South African type MP tender

South African type MP tender

Type MP tender on SAR Class 19A, c. 1929

Type and origin Locomotive Class 19A Designer South African Railways (Col F.R. Collins DSO) Builder Swiss Locomotive and Machine In service 1929

Specifications Configuration 2-axle bogies Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Length 25 ft 11 3⁄8 in (7,909 mm) Wheel dia. 34 in (864 mm) Wheelbase 16 ft 9 in (5,105 mm)  • Bogie 4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm) Axle load 12 LT 17 cwt 2 qtr (13,080 kg)  • Front bogie 25 LT 15 cwt (26,160 kg)  • Rear bogie 25 LT 4 cwt (25,600 kg) Weight empty 51,020 lb (23,140 kg) Weight w/o 50 LT 19 cwt (51,770 kg) Fuel type Coal Fuel cap. 9 LT 4 cwt (9.3 t) Water cap. 4,250 imp gal (19,300 l) Stoking Manual Couplers Drawbar & AAR knuckle

Career Operators South African Railways Numbers SAR 675-710

The South African type MP tender was a steam locomotive tender.

Type MP tenders entered service in 1929, as tenders to the Class 19A 4-8-2 Mountain type branch line steam locomotives which were placed in service by the South African Railways in that year.

Type MP tenders were built in 1929 by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works in Winterthur.

The South African Railways (SAR) placed 36 Class 19A 4-8-2 Mountain type branch line locomotives in service in 1929. The engines and tenders were designed by Col F.R. Collins DSO as a lighter version of the Class 19 locomotive which had entered service in 1928. The locomotives were placed in service on all systems of the SAR, but were later based mainly at Mason's Mill, Estcourt and Glencoe in Natal, at East London, Queenstown and Burgersdorp in the Eastern Cape, at Cape Town in the Western Cape and a few in the Western Transvaal.

The tender had a coal capacity of 9 long tons 4 hundredweight (9.3 tonnes), a water capacity of 4,250 imperial gallons (19,300 litres) and a maximum axle load of 12 long tons 17 hundredweight 2 quarters (13,080 kilograms).

Only the 36 Class 19A locomotives were delivered new with Type MP tenders, which were numbered for their engines in the range from 675 to 710. An oval number plate, bearing the engine number and often also the tender type, was attached to the rear end of the tender.

Since many tender types are interchangeable between different locomotive classes and types, a tender classification system was adopted by the SAR. The first letter of the tender type indicates the classes of engines to which it could be coupled. The "M_" tenders could be used with the locomotive classes as shown below, although in some cases engine drawbars and intermediate emergency chains had to be replaced or adjusted to suit the target locomotive.

The second letter indicates the tender's water capacity. The "_P" tenders had a capacity of 4,250 imperial gallons (19,300 litres; 5,100 US gallons).