South African Class 6J 4-6-0

CGR 6th Class 4-6-0 1902
South African Class 6J 4-6-0

SAR Class 6J, c. 1912

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Cape Government Railways (H.M. Beatty) Builder Neilson, Reid and Company Serial number 6089-6102 Model CGR 6th Class Build date 1902 Total produced 14

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0 (Tenwheeler)  • UIC 2'Cn2 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 33 1⁄2 in (851 mm) as built 34 in (864 mm) retyred Wheelbase 45 ft 8 1⁄2 in (13,932 mm)  • Engine 20 ft 8 in (6,299 mm)  • Leading 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)  • Coupled 11 ft 4 in (3,454 mm)  • Tender 14 ft 7 in (4,445 mm)  • Tender bogie 4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm) Wheel spacing (Asymmetrical) 1-2: 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) 2-3: 6 ft 7 in (2,007 mm) Length: ​  • Over couplers 53 ft (16,154 mm) Height 12 ft (3,658 mm) Frame type Bar Axle load 13 LT 8 cwt (13,620 kg)  • Leading 10 LT 18 cwt (11,070 kg)  • 1st coupled 12 LT 5 cwt (12,450 kg)  • 2nd coupled 13 LT 8 cwt (13,620 kg)  • 3rd coupled 12 LT 5 cwt (12,450 kg)  • Tender bogie Bogie 1: 16 LT 15 cwt (17,020 kg) Bogie 2: 17 LT 8 cwt (17,680 kg)  • Tender axle 8 LT 14 cwt (8,840 kg) Adhesive weight 37 LT 18 cwt (38,510 kg) Loco weight 48 LT 16 cwt (49,580 kg) Tender weight 34 LT 3 cwt (34,700 kg) Total weight 82 LT 19 cwt (84,280 kg) Tender type XD (2-axle bogies) XC, XC1, XD, XE, XE1, XF, XF1, XF2, XJ, XM, XM1, XM2, XM3, XM4 permitted Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 5 LT 10 cwt (5.6 t) Water cap 2,730 imp gal (12,400 l) Firebox type Round-top  • Firegrate area 18.75 sq ft (1.742 m2) Boiler: ​  • Pitch 6 ft 9 1⁄2 in (2,070 mm)  • Diameter 4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm)  • Tube plates 11 ft 2 1⁄8 in (3,407 mm)  • Small tubes 182: 2 in (51 mm) Boiler pressure 180 psi (1,241 kPa) Safety valve Ramsbottom Heating surface 1,172.6 sq ft (108.94 m2)  • Tubes 1,065 sq ft (98.9 m2)  • Firebox 107.6 sq ft (10.00 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 18,780 lbf (83.5 kN) @ 75%

Career Operators Cape Government Railways South African Railways Class CGR 6th Class, SAR Class 6J Number in class 14 Numbers CGR 155, 160, 287-294, 537-540 SAR 635-648 Delivered 1902 First run 1902 Withdrawn 1972

The South African Railways Class 6J 4-6-0 of 1902 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1902, fourteen 6th Class bar framed steam locomotives with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement were placed in service by the Cape Government Railways. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and designated Class 6J.

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

The fourteen 6th Class locomotives which were placed in service by the CGR in 1902 were built by Neilson, Reid and Company.

The locomotives were practically identical to the two bar-framed locomotives which had been built by Sharp, Stewart and Company in 1900 and which became the South African Railways (SAR) Class 6F in 1912. They were visually identifiable as second-generation bar-framed 6th Class locomotives by their running boards, which were mounted above the coupled wheels without the need for wheel fairings.

As built, the smokebox was equipped with openings on its sides, near the front, with covers which each had a handle by which it could be opened with a half turn to give direct access to the inside of the smokebox. This was most likely to facilitate cleaning of the spark arrestor screens to overcome clogging without having to open the smokebox door. The cover handles were attached to the smokebox side by a small chain, as shown in the main picture. Judging from photographs, these covers were removed and the openings closed off in the SAR era.

Four of the locomotives were numbered in the range from 537 to 540 for the Midland System of the CGR. The other ten were numbered 155, 160 and in the range from 287 to 294 for the Western System.

It would appear that the CGR's Western System was more concerned with having unbroken number ranges than the CGR itself was about allocating different classifications to dissimilar locomotives, even when they had different wheel arrangements. Of these Western System engine numbers, 155 and 160 had been used before on two 6th Class locomotives which had been sold to the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen (OVGS) in 1897.