South African Class 6C 4-6-0

OVGS 6th Class L2 4-6-0
CSAR Class 6-L2 4-6-0
South African Class 6C 4-6-0

OVGS 6th Class L2 no. 88, CSAR Class 6-L2 no. 364, SAR Class 6C no. 553, with a Belpaire firebox and bogie tender

Type and origin ♠ - Original locomotive, as built ♥ - Locomotive rebuilt with Belpaire firebox Power type Steam Designer Cape Government Railways (H.M. Beatty) Builder Dübs and Company Sharp, Stewart and Company Neilson and Company Serial number Dübs: 3331, 3336, 3343-3344, 3440, 3448, 3457-3459 Sharps: 4120-4121, 4140-4143 Neilson: 5126-5127, 5130, 5182-5187 Model CGR 6th Class Build date 1895-1898 Total produced 24

Specifications Configuration 4-6-0 (Tenwheeler) Driver 2nd coupled axle Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Leading dia. 28 1⁄2 in (724 mm) Coupled dia. 54 in (1,372 mm) Tender wheels 37 in (940 mm) Wheelbase 42 ft 5⁄8 in (12,817 mm)  • Engine 20 ft 3 3⁄4 in (6,191 mm)  • Leading 5 ft 5 1⁄2 in (1,664 mm)  • Coupled 11 ft (3,353 mm)  • Tender 10 ft (3,048 mm) Wheel spacing (Asymmetrical) 1-2: 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) 2-3: 6 ft 3 in (1,905 mm) Length: ​  • Over couplers 51 ft 7 1⁄4 in (15,729 mm) Height ♠ 12 ft 10 in (3,912 mm) ♥ 12 ft 10 3⁄8 in (3,921 mm) Frame type Plate Axle load ♠ 11 LT 17 cwt (12,040 kg)  • Leading ♠ 11 LT 8 cwt (11,580 kg) ♥ 10 LT 17 cwt 2 qtr (11,050 kg)  • Coupled ♥ 13 LT 8 cwt (13,620 kg)  • 1st coupled ♠ 11 LT 15 cwt (11,940 kg)  • 2nd coupled ♠ 11 LT 17 cwt (12,040 kg)  • 3rd coupled ♠ 11 LT 15 cwt 2 qtr (11,960 kg)  • Tender axle 10 LT 8 cwt (10,570 kg) average Adhesive weight ♠ 35 LT 7 cwt 2 qtr (35,940 kg) ♥ 40 LT 4 cwt (40,850 kg) Loco weight ♠ 46 LT 15 cwt 2 qtr (47,530 kg) ♥ 51 LT 1 cwt 2 qtr (51,890 kg) Tender weight 31 LT 4 cwt (31,700 kg) Total weight ♠ 77 LT 19 cwt 2 qtr (79,230 kg) ♥ 82 LT 5 cwt 2 qtr (83,600 kg) Tender type YC (3-axle) YB, YC, YE, YE1 permitted Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 5 LT 10 cwt (5.6 t) Water cap 2,590 imp gal (11,770 l) Firebox type ♠ Round-top - ♥ Belpaire  • Firegrate area ♠♥ 16.6 sq ft (1.54 m2) Boiler: ​  • Pitch ♠ 6 ft 8 in (2,032 mm) ♥ 7 ft (2,134 mm)  • Diameter ♠ 4 ft 4 in (1,321 mm) ♥ 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm)  • Tube plates ♠♥ 11 ft 2 1⁄8 in (3,407 mm)  • Small tubes ♠ 185: 1 7⁄8 in (48 mm) ♥ 220: 2 in (51 mm) Boiler pressure ♠ 160 psi (1,103 kPa) ♥ 180 psi (1,241 kPa) Safety valve Ramsbottom Heating surface ♠ 1,116 sq ft (103.7 m2) ♥ 1,398.5 sq ft (129.92 m2)  • Tubes ♠ 1,015 sq ft (94.3 m2) ♥ 1,287.5 sq ft (119.61 m2)  • Firebox ♠ 101 sq ft (9.4 m2) ♥ 111 sq ft (10.3 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 17 in (432 mm) bore 26 in (660 mm) stroke Valve gear Stephenson Couplers Johnston link-and-pin AAR knuckle (1930s)

Performance figures Tractive effort ♠ 16,690 lbf (74.2 kN) @ 75% ♥ 18,780 lbf (83.5 kN) @ 75%

Career Operators OVGS Imperial Military Railways Central South African Railways South African Railways Sudan Railways Class OVGS 6th Class L2 CSAR Class 6-L2 SAR Class 6C Number in class 24 Numbers OVGS 70-93 CSAR 346-369 SAR 541-559, 561-564 Sudan M713 Delivered 1896-1898 First run 1896 Withdrawn 1973

The South African Railways Class 6C 4-6-0 of 1896 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Orange Free State.

Between 1896 and 1898, the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen placed 24 new Cape 6th Class steam locomotives with a 4-6-0 Tenwheeler type wheel arrangement in service, designated 6th Class L2. When British forces invaded the Orange Free State during the Second Boer War, these locomotives were taken over by the Imperial Military Railways. After the war, they were renumbered onto the Central South African Railways roster and designated Class 6-L2. In 1912, when the remaining 23 locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered again and designated Class 6C.

The original Cape 6th Class locomotive had been designed in 1892 by H.M. Beatty, at the time the Locomotive Superintendent of the Western System of the Cape Government Railways (CGR).

The first 6th Class locomotives of the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen (OVGS) were purchased second-hand from the CGR and designated 6th Class L. These ten engines were soon followed by orders for new 6th Class locomotives directly from the manu­fac­turers.

The 24 locomotives in the first group to be built new for the OVGS were manufactured between 1895 and 1898 by Sharp, Stewart and Company, Dübs and Company and Neilson and Company. They were designated 6th Class L2 when they were delivered between 1896 and 1898. Six of these locomotives were built by Sharp, Stewart, numbered in the range from 70 to 75, nine by Dübs, numbered in the range from 76 to 84, and nine by Neilson, numbered in the range from 85 to 93. All these locomotives were delivered with Type YC six-wheeled tenders.

When British forces invaded the Orange Free State during the Second Boer War, all these OVGS locomotives were taken over by the Imperial Military Railways (IMR), but not renumbered. They were only renumbered after the war, when they were included in the Central South African Railways (CSAR) roster in 1902 and designated CSAR Class 6-L2.

P.A. Hyde, the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the CSAR from 1902 to 1904, considered the 6th Class as about the best design for their weight ever made. Several of the CSAR's Class 6-L1 to 6-L3 locomotives, including ten of these ex-OVGS locomotives, were modified by Hyde by having their round-topped fireboxes replaced with larger boilers and Belpaire fireboxes and by having larger, more sheltered cabs installed. This conversion improved their performance tremendously, to the extent that they could be used in place of the 8th Class where they were formerly outclassed by load. This represented an increase in hauling capacity of some 12% while their coal consumption was reduced by some 5%. The ten locomotives which were later renumbered in the ranges from 554 to 559 and 561 to 564 on the South African Railways (SAR), had undergone this modification.