SAR class GCA
| SAR class GCA | |
|---|---|
 Class GCA No. 2615 at Greyville, November 1971
|
|
| Numbering: | 2190-2202, 2600-2625 |
| Number: | 39 |
| Manufacturer: | Croup |
| Year of construction (s): | 1927, 1928 |
| Retirement: | until 1976 |
| Type : | (1'C1 ') (1'C1') h4 (Garratt) |
| Gauge : | 1067 mm ( cape track ) |
| Length over coupling: | k. A. |
| Service mass: | 104.3 / 107.5 t |
| Friction mass: | 66.3 / 67.9 t |
| Wheel set mass : | 11 / 11.9 t |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1085 mm |
| Impeller diameter: | k. A. |
| Cylinder diameter: | 355 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 584 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 124.1 N / cm² |
| Grate area: | 3.16 m² |
| Radiant heating surface: | 13 m² |
| Tubular heating surface: | 113.9 m² |
| Superheater area : | 21 m² |
| Train brake: | Suction air brake |
The vehicles of the class GCA of the South African Railways (SAR) were articulated locomotives of the Garratt design . With axle loads of around 11 to 12 t, they were intended for light superstructures; the axis order was (1'C1 ') (1'C1').
The design of the locomotives was based on the GC class . Since Beyer-Peacock's patents had expired in the meantime, the locomotives could this time be ordered from the German manufacturer Krupp , who delivered 13 machines in 1927 and 26 in 1928.
Unlike the GC class, the GCA had a bar frame, a round standing boiler ceiling and water tanks with a curved top and rounded upper longitudinal edges. Compared to the GC, the stocks had also been increased somewhat, but the GC were later modified accordingly.
The last locomotives of the GCA class were in service with the SAR in 1976, where they were last used as construction train locomotives. Some were sold to industrial railways.
Three locomotives No. 2196, 2199 and 2621 have been preserved, but not in working order.
literature
- AE Durrant: Garratt locomotives of the world. Birkhäuser, Basel et al. 1984, ISBN 3-7643-1481-8 .
