The Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST of 1873 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre- Union era in the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

. In 1873, two

Cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

locomotives were placed in construction service by Mac Donald & Company, contractors to the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage Railway Company. When the contract was completed in 1875, the railway and the locomotives were taken over by the Midland System of the Cape Government Railways. A third locomotive, built to the same design, was delivered to the Western System in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in 1874. These were the first Cape gauge locomotives to enter service in South Africa. Pioneer, ''Little Bess'' & Mliss

Cape railways expansion

When the control of railways in the Cape of Good Hope was taken over by the Colonial Government on 1 January 1873 and the

Cape Government Railways The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. History Private railways The first railways at the Cape were privately ow ...

(CGR) was established with the object of railways expansion, a Select Committee was appointed to study the question of track gauge. The choice which had to be made was between the existing

Standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

of and the narrower gauge of , which would effect savings of up to one-third on construction cost.Soul of A Railway – System 1 – Part 1: Cape Town prior to the Second World War
(Accessed on 26 November 2016) The CGR Chief Railway Engineer William George Brounger was opposed to the adoption of a narrower gauge on the grounds that, while initial cost would be less, operating costs would be higher. The narrow gauge had been proposed by civil engineer R. Thomas Hall, Superintendent of the narrow gauge Redruth and Chacewater Railway in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, who was involved in the construction, beginning in 1869, of the

Namaqualand Railway The Namaqualand Railway was a narrow gauge railway operating between Port Nolloth and O'okiep in the Namaqualand region of the former Cape Colony in South Africa. It was originally a mule-drawn railway built to provide an outlet for the copper m ...

which was being built to that gauge between

Port Nolloth Port Nolloth is a town and seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, northwest of Springbok. It is the seat of the Richtersveld Local Municipality. The port was previously a transshipment point for copper fro ...

and

O'okiep Okiep is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, and was in the 1870s ranked as having the richest copper mine in the world. The town is on the site of a spring that was known in the Khoekhoe language of the Nama people as ''U- ...

for the Cape Copper Mining Company. The committee, with a three-to-one vote, settled on a compromise between the two recommended gauges and the Cape gauge came into existence in Southern Africa.

Manufacturer

The first three locomotives for the new

lines were built by Manning Wardle & Company in 1873 and 1874. The first two, ex works on 12 March and 3 May 1873 respectively, were delivered in 1873 to Mac Donald & Company, contractors to the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage Railway Company in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

. The contractors named them ''Pioneer'' and ''Little Bess'' respectively. (Accessed on 18 August 2016) The third locomotive, ex works on 6 February 1874, was delivered to the Western System in

in 1874 and was numbered W46 in the Western's number range.

Johnston link-and-pin coupler

From the arrival of the first railway locomotive in South Africa, the

Cape Town Railway & Dock 0-4-0T The Cape Town Railway & Dock 0-4-0T of 1858 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre- Union era in the Cape of Good Hope, and the first locomotive in South Africa. In September 1858, Messrs. E. & J. Pickering, contractors to the Cape ...

of 1859, all railway rolling stock had been equipped with buffers-and-chain coupling, variations of which are still in use in the United Kingdom and Europe.Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1943). ''The Locomotive in South Africa – A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter I – The Period of the 4 ft. 8½ in. Gauge''. South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, June 1943. pp. 437–440.

These locomotives of 1873 introduced the bell-shaped Johnston link-and-pin coupler, commonly known as a bell link-and-pin coupler, which was to become the standard coupler on Cape gauge rolling stock in the Cape of Good Hope, the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

and the ''Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek''. In South Africa, all new Cape gauge locomotives and rolling stock acquired between 1873 and 1927 were equipped with these or similar couplers.Suid-Afrikaanse Vervoerdienste (South African Transport Services) (1983). ''Passassierswa- en Trokhandboek (Passenger Carriage and Truck Manual), Vol 1, Hoofstukke 1–15 (Chapters 1–15)''. South African Transport Services, 1983. Chapter 13.

Cape Midland System

By 1872, Port Elizabeth already possessed extensive Standard gauge trackage between the harbour and Swartkops, but trains were still animal-hauled. Work by contractors Mac Donald's on railway expansion from Port Elizabeth into the interior commenced in June 1872. The two locomotives which were delivered to them in 1873 were utilised as construction engines. The first train ran as far as Sydenham in October 1873, and of railway was completed by 1874. When the two new lines were opened in 1875, northwestward to

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

and northward from Swartkops to Barkly Bridge, the lines and the construction locomotives were taken over by the CGR and the locomotives were numbered M1 and M2 for the Midland System. These two locomotives, together with a smaller engine named ''Mliss'' which joined them on construction work in 1874, are considered the pioneers of locomotives over the greater part of the Midland System.

Cape Western System

By 1874, when the third of the first three locomotives, no. W46, was delivered to the Western System, construction work was proceeding in two directions from

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. New Cape gauge track was being laid deeper into the interior towards

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, while track dual-gauging was being undertaken back from Wellington towards Cape Town.

References

{{Locomotives of South Africa 0040 0-4-0ST locomotives B n2t locomotives Cape gauge railway locomotives Manning Wardle locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1873 1873 in South Africa Scrapped locomotives