Africa Railways - Pretoria & Pietersburg Railway 2-6-4T steam locomotive Nr. 1 "President Kruger" (Beyer Peacock Locomotive Works 3943-8 / 1898)
TANK ENGINE FOR SOUTH AFRICA
THE locomotive illustrated above represents one of six tank engines recently constructed by Messrs. Beyer, Peacock, and Co., of Gorton, Manchester, for the Pretoria and Pietersburg Railway in the South African Republic.
The gauge of the railway is comparatively narrow, the rails being laid to the standard 3ft. 6in. gauge of South Africa, and as the ruling gradients are 1 in 50, with curves of 150 meters radius, while the gross loads specified to be hauled by these engines totalled out to 212 tons, exclusive of their own weight; while at the same time the maximum load per axle was limited to 12,000 kilos. (11 tons 16 cwt.) the problem was not an easy one to fulfil, more especially in view of the fact that the engines were required to carry 1540 gallons of water and three tons of coal. The coupled wheels were, further, specified to be not less than 1·15 metres (3ft. 9fin.) in diameter, so as to render the engines capable of running easily at a speed of 25 miles an hour. On examining the engraving and the statement of leading dimensions, along with the particulars given below, it will be seen that the problem has, nevertheless, been solved in an admirable manner, in combining lateral and vertical flexibility with a sufficiently long wheel base to ensure steadiness in running at the maximum speed required, the rigid wheel base being only l0 ft. 2in. long, while the total base is 28ft. 3in. The springs of the front bogie and first pair of coupled wheels are further compensated by beams, those of the driving and hind-coupled axles being compensated in like manner. The weight of the engines has also, it will be seen, been well distributed on the axles, the feedwater being accommodated in long side tanks, while the fuel is carried in a convenient position behind the footplate.
The Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR) was a private railway which operated between Pretoria West via Warmbad and Nylstroom to Pietersburg. It was constructed under a concession granted by the government of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) to Hendrik Jacobus Schoeman on 30 October 1895. Construction commenced in 1897 and the railway was opened to traffic as far as Nylstroom by 1 July 1898. Potgietersrus was reached on 1 October 1898 and Pietersburg on 1 May 1899. The P&P Railway ordered one additional 2-6-4T locomotive from Beyer Peacock in 1900, under the BP works number 4127, following the loss at sea of locomotive Nr. 5.
Illustration by John Swain for "The Engineer" from May 05, 1899
For more information about this 2-6-4T steam locomotive, please visit this Wikipedia link:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Class_D_2-6-4T
Africa Railways - Pretoria & Pietersburg Railway 2-6-4T steam locomotive Nr. 1 "President Kruger" (Beyer Peacock Locomotive Works 3943-8 / 1898)
TANK ENGINE FOR SOUTH AFRICA
THE locomotive illustrated above represents one of six tank engines recently constructed by Messrs. Beyer, Peacock, and Co., of Gorton, Manchester, for the Pretoria and Pietersburg Railway in the South African Republic.
The gauge of the railway is comparatively narrow, the rails being laid to the standard 3ft. 6in. gauge of South Africa, and as the ruling gradients are 1 in 50, with curves of 150 meters radius, while the gross loads specified to be hauled by these engines totalled out to 212 tons, exclusive of their own weight; while at the same time the maximum load per axle was limited to 12,000 kilos. (11 tons 16 cwt.) the problem was not an easy one to fulfil, more especially in view of the fact that the engines were required to carry 1540 gallons of water and three tons of coal. The coupled wheels were, further, specified to be not less than 1·15 metres (3ft. 9fin.) in diameter, so as to render the engines capable of running easily at a speed of 25 miles an hour. On examining the engraving and the statement of leading dimensions, along with the particulars given below, it will be seen that the problem has, nevertheless, been solved in an admirable manner, in combining lateral and vertical flexibility with a sufficiently long wheel base to ensure steadiness in running at the maximum speed required, the rigid wheel base being only l0 ft. 2in. long, while the total base is 28ft. 3in. The springs of the front bogie and first pair of coupled wheels are further compensated by beams, those of the driving and hind-coupled axles being compensated in like manner. The weight of the engines has also, it will be seen, been well distributed on the axles, the feedwater being accommodated in long side tanks, while the fuel is carried in a convenient position behind the footplate.
The Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR) was a private railway which operated between Pretoria West via Warmbad and Nylstroom to Pietersburg. It was constructed under a concession granted by the government of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) to Hendrik Jacobus Schoeman on 30 October 1895. Construction commenced in 1897 and the railway was opened to traffic as far as Nylstroom by 1 July 1898. Potgietersrus was reached on 1 October 1898 and Pietersburg on 1 May 1899. The P&P Railway ordered one additional 2-6-4T locomotive from Beyer Peacock in 1900, under the BP works number 4127, following the loss at sea of locomotive Nr. 5.
Illustration by John Swain for "The Engineer" from May 05, 1899
For more information about this 2-6-4T steam locomotive, please visit this Wikipedia link:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Class_D_2-6-4T