and 2702, so I rushed down to Irene to see that. Later in the afternoon, one of the last THF Museum-run Magaliesburg trains departed with Class 15F no. 3040. Following that, we headed to Magaliesburg to follow the Friends of the Rail train back to Pretoria. Sadly, no. 3664 had not made it to Magaliesburg, having derailed and rolled over at Hekpoort. The remaining scenes feature the recovery crew's efforts to set no. 3664 upright again. (Time 14:51)

External video

South African Steam: Class 24 No. 3664 - The Phoenix Rises (16 March to 31 May 1997) After her derailment and rollover at Hekpoort on 16 March 1997, Class 24 no. 3664 was recovered and returned to her home depot at Capital Park. Repairs began in earnest immediately. The tender, cab sides, cab roof, valve gear, wheels, bearings, cowcatcher, cylinder cladding and much more required repair or renewal. In just two months, 3664 was repaired and performed a line trial on a revenue freight train, before returning to the rails on a public train on 31 May 1997. (Time 12:26)

External video

South African Steam: 3664 Restoration in the news (1997) SABC News story, covering the fall and rise of Class 24 no. 3664. (Time 1:17)

External video

South African Steam: Steam to Cullinan - 24 3664 (28 June 1997) Class 24 no. 3664 on a return trip to Cullinan (Time 9:53)

The South African Railways Class 24 2-8-4 of 1949 was a steam locomotive.

In 1949 and 1950, the South African Railways placed 100 Class 24 branchline steam locomotives with a 2-8-4 Berkshire type wheel arrangement in service.

By the late 1940s, the South African Railways (SAR) still had a comparatively large mileage of 45 pounds per yard (22 kilograms per metre) track. In South West Africa, where most of the locomotive fleet consisted of Classes 6, 7, GC and GCA, there were still hundreds of miles of 4 ¹⁄₄ pounds per yard (2.1 kilograms per metre) track. Considering the increasing age of these locomotives, the options were either to relay these tracks with 60 pounds per yard (30 kilograms per metre) rail or to obtain new light branchline locomotives, suitable for use on the existing track.

The Class 24 2-8-4 Berkshire type branchline steam locomotive was designed by Dr. M.M. Loubser, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the SAR from 1939 to 1949. The locomotives were built by North British Locomotive Company (NBL) of Glasgow, who delivered one hundred of them in 1949 and 1950, numbered in the range from 3601 to 3700. The cast engine main frames and the Buckeye bogies for the tenders were supplied by General Steel Castings of Eddystone, Pennsylvania.

One of these locomotives, no. 3675, was the 2,000th locomotive to be built by NBL for the SAR and, to commemorate this milestone, a ceremony was conducted in Cape Town to name the locomotive Bartolomeu Dias, after the famous Portuguese navigator who discovered the Cape of Good Hope in May 1488 and named it the Cape of Storms (Cabo das Tormentas). The ceremony was attended by the South African Minister of Transport and heads of departments of the SAR, as well as by the chairman and managing director of NBL.

The Class 24 had a one-piece cast-steel main frame, which was cast integrally with the cylinders, including the cylinder hind covers, smokebox support frame, stays and various brackets, all of which would normally be separate items, riveted or bolted onto the frames. Advantages of this arrangement are reduced maintenance and less time spent in shops. It was the first South African steam locomotive to be built using this technique.