SAR class 14C
| SAR class 14C (14CB, 14CR, 14CRB, 14CRM) | |
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 Class 14CRB No. 2004 in Robertson
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| Numbering: | 1761-1780, 1881-1900, 1991-2010, 2026-2038 |
| Number: | 73 |
| Manufacturer: | Montreal Locomotive Works |
| Year of construction (s): | 1918-1922 |
| Retirement: | 1983 |
| Type : | 2'D1 'h2 |
| Gauge : | 1067 mm ( cape track ) |
| Length over coupling: | 20,374 mm |
| Service mass: | 92.7 t |
| Service mass with tender: | 144.4 t |
| Wheel set mass : | 17.1 t |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1,219 mm |
| Cylinder diameter: | 559 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 660 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 130.9 N / cm² |
| Grate area: | 3.34 m² (3.44 m² with standard boiler) |
| Water supply: | 19.3 m² |
| Fuel supply: | 10.16 tons of coal |
| Train brake: | Suction air brake |
The vehicles of the class 14C of the South African Railways (SAR) were steam locomotives with the wheel arrangement 2'D1 '( Mountain ). The Montreal Locomotive Works delivered 73 copies between 1918 and 1922.
The machines were ordered because of a war-related locomotive shortage. In terms of their engine and drive wheel dimensions and boiler pressure, they largely corresponded to Class 14 built in England before and at the beginning of the war and therefore had mathematically the same tractive power. However, they were American constructions with bar frames , elevated circulation and other typically North American components.
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After eliminating some teething troubles, the locomotives turned out to be very serviceable and they were used in mixed service until the 1980s, mainly in the Cape Province and Transkei area . Some examples also drove in Natal and in the Eastern Transvaal . The main areas of application were a. the push service on the difficult Hex River Pass route between De Doorns and Matroosberg, operation of the Voorbaai-Worcester route, heavy shunting service in the area around Cape Town and there also transport of local freight trains. In the area of the Eastern Cape, suburban passenger traffic around East London was the domain of this series for many years.
In the 1930s, some copies were given modified counterweights to reduce the load on the tracks at higher speeds. They received the class designation 14CB . The B stands for branch line - the load on the tracks was more significant on branch lines with a weaker superstructure.
All locomotives were equipped with new standard boilers (SAR designation: "standard No. 2 boiler") during their service life. The class name was changed from 14C to 14CRM (R as in reboilered , M as in main line ) and from 14CB to 14CRB . As part of the renovation, the locomotives also received new driver's cabs with the front end that is typical of the SAR. Visually, however, both variants - 14CRB and 14CRM - were hardly distinguishable from one another.
At least two copies have been preserved, No. 1761 and No. 2010 (see picture), the latter is in Ashton on the Voorbaai-Worcester line, one of the former main lines of this series.
literature
- Leith Paxton, David Bourne: Locomotives of the South African Railways. A Concise Guide. C. Strui (Pty) Ltd., Cape Town 1985, ISBN 0-86977-211-2 .
- South Africa, Last Stronghold of Steam. South African Railways, Johannesburg 1978.
- This is South African Railways 1977/1978. Thomson Publications SA (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg 1978.