The Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST of 1874 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 1874, a single

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 ...

locomotive was placed in service by the contractors to the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage Railway Company for the construction of railway lines into the interior. When construction work was completed, the locomotive was taken onto the roster of the Midland System of the Cape Government Railways.''C.G.R. Numbering Revised'', Article by Dave Littley, SA Rail May–June 1993, pp. 94–95. Pioneer, Little Bess & Mliss

Manufacturer

In 1874, a third

locomotive was delivered through the London agents W. Bailey Hawkins & Company to the 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 locomotive, built by Manning Wardle & Company and dispatched from the builders on 10 March 1874, was of a smaller design than the earlier two 0-4-0ST locomotives of 1873.''Railway History of South Africa no. 2 – Early Locomotives of the Cape Government Railway'', Article by Leith Paxton, The Uloliwe, Vol 4 no 1, January 2013, pp. 62–63.Harman, Fred W. (no date shown). ''The Locomotives Built By Manning Wardle & Company – Volume 3 – Broad Gauge & Works List''. Century Locoprints.

Characteristics

The locomotive was a Manning Wardle Class B engine with diameter coupled wheels and cylinders with a bore and stroke.

Service

Work on railway expansion from Port Elizabeth into the interior was already underway in 1874. The locomotive was put to work as construction engine on the northern mainline which was being built northwards from Swartkops via Barkly Bridge, Addo, Alicedale and

Cookhouse A cookhouse is a small building where cooking takes place. Often found at remote work camps, they complemented the bunkhouse and were usually found on ranches that employed cowboys, or loggers in a logging camp. Prior to the 20th century, cook ...

to Cradock.''The South African Railways – Historical Survey''. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 12. At some stage around April 1876, when construction work was completed to Sandflats between

Coerney Coerney is a river and railway station 64 km north of Gqeberha, on the route to Rosmead, situated in the Sundays River Valley in Sarah Baartman District Municipality The Sarah Baartman District Municipality (; ), formerly the Cacadu District ...

and Alicedale, the locomotive, along with six other contractor's locomotives, was taken over from the contractors by 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 ...

and numbered M14 on the Midland System. In 1877, when Swallow's Cutting was being excavated near Middleton on the section north of Alicedale, the locomotive was transported to the construction site by government bullock cart. This line reached Cookhouse in 1880.p. 144 of "Uitenhage Past and Present"
/ref>

Engine ''Mliss''

Reference has been made in literature to a locomotive named ''Mliss''. In an Uitenhage centenary publication, the first three construction locomotives on the Midland System are described as two engines named ''Pioneer'' and ''Little Bess'' which each weighed 14 tons, and a third engine named ''Mliss'' after "one of

Bret Harte Bret Harte ( , born Francis Brett Hart, August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a caree ...

's charming heroines", which was imported at about the same time and which weighed only eight tons.p. 145 of "Uitenhage Past and Present"
/ref>''Uitenhage Past and Present – Souvenir of the Centenary – 1804–1904''. Sellick, W.S.J. Publisher W.S.J. Sellick at the "Uitenhage Times" Office, Cape Colony. Published 1904, pp. 144–146. To date, the engine ''Mliss'' could not be positively identified. While no. M14 is the most likely candidate, too little is known as yet about the engine itself to positively identify it as the engine ''Mliss''.

Drawing

Since the only known existing picture of this locomotive is heavily touched up, the drawing by Leith Paxton illustrates better what this locomotive looked like. It was based on the original manufacturer's drawing, obtained from the United Kingdom. File:CGR 0-4-0ST 1874 no. M14 drawing.jpg, Drawing of Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST of 1874, no. M14

References

{{Locomotives of South Africa 0050 0050 0-4-0ST locomotives B n2t locomotives Manning Wardle locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1874 1874 in South Africa Cape gauge railway locomotives Scrapped locomotives