The Cape Government Railways 3rd Class 4-4-0 of 1901 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 1901, the Cape Government Railways placed another six 3rd Class ''Wynberg Tender'' locomotives with a American type wheel arrangement in suburban service in Cape Town. It was a heavier and more powerful version of the 3rd Class locomotive of 1898.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, January 1944. pp. 9–12.

Manufacturer

Six more ''Wynberg Tender'' passenger locomotives entered service on 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) in 1901 for suburban service in Cape Town. They were built by

Sharp, Stewart and Company Sharp, Stewart and Company was a steam locomotive manufacturer, originally based in Manchester, England. The company was established in 1843 following the dissolution of Sharp, Roberts & Co.. In 1888, it relocated to Glasgow, Scotland, where it ...

and numbered in the range from 6 to 11.

Also designed by H.M. Beatty, these locomotives were very similar in design to the 3rd Class of 1898, but larger and more powerful. They were built for speed and had the largest coupled wheels of any locomotive on the CGR to date, at diameter. In later years, this driving wheel size became the accepted size for mixed traffic and general purpose locomotives on mainline service in South Africa. During the rest of the steam era in South Africa, only four locomotive types were to be introduced with larger driving wheels, post-delivery modifications excluded.

Service

Cape Government Railways

These locomotives were also known as ''Wynberg Tenders''. They were also designed with reverse running in mind, with a weatherboard mounted on the six-wheeled tender's front to protect the crew from the elements when running tender first.

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 six locomotives were considered obsolete by the SAR, designated Class 03 and renumbered by having the numeral "0" prefixed to their existing numbers. In SAR service, they continued to work Cape Town's suburban trains. Despite being considered obsolete, all six engines survived until c. 1918, when two were withdrawn from service. The other four survived in service until after 1931.''Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists'', issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pretoria, January 1912, p. 26. (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)

Works numbers

The works numbers, original numbers and renumbering of the Cape 3rd Class of 1901 are listed in the table.

References

{{Locomotives of South Africa 0300 0300 4-4-0 locomotives 2′B n2 locomotives Sharp Stewart locomotives Cape gauge railway locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1901 1901 in South Africa Scrapped locomotives