The South African Railways Class 6 4-6-0 of 1893 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1893 and 1894, the Cape Government Railways placed forty 6th Class steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement in service, twenty-two on its Western System and eighteen on its Midland System. Ten of them were sold to the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen in 1897. At the end of the Second Boer War in 1902, these ten became the Class 6-L1 on the Central South African Railways. In 1912, all forty locomotives were renumbered and designated Class 6 when they were assimilated into the South African Railways.
Design
To meet the increasing weight of fast passenger trains on the Western and Midland Systems, the 6th Class 4-6-0 passenger steam locomotive was conceived and designed at the Salt River works of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) at the same time as the 7th Class, both according to the specifications of Michael Stephens, then Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the CGR, and under the supervision of H.M. Beatty, then Locomotive Superintendent of the Western System. Whereas the 7th Class was conceived primarily as a goods locomotive, the 6th Class was intended to be its fast passenger service counterpart.
The 6th Class introduced the Type YB tender, a three-axle tender with a coal capacity of and a water capacity of . The engines and tenders were built by Dübs and Company and were delivered in 1893 and 1894, numbered in the ranges from 139 to 160 for the Western System and 353 to 370 for the Midland System.
Characteristics
The boiler had an operating pressure of and was equipped with Ramsbottom safety valves, while the firebox had a brick arch. The seats of the driver and stoker were mounted on poles which allowed them to be swung around to outside the cab.
The 6th Class was to become one of the most useful classes of locomotives to see service in South Africa. They were fast, easy to handle, good steamers and had an exceptionally low maintenance cost, with long periods between major overhauls.
They were so advanced over previous designs that C.B. Elliot, General Manager of the CGR at the time, stated in his annual report in 1894 that the increased speed of which they were capable would render practicable the running of passenger trains between Cape Town and Johannesburg in 48 hours. P.A. Hyde, Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the Central South African Railways (CSAR) from 1902 to 1904, considered the 6th Class as "about the best design for their weight ever made".
Service
Cape Government Railways
The 6th Class was introduced primarily as a passenger locomotive, but when it became displaced by larger and more powerful locomotive classes, it literally became a Jack-of-all-trades which proved itself as one of the most useful and successful locomotive types to be designed at the Salt River shops. It would eventually see service in all parts of the country, except Natal, and would be used on all types of traffic.
Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen
Two of the Western and eight of the Midland System's locomotives were sold to the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen (OVGS) in 1897 and renumbered in the OVGS number range from 60 to 69. The OVGS designated them 6th Class L.
Central South African Railways
When the Orange Free State was occupied by the invading British forces during the Second Boer War, these OVGS locomotives were taken over and used by the Imperial Military Railways (IMR), but not renumbered. When the IMR reverted to civilian control after the war and became established as the CSAR in 1902, these ten locomotives were designated CSAR Class 6-L1 and renumbered in the range from 336 to 345.
South African Railways
When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR, Natal Government Railways and CSAR) 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 was only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.