SAR class GEA
| SAR class GEA | |
|---|---|
.JPG) # 4023 "Peacock" in the TFR Museum, George, April 15, 2013
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| Numbering: | 4001-4050 |
| Number: | 50 |
| Manufacturer: | Beyer-Peacock |
| Year of construction (s): | 1945-1947 |
| Retirement: | 1976 |
| Type : | (2'D1 ') (1'D2') h4 (Garratt) |
| Gauge : | 1067 mm ( cape track ) |
| Length over coupling: | 25,425 mm |
| Service mass: | 188.5 t |
| Friction mass: | 117.6 t |
| Wheel set mass : | 15.3 t |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1219 mm |
| Impeller diameter: | k. A. |
| Cylinder diameter: | 470 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 660 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 137.9 N / cm² |
| Grate area: | 4.77 m² |
| Radiant heating surface: | 19.69 m² |
| Tubular heating surface: | 216.3 m² |
| Superheater area : | 43.6 m² |
| Train brake: | Suction air brake |
The vehicles of the class GEA of the South African Railways (SAR) were steam locomotives of the Garratt design .
After the GM class machines procured in 1938 , the SAR received no Garratt locomotives during World War II. Immediately after the end of the war, however, the railway ordered 50 more Garratts with the wheel arrangement (2'D1 ') (1'D2') from Beyer-Peacock . It was the largest single order ever placed for Garratt locomotives.
However, the locomotives with axle loads of 15.3 t were designed for a lighter superstructure than the GM class. The stocks were also measured in such a way that there was no need for a water truck. Because the outer boiler dimensions corresponded to those of the GE class , the class designation GEA was assigned, although it was not a class derived from the GE, but a completely new design with a different axle sequence and larger drive wheel diameter.
The GEA were the first South African Garratts with "streamlined" water tanks rounded to the front and back, which were typical of the Garratts built by Beyer-Peacock after the war. The locomotives were hand-fired, but the power was already so high that the stokers were pushed to their limits.
In 1967, locomotive no. 4009 was temporarily equipped with a spark arrester device, which consisted of a horizontal extension of the chimney that was moved forward over the water tank.
The GEA class was used all over South Africa. The operation with passenger trains over the Montagu Pass between George and Oudtshoorn , where gradients of 27.7 ‰ had to be mastered, became known in particular . In 1974 they were replaced by the GMAM class on this route .
In 1976 the last GEA were retired. Most were scrapped a few years later; five locomotives were housed as factory locomotives in coal mines.
The locomotive No. 4023 is still operational.
literature
- AE Durrant: Garratt locomotives of the world. Birkhäuser, Basel et al. 1984, ISBN 3-7643-1481-8 .