South African Class 24 2-8-4

No. 3655 "City of Cape Town" leaving Monument station, Cape Town, 8 August 2010

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Designer	South African Railways
Builder	North British Locomotive Company
Order number	L976
Serial number	26313-26412
Model	Class 24
Build date	1949-1950
Total produced	100

Specifications
Configuration:
• Whyte	2-8-4 "Berkshire"
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Leading dia.	30 in (762 mm)
Driver dia.	51 in (1,295 mm)
Trailing dia.	30 in (762 mm)
Wheelbase	Total: 65 ft 3 in (19,888 mm) Engine: 13 ft 6 in (4,115 mm) coupled 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) bogie 31 ft (9,449 mm) total Tender: 8 ft 8 in (2,642 mm) bogie 24 ft 7.25 in (7,499 mm) total
Length	74 ft 9.25 in (22,790 mm) total
Height	12 ft 10.125 in (3,915 mm)
Axle load	11.5 long tons (11.7 t) on 2nd driver
Adhesive weight	45.2 long tons (45.9 t)
Loco weight	72.9 long tons (74.1 t)
Tender weight	61,500 lb (27,900 kg) empty 56.55 long tons (57.5 t) w/o
Total weight	147,000 lb (66.7 t) empty 129.45 long tons (131.5 t) w/o
Tender type	MY Torpedo * 3 axle Buckeye bogies * 34 in (864 mm) wheels * Length 34 ft 3.25 in (10,446 mm)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	9 long tons (9.1 t)
Water cap.	4,520 imp gal (20,500 L)
Firebox:
• Grate area	36 sq ft (3.345 m²)
Boiler	5 ft (1,524 mm) inside diameter 17 ft 9 in (5,410 mm) inside length 8 ft (2,438 mm) pitch
Boiler pressure	200 psi (1,380 kPa)
Heating surface:
• Firebox	123 sq ft (11.427 m²)
• Tubes	76 tubes 2.5 in (64 mm) diameter 24 tubes 5.5 in (140 mm) diameter 1,497 sq ft (139.076 m²)
• Flues	16 sq ft (1.486 m²)
• Total surface	1,636 sq ft (151.989 m²)
Superheater:
• Heating area	380 sq ft (35.303 m²)
Cylinders	Two
Cylinder size	19 in (483 mm) bore 26 in (660 mm) stroke
Valve gear	Walschaerts

Performance figures
Tractive effort	27,600 lbf (123 kN) at 75% pressure

Career
Operators	South African Railways
Class	Class 24
Number in class	100
Numbers	3601-3700
Delivered	1949-1950
First run	1949

The South African Railways Class 24 2-8-4 of 1949 is a steam locomotive.

In 1949 and 1950 the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 24 branchline steam locomotives with a 2-8-4 Berkshire type wheel arrangement in service.^[1]^[2]

Manufacturer

The Class 24 2-8-4 Berkshire type branchline steam locomotive was designed by Dr. M.M. Loubser, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the South African Railways (SAR) from 1939 to 1949. The locomotives were built by North British Locomotive Company (NBL) of Glasgow, who delivered one hundred of them in 1949 and 1950, numbered in the range from 3601 to 3700. The cast engine main frames and the Buckeye bogies for the tenders were supplied by General Steel Castings of Eddystone, Pennsylvania.^[1]^[3]

One of these locomotives, Class 24 number 3675, was the two thousandth locomotive to be built by NBL for the SAR and, to commemorate this, a ceremony was conducted in Cape Town to name the locomotive Bartolomeu Dias, after the famous Portuguese navigator who discovered the Cape of Good Hope in May 1488 and named it the "Cape of Storms" (Cabo das Tormentas). The ceremony was attended by the South African Minister of Transport and heads of departments of the SAR, as well as by the chairman and managing director of NBL.^[1]

Characteristics

The Class 24 had a one-piece steel main frame cast integrally with the cylinders, including the cylinder hind covers, smokebox support frame, stays and various brackets, all of which would normally be separate items riveted or bolted onto the frames. Advantages of this arrangement are reduced maintenance and less time spent in shops. It was the first South African steam locomotive to be built using this technique.^[1]

They were built with Watson Standard no. 1 boilers and they used Type MY tank wagon type tenders, similar in appearance to the American Vanderbilt type tenders with cylindrical water tanks. The tenders ran on three-axle Buckeye bogies and became commonly known as Torpedo tenders.^[1]^[4]^[5]

Service

The Class 24 was built to replace the old Class 6, Class 7 and Class 8 locomotives in branchline service on light 45 pounds per yard (22 kilograms per metre) rail. When introduced, an elaborate programme was drawn up showing on which systems and on what sections they were to be employed.^[1]^[6]

The Cape Western System, on the Saldanha-Kalbaskraal, Porterville-Hermon and Prince Alfred Hamlet-Wolseley sections.
The Cape Midland System, on the Knysna-George, Alexandra-Barkly Bridge, Kirkwood-Addo and Somerset East-Cookhouse sections.
The Orange Free State System, on the Dover-Vredefort, Wolwehoek-Arlington-Marquard, Theunissen-Winburg, Westleigh-Orkney and Vierfontein-Bultfontein sections.
The Eastern Transvaal System, on the Zoekmekaar-Komatipoort, Barberton-Kaapmuiden, Middelburg-Stoffberg, Brits-Beestekraal and Zebedela-Naboomspruit sections.
The South West Africa System, on the De Aar-Karasburg and Keetmanshoop-Windhoek sections.

Most of them went to South West Africa (Namibia), where fifty-five of them would be in operation. From some time between 1955 and 1959 they were also employed on the Keetmanshoop-Walvisbaai section. They remained in that territory until strengthening of the track and the introduction of diesel traction made them available to be employed elsewhere.^[1]^[5]

Some eventually also worked on the Selati line past Skukuza in the Kruger National Park and in 1969 and 1970, during the last years of their service life, also briefly on the Hutchinson to Calvinia line in the Karoo.^[1]^[5]^[7]^[8]

Other branchlines served by the Class 24 include Breyten to Lothair, Nylstroom to Vaalwater and Port Elizabeth to Alexandra. As a relatively powerful locomotive, they were also useful as suburban locomotives, a role they served in on the Springs-Nigel commuter line until electrification. Heavy overhauls were done at Bloemfontein. The only province where they were unknown was Natal.^[6]

Preservation

They were withdrawn from service and retired in the mid 1980s. By 2010 preserved Class 24 locomotives included number 3668, which served on the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe tourist line between Knysna and Mosselbaai until the operation was ceased in 2010, and number 3655 "Jenny" that is still based at Monument station in Cape Town and is regularly being run by volunteers of the Friends of Atlantic Rail. In Gauteng, number 3664 "Jo-Anna" is still being operated by the Friends of the Rail.^[5]^[9]^[10]

No. 3620 is preserved in Cairns, having been exported to Australia in January 2001 for operation on the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

Illustration

The main picture and the following photographs offer views of both sides of the Class 24 locomotive and its unique tender. The main picture shows number 3655, the "City of Cape Town," leaving Monument station in Cape Town on 8 August 2010. This locomotive was rechristened "Jenny" in 2011, in honour of the late Jenny Pretorius, a much respected South African steam preservationist.

No. 3696 working the coal stage at Beaconsfield, Kimberley, Cape Province, 13 April 1983

No. 3632 "Tootsie" at George, Cape Province, 29 September 1989
Preserved no. 3693 at Oudtshoorn, Cape Province, circa 1991
No. 3654 at Beaconsfield, Kimberley, Northern Cape, 17 September 2009

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 105–107. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
^ South African Railways and Harbours Locomotive Diagram Book, 2’0” & 3’6” Gauge Steam Locomotives, 15 August 1941, as amended
^ North British Locomotive Company works list, compiled by Austrian locomotive historian Bernhard Schmeiser
^ Keetmanshoop (Namibia) SAR class 24 no's 3611 & 3612
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 10–11, 76. ISBN 0869772112.
^ ^a ^b Durrant, AE (1989). Twilight of South African Steam (1st ed.). Newton Abbott: David & Charles. p. 106. ISBN 0715386387.
^ Calvinia - SAR Class 24 no 3608 "Makadas"
^ Skukuza - Selati Train Restaurant - SAR class 24 no.3638
^ "Steam Locomotives - Class 24, No 3664". Friends of the Rail. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
^ "Steam Locomotives - Class 24, No 3664 - FOTR Forum". Friends of the Rail. Retrieved 23 November 2011.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South African Class 24 (2-8-4).

Locomotives of South Africa

Steam

7' ¼" gauge	East London 0-4-0VB Table Bay 0-4-0ST Table Bay 0-4-0T Table Bay 0-4-0WT
Standard gauge	Cape 0-4-0T Blackie Cape 0-4-2 Cape 2-4-0T CGR 0-4-0ST Aid Natal 0-4-0ST Durban Natal 0-4-0WT Natal Natal 4-4-0T Perseverance
Cape gauge Tank engines	CGR 0-4-0ST 1873 CGR 0-4-0ST 1874 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot CGR 0-6-0ST CGR 0-6-0T CGR 2-6-0ST 1900 CGR 2-6-0ST 1902 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1875 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1876 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0ST CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T CGR 2nd Class 4-4-0T CGR 3rd Class 2-6-0T CGR Railmotor CSAR Class C CSAR Class E CSAR Rack 4-6-4RT CSAR Railmotor Durban's Congella Durban's Edward Innes Durban's John Milne Durban's Sir Albert Port Elizabeth 0-4-0ST Kowie Railway 0-6-0T Kowie Railway 4-4-0T Metropolitan & Suburban 4-6-2T NGR 2-6-0T Durban & Pietermaritzburg NGR Class I 2-6-2T NGR Class K 0-4-0ST NGR Class K 0-6-0ST NGR Class K 2-6-0T NZASM 10 Tonner NZASM 13 Tonner NZASM 14 Tonner NZASM 18 Tonner NZASM 19 Tonner NZASM 32 Tonner NZASM 40 Tonner PPR 26 Tonner PPR 35 Tonner Portuguese SAR Class A SAR Class B SAR Class C SAR Class C1 SAR Class C2 SAR Class D SAR Class E SAR Class F SAR Class G SAR Class H SAR Class H1 SAR Class H2 SAR Class J SAR Class K SAR Railmotor SAR Dock 0-4-0ST SAR Dock 0-4-0T SWA 2-8-0T
Cape gauge Tender engines	CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 BP CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Kitson CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1879 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1891 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0TT CGR 2nd Class 2-6-2TT CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1883 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1884 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1889 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1898 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1901 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1903 CGR 4th Class 4-4-2 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1880 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 Joy CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1884 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1890 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1891 NGR Havelock NGR Class I SAR Class Exp 1 SAR Class Exp 2 SAR Class Exp 3 SAR Class Exp 4 SAR Class Exp 5 SAR Class Exp 6 SAR Class S SAR Class S1 SAR Class S2 SAR Class 1 SAR Class 1A SAR Class 1B SAR Class 2 SAR Class 2C SAR Class 3 SAR Class 3A SAR Class 3B SAR Class 4 SAR Class 4A SAR Class 5 SAR Class 5A SAR Class 5B SAR Class 6 SAR Class 6A SAR Class 6B SAR Class 6C SAR Class 6D SAR Class 6E SAR Class 6F SAR Class 6G SAR Class 6H SAR Class 6J SAR Class 6K SAR Class 6L SAR Class 6Y SAR Class 6Z SAR Class 7 SAR Class 7A SAR Class 7B SAR Class 7C SAR Class 7D SAR Class 7E SAR Class 7F SAR Class 8 SAR Class 8A SAR Class 8B SAR Class 8C SAR Class 8D SAR Class 8E SAR Class 8F SAR Class 8R SAR Class 8X SAR Class 8Y SAR Class 8Z SAR Class 9 SAR Class 10 SAR Class 10A SAR Class 10B SAR Class 10C SAR Class 10D SAR Class 11 SAR Class 12 SAR Class 12A SAR Class 12B SAR Class 13 SAR Class 14 SAR Class 14A SAR Class 14B SAR Class 14C 1st SAR Class 14C 2nd SAR Class 14C 3rd SAR Class 14C 4th SAR Class 15 SAR Class 15A SAR Class 15B SAR Class 15C SAR Class 15CA SAR Class 15E SAR Class 15F SAR Class 16 SAR Class 16A SAR Class 16B SAR Class 16C SAR Class 16D SAR Class 16DA 1928 SAR Class 16DA 1930 SAR Class 16E SAR Class 17 SAR Class 18 SAR Class 19 SAR Class 19A SAR Class 19B SAR Class 19C SAR Class 19D SAR Class 20 SAR Class 21 SAR Class 23 SAR Class 24 SAR Class 25 SAR Class 25NC SAR Class 26 SAR Katanga SWA 2-8-0
Cape gauge Articulated engines	CGR Fairlie CGR Kitson-Meyer SAR Class FC SAR Class FD SAR Class GA SAR Class GB SAR Class GC SAR Class GCA SAR Class GD SAR Class GDA SAR Class GE SAR Class GEA SAR Class GF SAR Class GG SAR Class GH SAR Class GK SAR Class GL SAR Class GM SAR Class GMA SAR Class GO SAR Class HF SAR Class KM SAR Class MA SAR Class MB SAR Class MC SAR Class MC1 SAR Class MD SAR Class ME SAR Class MF SAR Class MG SAR Class MH SAR Class MJ SAR Class MJ1 SAR Class U
2' 6" gauge	Cape Copper John King & Miner Cape Copper Britannia Cape Copper Caledonia Cape Copper Clara Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Namaqua Copper Pioneer Walvis Bay 2-4-2T Hope
2' & 600mm gauges	ACR Class NG-G16A CGR NG 0-4-0T CGR NG 0-6-0T CGR NG 4-6-2T CGR Type A 2-6-4T CGR Type C 0-4-0T NGR Class N 4-6-2T SAR Dutton SAR NG 0-4-0T SAR Class NG1 SAR Class NG2 SAR Class NG3 SAR Class NG4 SAR Class NG5 SAR Class NG6 SAR Class NG7 SAR Class NG8 SAR Class NG9 SAR Class NG10 SAR Class NG-G11 SAR Class NG-G12 SAR Class NG-G13 SAR Class NG-G14 SAR Class NG15 SAR Class NG-G16 SWA Class Ha SWA Class Hb SWA Class Hc SWA Class Hd SWA Jung SWA Zwillinge

Electric

Amcoal Class E38

Gas-electric

SAR Gas-electric

Diesel

Cape gauge Diesel-electric	PRASA Class Afro 4000 SAR Class DS SAR Class DS1 SAR Class 31-000 SAR Class 32-000 SAR Class 32-200 SAR Class 33-000 SAR Class 33-200 SAR Class 33-400 SAR Class 34-000 SAR Class 34-200 SAR Class 34-400 SAR Class 34-500 SAR Class 34-600 SAR Class 34-800 SAR Class 34-900 SAR Class 35-000 SAR Class 35-200 SAR Class 35-400 SAR Class 35-600 TFR Class 35-800 SAR Class 36-000 SAR Class 36-200 SAR Class 37-000 Spoornet Class 39-000 TFR Class 39-200 TFR Class 43-000 TFR Class 44-000 TFR Class 45-000
2' gauge Diesel-electric	SAR Class 91-000
Cape gauge Diesel-hydraulic	SAR Class 61-000
Cape gauge Electro-diesel	Spoornet Class 38-000