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Rhodesia Railways 19th class

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Rhodesia Railways 19th class
Wankie Coal Co. no.1 in Hwange, Zimbabwe, 1990.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderHenschel
Build date1951-1953
Total produced20 (for Rhodesia Railways)
1 (19C class)
6 (for industrial users)
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-8-2
Gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Driver dia.4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
Length86 ft 9 in (26.44 m) (with tender)
Axle load13 long tons 15 cwt (30,800 lb or 14 t)
Adhesive weight53 long tons 19 cwt (120,800 lb or 54.8 t)
Loco weight81.23 long tons 18 cwt (184,000 lb or 83.4 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity12 LT (12 t)
Water cap.6,500 imp gal (30,000 L; 7,800 US gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area36 sq ft (3.3 m2)
Boiler pressure19th: 200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox1,847 sq ft (171.6 m2)
 • Tubes and flues1,700 sq ft (160 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area390 sq ft (36 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size21 in × 26 in (533 mm × 660 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort19th: 36,090 lbf (160.5 kN)
Career
OperatorsRhodesia Railways
National Railways of Zimbabwe
Wankie Colliery
Nkana Mine
Class19th
Numbers316–335 (19th class)
335 (19C class)
337-338 (19B class)
Delivered1951
First run1952
Reference: [1]

The Rhodesia Railways 19th class was a class of 20 4-8-2 locomotives built between 1951 and 1953. These were similar in design to the Class 19D used by South African Railways, and were the last non-articulated steam locomotives ever purchased by Rhodesia Railways.

Service

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Between 1951 and 1953, Henschel & Son built twenty locomotives for Rhodesia Railways, as their 19th class, numbered in the range from 316 to 335. They had tenders similar to the SAR Torpedo type, but with plate frame bogies instead of cast frame Buckeye bogies.[2][3]

A single 19C class, no. 336, was built by Henschel in 1954 as a condensing locomotive. Nicknamed "Silent Suzie", it was intended for use in Botswana, but was unpopular with crews, and was rebuilt into a non-condensing 19th Class in 1958 after being involved in a collision.[4] The condensing tender was rebuilt to a Torpedo tender by mounting a tank and coal bunker, supplied locally in Bulawayo, on the frame.[3][5] This rebuilt tender is the one paired with no. 330 which is preserved in the Bulawayo Railway Museum.[6]

By February 1979, only three were left in service, with no. 328 allocated to the Bulawayo shed, no. 329 at Lobatse in Botswana, and no. 330 out-stationed at Mafeking in South Africa. In addition, a further nine locomotives were in storage.[7]

First Number Henschel Builder Number Date Built Disposal Notes
316 27386 1952 Scrapped 1976
317 27387 1952 Scrapped 1976
318 27388 1952 Scrapped 1980
319 27389 1952 Sold Selebi-Pikwe
320 27390 1952 Sold Wankie Colliery
321 27391 1952 Scrapped 1976
322 27392 1952 Sold Selebi-Pikwe
323 27393 1952 Scrapped 1976
324 27394 1952 Scrapped 1976
325 27395 1952 Sold Wankie Colliery
326 27396 1952 Sold Wankie Colliery
327 27397 1952 Scrapped 1980
328 27398 1952 Sold Selebi-Pikwe
329 27399 1952 Scrapped 1976
330 27400 1952 Bulawayo Railway Museum
331 27401 1952 Scrapped 1976
332 27402 1952 Scrapped 1976
333 27403 1952 Scrapped 1979
334 27404 1952 Scrapped 1979
335 27405 1952 Scrapped 1976

Industrial use

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Wankie Colliery

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At the same time as the Rhodesia Railways' order, the Hwange Colliery (then known as the Wankie Coal Company) was looking forward to cut down expendetures of having the Rhodesia Railways handling rail operations from its mines, which cost the colliery company £50 per shunt.[4]

The company decided to order four locomotives identical to the 19th class for £47,000 each from the North British Locomotive Company. These locomotives differed from the Rhodesia Railways examples by having a 12th class tender, and the absence of a superheater. The four locomotives were numbered 1 to 4.[4][3] A few of the Rhodesian 19th class were later sold to the Wankie Colliery, continuing off where the four first-hand locomotives left off.[8][9]

Nkana Mines

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A further two locomotives were delivered by Henschel in 1952 to the Nkana copper mines in Northern Rhodesia, who numbered them 107 and 108.[5] In 1967, these were sold to a scrap merchant, who in turn sold them to Rhodesia Railways, becoming their numbers 337 and 338, and were classified as class 19B.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ Garratt 1974, pp. 167–168.
  2. ^ Durrant, AE (1989). Twilight of South African Steam (1st ed.). Newton Abbott: David & Charles. p. 104. ISBN 0715386387.
  3. ^ a b c d Pattison, R.G. (2005). Thundering Smoke, (1st ed.). Ilminster, Somerset: Sable Publishing House. pp. 127-130. ISBN 0-9549488-1-5.
  4. ^ a b c d Garratt 1974, p. 167.
  5. ^ a b Durrant 1997.
  6. ^ Hamer, E.D. (2001). Locomotives Zimbabwe and Botswana, (1st ed.). Malmö: Frank Stenvalls Förlag. pp. 60-61. ISBN 91-7266-152-6.
  7. ^ Hamer, E. D. (February 1979). "Last Stronghold of Steam". Railway Magazine. pp. 62–63 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Johnson, Lou (1989). World Steam Since 1980. Silver Link for W.H. Smith. p. 93. ISBN 9780947971335 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ The Glorious Age of Steam. London: Reader's Digest. 1997. pp. 92–93. ISBN 9780276423352 – via Internet Archive.

Bibliography

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