South African Class 5E1, Series 2

South African Class 5E1, Series 2
No. E610 at Paardeneiland Depot, 11 April 1970
Type and origin Power type Electric Designer Metropolitan-Vickers Builder Union Carriage & Wagon Model MV 5E1 Build date 1963 Total produced 130
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B  • UIC Bo'Bo'  • Commonwealth Bo-Bo Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Wheel diameter 1,220 mm (48.0 in) Wheelbase 11,279 mm (37 ft 0.1 in)  • Bogie 3,430 mm (11 ft 3.0 in) Pivot centres 7,849 mm (25 ft 9.0 in) Panto shoes 6,972 mm (22 ft 10.5 in) Length: ​  • Over couplers 15,494 mm (50 ft 10.0 in)  • Over beams 14,631 mm (48 ft 0 in) Width 2,896 mm (9 ft 6.0 in) Height: ​  • Pantograph 4,089 mm (13 ft 5.0 in)  • Body height 3,937 mm (12 ft 11.0 in) Axle load 21,591 kg (47,600 lb) Adhesive weight 86,364 kg (190,400 lb) Loco weight 86,364 kg (190,400 lb) Electric system/s 3 kV DC Current pickup(s) Pantographs from catenary Traction motors Four AEI 281 AZX  • Rating 1 hour 485 kW (650 hp)  • Continuous 364 kW (488 hp) Gear ratio 18:67 Loco brake Air & Regenerative Train brakes Vacuum Couplers AAR knuckle
Performance figures Maximum speed 97 km/h (60 mph) Power output: ​  • 1 hour 1,940 kW (2,600 hp)  • Continuous 1,456 kW (1,953 hp) Tractive effort: ​  • Starting 250 kN (56,000 lbf)  • 1 hour 184 kN (41,000 lbf)  • Continuous 122 kN (27,000 lbf) @ 40 km/h (25 mph)
Career Operators South African Railways Spoornet Class Class 5E1 Number in class 130 Numbers E591-E720 Delivered 1963-1964 First run 1963

The South African Railways Class 5E1, Series 2 of 1963 was an electric locomotive.

In 1963 and 1964 the South African Railways placed 130 Class 5E1, Series 2 electric locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement in mainline service. These were the first electric locomotives to be built in South Africa in quantity.

Series 2 of the Metropolitan-Vickers (Metrovick)-designed 3 kV DC Class 5E1 electric locomotive was built for the South African Railways (SAR) by Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) in Nigel, Transvaal, with the electrical equipment being supplied by Associated Electrical Industries (AEI).

UCW, at the time Australian-owned, had opened its works at Nigel in 1959 and the building of the Class 5E1, Series 2 was its first large locomotive order.

It did not allocate builder's numbers to the locomotives it built for the SAR, but used the SAR unit numbers for record keeping. The Series 2 locomotives were all built in 1963 and were numbered in the range from E591 to E720.

No. E591, the series leader, was officially handed over to the SAR in January 1963 as the first mainline electric locomotive constructed in South Africa.

The locomotive had two cut-outs on the roofline on the roof access ladder side, but an unbroken roofline on the opposite side. Like the predecessor Class 5E, the Class 5E1, Series 1 and 2 had two rectangular access panels on the lower sides above the battery box, but they also had an additional rectangular panel on the lower sides above the second axle from the left.

The Series 1 and 2 locomotives could be distinguished from each other by the builder's plates on their end doors, a rectangular Metropolitan-Vickers plate on Series 1 locomotives and an oval Union Carriage and Wagon plate on Series 2. The Series 3, 4 and 5 locomotives could be visually distinguished from earlier models by their three small square access panels on the lower sides above the battery box instead of the two larger rectangular panels on the Series 1 and 2 locomotives.

The axle-hung traction motors of all earlier SAR electric locomotives were suspended on the axles by means of plain oil-lubricated bearings consisting of bronze shells with white metal linings. After the introduction of the more powerful Class 5E1, Series 1, considerable trouble was experienced due to flaking of the white metal linings as a result of the increased intensity of the pressure on these bearings. The use of roller bearings was investigated and one traction motor of a Class 1E was converted for trial purposes. Since satisfactory results were obtained, it was decided to alter the specifications and equip the AEI 281 AZX traction motors of these 130 UCW-built Series 2 locomotives with roller-type suspension bearings.