Kowie Railway 4-4-0T

Kowie Railway 4-4-0T Grahamstown

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Designer	Hunslet Engine Company
Builder	Hunslet Engine Company
Serial number	294-295
Build date	1882
Total produced	2

Specifications
Configuration	4-4-0T (American)
Driver	1st coupled axle
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Leading dia.	27 ¹⁄₂ in (698 mm)
Coupled dia.	48 in (1,219 mm)
Wheelbase	18 ft 5 in (5,613 mm)
• Leading	4 ft 10 in (1,473 mm)
• Coupled	7 ft (2,134 mm)
Length:
• Over couplers	29 ft (8,839 mm)
Height	12 ft 2 in (3,708 mm)
Loco weight	27 LT (27,430 kg) w/o
Fuel type	Wood or coal
Fuel capacity	1 LT 10 cwt (1.5 t)
Water cap	650 imp gal (2,950 l)
Firebox type	Round-top
• Firegrate area	9.75 sq ft (0.906 m²)
Boiler:
• Pitch	5 ft 9 in (1,753 mm)
• Tube plates	9 ft 3 ³⁄₄ in (2,838 mm)
• Small tubes	115: 1 ³⁄₄ in (44 mm)
Boiler pressure	160 psi (1,103 kPa)
Safety valve	Ramsbottom
Heating surface	556 sq ft (51.7 m²)
• Tubes	495 sq ft (46.0 m²)
• Firebox	61 sq ft (5.7 m²)
Cylinders	Two
Cylinder size	13 in (330 mm) bore 20 in (508 mm) stroke
Valve gear	Stephenson
Couplers	Bell link-and-pin

Performance figures
Tractive effort	8,450 lbf (37.6 kN) @ 75%

Career
Operators	Kowie Railway South African Railways
Number in class	2
Official name	Grahamstown & Bathurst
Delivered	1882
First run	1882

The Kowie Railway 4-4-0T of 1882 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1882, two 4-4-0 American type tank locomotives entered passenger service on the private Kowie Railway between Port Alfred and Grahamstown, which was still under construction at the time.^[1]

The Kowie Railway

The private Kowie Railway line between Port Alfred and Grahamstown was built and operated by three successive private enterprises, all of which ran into financial difficulties.^[2]

In 1881, the Government of the Cape of Good Hope passed a Bill to authorise the London-based Grahamstown and Port Alfred Railway Company to construct a railway from Port Alfred to Grahamstown. The contract for construction was awarded to Pauling & Co. and the first sod was officially turned on 21 October 1881.^[2]^[3]^[4]

The Port Alfred-Grahamstown-Alicedale line

The surveyed route of the line crossed the Kowie River at Blaauwkrantz, where a high bridge needed to be constructed. It had been estimated that the line would be completed by the end of 1883, but since the construction of the Blaauwkrantz Bridge delayed progress, the 43-mile long (69-kilometre) line was only partially opened to traffic on 24 December 1883, from Port Alfred as far as Blaauwkrantz. Here, passengers had to disembark and complete the journey to Grahamstown on the post cart.^[2]^[3]^[4]

On 1 October 1884, the bridge was completed and opened to traffic. The Kowie Railway linked up with the Cape Government Railways at Grahamstown on 11 November 1884.^[3]

Manufacturer

In 1882, two 4-4-0 American type tank locomotives, with works numbers 294 and 295, were delivered from Hunslet Engine Company to the Grahamstown and Port Alfred Railway Company. The locomotives were acquired for passenger working and were named Grahamstown and Bathurst respectively. They were designed for wood-burning and were equipped with large American-style balloon smokestacks, which incorporated spark arresters.^[1]^[4]

Liquidation

Partly as a result of the difficulties experienced with harbour development at Port Alfred, the Grahamstown and Port Alfred Railway Company soon experienced financial difficulties and was forced into liquidation in 1887. In 1888, a group of Grahamstown residents formed a syndicate and took over the operation of the line to Port Alfred, until 1895, when they sold out to the Kowie Railway Company.^[2]

The Kowie Railway line was never prosperous. After the Cape Government eventually abandoned its attempts at harbour development at Port Alfred in 1898, due to the continuous silting up of the Kowie River, the line's financial difficulties increased. Track maintenance was neglected and the situation was aggravated by a series of minor accidents.^[1]

The Blaauwkrantz disaster

Kowie Railway 4-4-0T, crossing Blaauwkrantz Bridge with a mixed train, c. 1910

The Kowie Railway's death blow came on 22 April 1911. A mixed train from Port Alfred, made up of six goods trucks, three passenger carriages and a guard's van, came to grief when one of the goods trucks derailed on the Blaauwkrantz Bridge and, with the three carriages and the guard's van, plunged into the ravine 200 feet (61 metres) below. Of the 55 passengers, 31 were killed and 23 seriously injured. The resultant claims against the Kowie Railway Company forced it into bankruptcy.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[5]

South African Railways

On 1 April 1913, the line was taken over by the Union Government and became part of the South African Railways. The two passenger locomotives, along with the two goods engines Port Alfred and Kowie, and three Cape 4th Class 4-6-0TT locomotives which had been purchased from the Cape Government Railways around 1904, remained in service on this line until they were scrapped.^[1]^[2]

References

1 2 3 4 5 Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, Volume 1: 1859-1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. p. 80-83. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
1 2 3 4 5 6 The South African Railways - Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, pp. 12-13.
1 2 3 4 Heritage Portal: The Port Alfred to Grahamstown Railway
1 2 3 Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1943). The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter II - The Cape Government Railways (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, November 1943. pp. 811-812, 818.
↑ The Port Alfred Kowie Railway 1883-1913

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Locomotives of the Cape of Good Hope

7' ¼" gauge	East London 0-4-0 Table Bay 0-4-0ST Table Bay 0-4-0T Table Bay 0-4-0WT

4' 8½" gauge	Cape 0-4-0T Cape 0-4-2 Cape 2-4-0T CGR 0-4-0ST Aid

3' 6" gauge	CGR 0-4-0ST 1873 CGR 0-4-0ST 1874 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot CGR 0-6-0ST 1902 CGR 0-6-0T 1876 Back-to-Back 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 2-6-0 1876 Beyer, Peacock 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 2-6-0ST 1876 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0 1879 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T 1875 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0TT 1881 CGR 2nd Class 2-6-2TT CGR 2nd Class 4-4-0T CGR 3rd Class 2-6-0T 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 1884 CGR 5th Class 1890 CGR 5th Class 1891 CGR 6th Class 1893 CGR 6th Class 1896 CGR 6th Class 1897 CGR 6th Class 1898 CGR 6th Class 1900 CGR 6th Class 1901 Baldwin CGR 6th Class 1901 Schenectady CGR 6th Class 1901 Neilson Reid CGR 6th Class 1902 CGR 6th Class 1904 CGR 6th Class 2-6-2 CGR 6th Class 2-6-4 CGR 7th Class 1892 CGR 7th Class 1896 CGR 7th Class 1902 CGR 8th Class 1901 CGR 8th Class 1902 CGR 8th Class 2-8-0 1903 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1903 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1903 Exp CGR 8th Class 2-8-0 1904 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1904 CGR 9th Class 1903 CGR 9th Class 1906 CGR 10th Class CGR Fairlie CGR Karoo 1903 CGR Karoo 1904 CGR Karoo Compound CGR Kitson-Meyer CGR Mountain 4-8-2 CGR Railmotor CGR Tandem Compound 1902 CGR Tandem Compound 1903 Kowie Railway 0-6-0T Kowie Railway 4-4-0T Metropolitan & Suburban 4-6-2T NCCR 7th Class 1899 NCCR 7th Class 1913 Port Elizabeth 0-4-0ST

2' 6" gauge	Cape Copper 0-6-0T 1871 Cape Copper Britannia Cape Copper Caledonia Cape Copper Clara Class Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Class Namaqua Copper Pioneer

2' gauge	CGR Baldwin 2-6-0 CGR NG 0-4-0T CGR NG 0-6-0T CGR NG 4-6-2T CGR Type A CGR Type B CGR Type C

List of South African locomotive classes South African locomotive history

Locomotives of South Africa

Steam

7' ¼" gauge	East London Harbour 0-4-0 Table Bay Harbour 0-4-0ST Table Bay Harbour 0-4-0T Table Bay Harbour 0-4-0WT

4' 8½" 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

3' 6" gauge Tank engines	CGR 0-4-0ST 1873 CGR 0-4-0ST 1874 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot CGR 0-6-0ST 1902 CGR 0-6-0T 1876 Back-to-Back 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 1876 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T 1875 CGR 2nd Class 4-4-0T 1882 CGR 3rd Class 2-6-0T CGR Railmotor CSAR Class C CSAR Class E CSAR Rack CSAR Railmotor DSWA Eight-Coupled Tank 2-8-0T Durban's Congella Durban's Edward Innes Durban's John Milne Durban's Sir Albert Port Elizabeth Harbour 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 0-4-0ST 1903 SAR 0-4-0T no. 69 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 Clayton

3' 6" gauge Tender engines	CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Beyer, Peacock 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 1879 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0TT 1881 CGR 2nd Class 2-6-2TT 1875 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 1884 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1890 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1891 DSWA Eight-Coupled Tender 2-8-0 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 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

3' 6" 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 0-6-0T 1871 Cape Copper Britannia Cape Copper Caledonia Cape Copper Clara Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Namaqua Copper Pioneer

2' & 600mm gauges	ACR Class NG-G16A CGR NG 0-6-0T CGR NG 4-6-2T CGR Type A 2-6-4T CGR Type C 0-4-0T DSWA Class Ha DSWA Class Hb DSWA Class Hc DSWA Class Hd DSWA Jung DSWA Zwillinge NGR Class N 4-6-2T SAR Dutton SAR NG 0-4-0T 1899 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

Electric

Amcoal Class E38

Gas-electric

Gas-electric

Diesel

3' 6" 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 SAR Class 36-000 SAR Class 36-200 SAR Class 37-000 Spoornet Class 39-000 TFR Class 35-800 TFR Class 39-200 TFR Class 43-000 TFR Class 44-000

2' gauge Diesel-electric	SAR Class 91-000

3' 6" gauge Diesel-hydraulic	SAR Class 61-000

3' 6" gauge Electro-diesel	Spoornet Class 38-000

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