South African type ZB tender

South African type ZB tender

Type ZB tender on CGR 7th Class of 1892

Type and origin Locomotive CGR 7th Class of 1892 Designer Cape Government Railways (H.M. Beatty) Builder Neilson and Company In service 1892-1893

Specifications Configuration 3-axle Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Length 20 ft 3 1⁄8 in (6,175 mm) Wheel dia. 37 in (940 mm) Wheelbase 10 ft (3,048 mm) Axle load 9 LT 13 cwt 3 qtr (9,843 kg) av. Weight empty 31,560 lb (14,320 kg) Weight w/o 29 LT 1 cwt (29,520 kg) Fuel type Coal Fuel cap. 5 LT (5.1 t) Water cap. 2,370 imp gal (10,800 l) Stoking Manual Couplers Drawbar & Johnston link-and-pin

Career Operators Cape Government Railways Imperial Military Railways South African Railways Numbers SAR 954-967, 970-987

The South African type ZB tender was a steam locomotive tender from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

The Type ZB tender entered service in 1892, as tenders to the second batch of 7th Class 4-8-0 Mastodon type steam locomotives to be acquired by the Cape Government Railways. These locomotives were designated Class 7 on the South African Railways in 1912.

The Types ZA and ZB tenders were both introduced in 1892 as tenders to the original Cape Government Railways (CGR) 7th Class 4-8-0 Mastodon type locomotive, which was built in two batches. Six engines were built by Dübs and Company in 1892, and 32 by Neilson and Company in 1892 and 1893. Since a Neilson works picture shows one of the Neilson-built batch of locomotives with a three-axle tender, it is likely that the larger-capacity Type ZB three-axle tenders were delivered with the second batch of 32 7th Class locomotives, built by Neilson.

The locomotive and tender were designed at the Salt River works in Cape Town in 1892, under the supervision of H.M. Beatty, the CGR Western System's Locomotive Superintendent.

The Type ZB entered service as tenders to these locomotives, all of which were initially placed in service on the Midland System of the CGR, but were later distributed between the Midland and Eastern Systems. These engines would be designated Class 7 on the South African Railways (SAR) in 1912.

The tender had a coal capacity of 5 long tons (5.1 tonnes) and a water capacity of 2,370 imperial gallons (10,800 litres), with an average maximum axle load of 9 long tons 13 hundredweight 3 quarters (9,843 kilograms).

In the SAR years, tenders were numbered for the engines they were delivered with. In most cases, an oval number plate, bearing the engine number and often also the locomotive class or tender type, would be attached to the rear end of the tender. During the classification and renumbering of locomotives onto the SAR roster in 1912, no separate classification and renumbering list was published for tenders, which should have been renumbered according to the locomotive renumbering list.