South West African 2-8-0T
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Eight-coupled tank, circa 1912
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The South West African 2-8-0T of 1907 was a steam locomotive from the Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika era.
Between 1907 and 1910 the Lüderitzbucht Eisenbahn (Lüderitzbucht Railway) in Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika (German South West Africa) placed twenty-three tank locomotives with a 2-8-0 Consolidation type wheel arrangement in service. After the First World War, when all railways in the territory came under the administration of the South African Railways in 1922, five of these locomotives still survived. They were not classified or renumbered but were referred to as the Eight-Coupled Tanks.[1][2]
Contents
Manufacturer
In 1907 eight Cape Gauge tank locomotives with a 2-8-0 Consolidation type wheel arrangement were delivered to the Lüderitzbucht Eisenbahn in Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika (now Namibia) by Orenstein & Koppel, numbered in the range from 1 to 8 and all built in 1906. The first six of these locomotives were two-cylinder compound engines that were built to the Von Borries principles and were the only compound locomotives of this design to serve in Southern Africa. The other two, numbers 7 and 8, were two-cylinder simple-expansion (simplex) engines.[3][2]
A second batch of thirteen locomotives was delivered from the same manufacturer between 1907 and 1910, built between 1907 and 1909 and numbered in the ranges from 9 to 18 and 20 to 21. They were all two-cylinder simplex locomotives, identical to the last two of the first batch. Both versions of the type were equipped with dust shields over the driving wheels and valve gear to protect the moving parts from blown sand in the Namib desert.[3][2]
A final two locomotives of the same type were delivered, both built in 1910. Their engine numbers are not known.[3]
Two-cylinder compound expansion
In a compound locomotive steam is expanded in phases. After being expanded in a high pressure cylinder and having then lost pressure and given up part of its heat, it is exhausted into a larger volume low pressure cylinder for secondary expansion, after which it is exhausted through the smokebox. By comparison, in the more usual arrangement of simple expansion, steam is expanded just once in any one cylinder before being exhausted through the smokebox.[4]
A two-cylinder compound expansion locomotive using the "Von Borries" system of compounding has one high pressure and one low pressure cylinder.[5]
Service
Lüderitzbucht Eisenbahn
The locomotives were placed in service on the line between Lüderitzbucht and Keetmanshoop and on the lines from the latter north to Windhoek and south to Warmbad. Since the radius of operation of a tank locomotive is limited by the capacity of its small on-board coal bunker, these locomotives often ran with an auxiliary tender coupled to them to extend their range.[1]
South African Railways
During the German South West African campaign in World War I the territory, including the railways, was taken over by the South African military. On 1 April 1922 all railways in the former German colony came under the administration of the South African Railways (SAR). Five of the simplex locomotives still survived to be taken onto the SAR roster, amongst them numbers 10, 18, 20 and 21. They retained their German colonial era engine numbers and were not classified by the SAR, but were referred to as the Eight-Coupled Tanks.[1][2]
The Eight-Coupled Tanks remained in SAR service in South West Africa into the late 1930s.[1]
Works numbers
The works numbers, year built, engine numbers and known disposition of the Eight Coupled Tanks are shown in the table.[3]
Works no. |
Year |
DSWA no. |
1922 |
---|---|---|---|
1870 | 1906 | 1 | |
1871 | 1906 | 2 | |
1872 | 1906 | 3 | |
1873 | 1906 | 4 | |
1874 | 1906 | 5 | |
1875 | 1906 | 6 | |
2069 | 1906 | 7 | |
2070 | 1906 | 8 | |
2356 | 1907 | 9 | |
2357 | 1907 | 10 | SAR |
2358 | 1907 | 11 | |
2359 | 1907 | 12 | |
2360 | 1907 | 13 | |
2361 | 1907 | 14 | |
2731 | 1908 | 15 | |
2732 | 1908 | 16 | |
2733 | 1908 | 17 | |
2734 | 1908 | 18 | SAR |
3182 | 1908 | 20 | SAR |
3183 | 1909 | 21 | SAR |
3184 | 1909 | 22 | |
4198 | 1910 | ||
4199 | 1910 |
Illustration
The main and the following pictures serve to illustrate the Eight-coupled tank from both sides.
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DSWA 2-8-0T no. 11 1908.jpg
Eight-coupled tank at Seeheim during the official opening of the Lüderitz Railway
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DSWA 2-8-0T 1910.jpg
Eight-coupled tank on the North-South Railway south of Windhoek
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DSWA 2-8-0T 1914.jpg
Eight-coupled tanks sabotaged by retreating German forces in World War I
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to South African 8-coupled tank (2-8-0T). |
- Pages with broken file links
- Use dmy dates from September 2013
- Use South African English from September 2013
- All Wikipedia articles written in South African English
- Articles that mention track gauge 1067 mm
- Commons category link is locally defined
- SWA locomotives
- 2-8-0T locomotives
- Orenstein & Koppel locomotives
- Cape gauge railway locomotives
- Railway locomotives introduced in 1907
- 1922 in South Africa
- Scrapped locomotives