South African Class 6E

This article is about the South African electric locomotive. For the steam locomotive, see South African Class 6E 4-6-0.

No. E1221 approaching Bellville station, Cape Town, 1 September 2006

Type and origin
Power type	Electric
Designer	Union Carriage and Wagon
Builder	Union Carriage and Wagon
Model	UCW 6E
Build date	1970
Total produced	82

Specifications
AAR wheel arr	B-B
UIC class	Bo'Bo'
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Wheel diameter	1,220 mm (48.0 in)
Wheelbase	11,279 mm (37 ft 0.1 in)
• Bogie	3,430 mm (11 ft 3.0 in)
Pivot centres	7,849 mm (25 ft 9.0 in)
Panto shoes	6,972 mm (22 ft 10.5 in)
Length:
• Over couplers	15,494 mm (50 ft 10.0 in)
• Body	14,631 mm (48 ft 0 in)
Width	2,896 mm (9 ft 6.0 in)
Height:
• Pantograph	4,089 mm (13 ft 5.0 in)
• Body height	3,937 mm (12 ft 11.0 in)
Axle load	22,226 kg (49,000 lb)
Adhesive weight	88,904 kg (196,000 lb)
Loco weight	88,904 kg (196,000 lb)
Power supply	Catenary
Current collection	Pantographs
Traction motors	Four AEI-283AZ
• Rating 1 hour	623 kW (835 hp)
• Continuous	563 kW (755 hp)
Gear ratio	18:67
Loco brake	Air & Regenerative
Train brakes	Air & Vacuum
Couplers	AAR knuckle

Performance figures
Maximum speed	113 km/h (70 mph)
Power output:
• 1 hour	2,492 kW (3,342 hp)
• Continuous	2,252 kW (3,020 hp)
Tractive effort:
• Starting	311 kN (70,000 lbf)
• 1 hour	221 kN (50,000 lbf)
• Continuous	193 kN (43,000 lbf) @ 40 km/h (25 mph)

Career
Operators	South African Railways Iscor Spoornet Transnet Freight Rail
Class	Class 6E
Power class	3 kV DC
Number in class	82
Numbers	SAR E1146-E1225 Iscor F221.01-F221.02
Delivered	1970-1971
First run	1970

The South African Railways Class 6E of 1970 is an electric locomotive.

In 1970 and 1971, the South African Railways placed eighty Class 6E mainline electric locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement in service. Two more were built for Iscor, for use at the Sishen iron ore mine.^[1]

Manufacturer

The 3 kV DC Class 6E electric locomotive was designed and built for the South African Railways (SAR) in 1970 by Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) in Nigel, Transvaal, with the electrical equipment supplied by Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) and English Electric (EE).^[2]^[3]

Operators

South African Railways

Eighty locomotives were delivered to the SAR in 1970 and 1971, numbered in the range from E1146 to E1225. UCW did not allocate builder’s or works numbers to the locomotives it built for the SAR, but used the SAR unit numbers for their record keeping.^[1]

Sishen iron ore mine

In 1970, two Class 6E locomotives were also built new by UCW for Iscor (now Kumba), for use at the Sishen Iron Ore Mine in the Northern Cape. Numbered Iscor F221.01 and F221.02, these two were allocated UCW works numbers 6E.58 and 6E.59 respectively.^[2]

Orientation

These dual cab locomotives have a roof access ladder on one side only, just to the right of the cab access door. The roof access ladder end is marked as the no. 2 end. A corridor along the centre of the locomotive connects the cabs, which are identical, apart from the fact that the handbrake is located in cab 2. A pantograph hook stick is stowed in a tube mounted below the lower edge of the locomotive body, on the roof access ladder side. The locomotive has three small panels along the lower half of the body on the roof access ladder side, and only one panel on the opposite side.^[1]

Identifying features

In respect of body dimensions and shape, the Class 6E locomotive is identical to the last batch of Class 5E1, Series 5 locomotives, with their squared body corners. The most obvious visual external difference from the Class 5E1, is the replacement of the three small vertically arranged grilles, to the right of centre on each side of the Class 5E and Class 5E1, with a larger double grille on the Class 6E. In respect of the coachwork, the Class 6E is identical to its immediate predecessor, the Class 6E1, Series 1, while its bogies are identical to those of the Class 5E1.^[1]

Characteristics

Compared to the Class 5E1, the Class 6E had improved traction motors, particularly with regard to the insulation of the windings. This resulted in a continuous power output of 563 kilowatts (755 horsepower) per traction motor and a total continuous power output of 2,252 kilowatts (3,020 horsepower) per locomotive, compared to the 364 kilowatts (488 horsepower) per traction motor and 1,456 kilowatts (1,953 horsepower) total of the Class 5E1.^[4]

To ensure the maximum transfer of power to the rails without causing wheel-slip with these more powerful traction motors, the Class 6E was built with carefully designed weight transfer air bellows between the bogies and the frames, which reduced the adhesion of the leading bogie and increased that of the trailing bogie by as much as 15% upon starting off. This feature was controlled by electronic wheel-slip detection devices and an electric weight transfer relay, which reduced the anchor current to the leading bogie by as much as 50A in notches 2 to 16.^[4]^[5]

Operation

Startup

When there is no compressed air in the locomotive's system to raise a pantograph to start up, a pantograph hook stick is used to manually raise the pantograph. This starts the high voltage motor which drives the auxiliary alternator, to supply 110V power to start the compressor and power other control circuits. Once there is enough main air pressure to keep the pantograph in the raised position, the pantograph hook stick can be dropped.^[6]

The locomotive is controlled via resistors, over which the voltage is dropped in a configuration of series and parallel electrical circuits. The circuit breakers which switch these circuits, work under very high power and voltage and are therefore all pneumatically operated, for insulation purposes. Compressed air is required to open or close the switch actions and air is also used for the weakfield cam switch, which also switches under very high currents.^[6]

Running

Upon starting off and in the low notches, the major part of the voltage is dropped over the banks of resistors and all four traction motors are in series.^[6] The blowers which accelerate the dissipation of heat in the resistor banks, give the Class 6E its very distinctive sound, a deep and loud whine when power is applied.^[5]

As the driver notches up, some of the resistor banks are cut out via the pneumatically operated switches and the voltage increases across the traction motors. The more resistors which are cut out as the driver notches higher, the more power is developed by the traction motors. At around 22 to 28 kilometres per hour (14 to 17 miles per hour), the locomotive switches to a parallel combination, where the two traction motors per bogie are in series electrical circuit, while the two bogies are in parallel electrical circuit. Eventually, when all resistors are cut out, the locomotive is operating in full-field.^[6]

When the traction motors are operated in full-field, be it in series or parallel mode, they are performing at maximum power for normal operation. To increase the speed at this point, if necessary, higher power output is required from the traction motors. The only way to increase power is to force a higher current flow. To accomplish this, the weakfield cam switch switches resistance in parallel with the field coils, which reduces the overall resistance of the field coils. This increases the magnetic flux, and more power is generated by the traction motors over short periods.^[6]

Brakes

The locomotive itself used air brakes, but it was equipped to operate trains with air or vacuum brakes. The brake system would be set up for either air or vacuum train working by means of a turning switch on the driver's brake valve and by pre-setting the appropriate brake valves in the passage.

While hauling a vacuum braked train, the locomotive's air brake system would be disabled and the train would be controlled by using the train brakes alone to slow down and stop. While hauling an air braked train, on the other hand, the locomotive brakes would engage along with the train brakes. While working either type of train downgrade, the locomotive's regenerative braking system would also work in conjunction with the train brakes.

Unlike the Classes 5E and 5E1, whose air brakes could be applied independently on each bogie when the locomotive was stopped, the air brakes on both bogies would be applied together on the Classes 6E and 6E1. The handbrake or parking brake, located in Cab no. 2, only operated on the unit's last axle, or no. 7 and 8 wheels.

Unofficial renumbering

In the SAR and Spoornet eras, when the official liveries were Gulf Red and yellow whiskers for the SAR, and initially orange and later maroon for Spoornet, many selected electric locomotives and some diesel-electrics were painted blue, for use with the Blue Train, but without altering the layout of the various paint schemes. Blue Train locomotives were therefore blue with yellow whiskers in the SAR era, blue with the Spoornet logo and "SPOORNET" in Spoornet’s orange era, and blue with the Spoornet logo, but without "SPOORNET", in Spoornet’s maroon era. Later, in Spoornet’s blue era, there was no need for a separate Blue Train livery, while in the Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) era, one Class 14E and the surviving Class 14E1 electric locomotives were eventually repainted in blue during 2012, for use with the Blue Train.^[2]^[7]^[8]

The Cape Western region usually had eight electric locomotives in a blue livery on its roster, to be used with the Blue Train when required. When the Cape Western’s Class 5E1s in Blue Train service were withdrawn from mainline passenger service during the 1990s, eight Class 6E1, Series 8 locomotives, numbers E1950 to E1957, were painted blue with whiskers for use with the Blue Train. After four of these blue Class 6E1 locomotives were damaged in a collision between two Trans Karoo passenger trains at Gouda in April 1997, the Bellville Depot was authorised to repaint eight Class 6E locomotives in Spoornet’s orange era Blue Train livery. The authorisation was given for numbers E1171 to E1178.^[2]^[4]

In the process three locomotives, which were considered to be "better" candidates, numbers E1146, E1157 and E1223, unofficially exchanged unit numbers with numbers E1172, E1177 and E1174 respectively. The evidence of the unofficial number change was still visible, years later, in the slightly different shade of orange around the numbers on the sides of the orange numbers E1146, E1157 and E1223, as illustrated.^[2]

No. E1172 as no. E1146, Bellville Depot, 28 March 2009
No. E1174 as no. E1223, Stikland, Cape Town, 29 March 2006
No. E1177 as no. E1157, Beaufort West, 1 May 2006

Illustration

The Class 6Es for the SAR were delivered in the Gulf Red livery with yellow whiskers, but all of them have since been repainted in various Spoornet liveries. The main picture shows no. E1221 in the Spoornet orange livery, while other liveries which were applied to Class 6E locomotives are illustrated below. No Class 6E locomotive ever served in the older SAR blue and whiskers livery for the Blue Train and no. E1220, as shown here, was painted in that livery only after it was scrapped and its shell was converted to a braai facility at the Bellville locomotive depot.^[2]

No. E1220’s shell, repainted in SAR blue and whiskers livery and used as a clubhouse at Bellville Depot, 28 March 2009
No. E1169 in Spoornet’s lined orange livery at Centurion, Pretoria, Gauteng, 30 September 2009
No. E1175 in Spoornet’s orange era Blue Train livery, approaching Bellville, Cape Town, 19 March 2007
No. E1213 in Spoornet’s maroon livery at Koedoespoort, Gauteng, 9 October 2009

References

1 2 3 4 South African Railways Index and Diagrams Electric and Diesel Locomotives, 610mm and 1065mm Gauges, Ref LXD 14/1/100/20, 28 January 1975, as amended
1 2 3 4 5 6 Middleton, John N. (2002). Railways of Southern Africa Locomotive Guide - 2002 (as amended by Combined Amendment List 4, January 2009) (2nd, Dec 2002 ed.). Herts, England: Beyer-Garratt Publications. pp. 54, 63.
↑ "UCW - Electric locomotives" (PDF). The UCW Partnership. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
1 2 3 Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 128–129. ISBN 0869772112.
1 2 Dulez, Jean A. (2012). Railways of Southern Africa 150 Years (Commemorating One Hundred and Fifty Years of Railways on the Sub-Continent - Complete Motive Power Classifications and Famous Trains - 1860-2011) (1st ed.). Garden View, Johannesburg, South Africa: Vidrail Productions. p. 295. ISBN 9 780620 512282.
1 2 3 4 5 Operation - South African Classes 6E, 6E1, 16E, 17E and 18E
↑ E1973 in blue based on orange livery
↑ E1951 in blue based on maroon livery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South African Class 6E.

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 Railmotor

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 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 Red Devil

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 Class Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Class 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 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

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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