CGR 2-6-0ST 1902
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The Cape Government Railways 2-6-0ST of 1902 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 ...
. Between 1902 and 1904, eleven 2-6-0 Mogul type saddle-tank locomotives entered shunting service at the Table Bay Harbour in Cape Town. They were taken onto the Cape Government Railways roster in 1909. All of them were still in service when the South African Railways was established in 1912.Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1944). ''The Locomotive in South Africa – A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter II – The Cape Government Railways'' (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, April 1944. pp. 253-257.


Manufacturer

Eleven 2-6-0 saddle-tank locomotives were delivered from
Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures Diesel engine, diesel Switcher, shunting locomotives. The company ...
to the
Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the fl ...
Harbour Board between 1902 and 1904. They were numbered in the range from 18 to 28 and entered service as harbour shunting engines at Table Bay Harbour in Cape Town.


Service


Table Bay Harbour Board

Prior to 1908, each of the harbours of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London was controlled by a board of directors and, as far as locomotives were concerned, each board purchased its own engines.


Cape Government Railways

In terms of Act 38 of 1908, the Cape Government Railways (CGR) became responsible for the administration of the three major harbours in the Cape of Good Hope with effect from 1 January 1909. The eleven locomotives at Table Bay Harbour in Cape Town were therefore all taken onto the CGR roster, renumbered in the range from 1001 to 1011.


South African Railways

When the
Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...
was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR,
Natal Government Railways The Natal Government Railways (NGR) was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal. In 1877, the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban ...
and
Central South African Railways The Central South African Railways (CSAR) was from 1902 to 1910 the operator of public railways in the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony in what is now South Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War, as British forces moved into the territory of ...
) were united under a single administration to control and administer the railways, ports and harbours of the Union. Although the South African Railways and Harbours came into existence in 1910, the actual classification and renumbering of all the rolling stock of the three constituent railways were only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.''The South African Railways – Historical Survey''. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 25. In 1912, the locomotives were considered obsolete by the SAR, even though they were only eight years old. As obsolete stock, they were renumbered by having the numeral "0" prefixed to their existing numbers.''Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists'', issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 11, 12, 17. (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)


First World War

In 1915, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, the
German South West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...
colony was occupied by the Union Defence Forces. Since a large part of the territory's railway infrastructure and rolling stock was destroyed or damaged by retreating German forces, an urgent need arose for locomotives for use on the
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 ...
lines in that territory. In 1917, numbers 01003 and 01010 were transferred to the Defence Department for service in South West Africa. Both locomotives were returned to South Africa after the war.Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1947). ''The Locomotive in South Africa – A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VII – South African Railways (Continued).'' South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, December 1947. p. 1033. Despite being considered obsolete, six of the locomotives remained in service until 1935 before being withdrawn and scrapped. In SAR service, all of them were transferred away from Table Bay Harbour. Five went to
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
, four to
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 ...
and two as workshop shunting engines to
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...
. Hunslet works numbers, ex works dates and service information


Works numbers

The works numbers, ex works dates, original numbers, renumbering, distribution and scrapping dates of the Table Bay Harbour Board's of 1902 are listed in the table.


References

{{Locomotives of South Africa 0120 2-6-0 locomotives 1′C n2t locomotives Hunslet locomotives Cape gauge railway locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1902 1902 in South Africa Scrapped locomotives