South West African Class Hb

DSWA Class Hb 0-6-2T
South West African Class Hb 0-6-2T

Class Hb no. 61 with optional coal and water tender and dust covers to protect the motion, c. 1930
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Designer Henschel and Son
Builder Henschel and Son
Serial number 7298-7300/1905, 7623-7626/1906, 7740-7745/1908, 8610-8611/1907
Model Class Hb
Build date 1905-1908
Total produced 15
Specifications
Configuration 0-6-2T
Gauge 600 mm (1 ft 11 58 in) narrow gauge
Driver diameter 33 78 in (860 mm)
Wheelbase 6 ft 4 12 in (1,943 mm) coupled
13 ft 3 12 in (4,051 mm) engine
Length 25 ft 34 in (7,639 mm)
Width 7 ft 2 12 in (2,197 mm)
Height 10 ft 6 in (3,200 mm)
Adhesive weight 17.7 long tons (18.0 t)
Loco weight 22 620 long tons (22.7 t) w/o
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity 0.6 long tons (0.6 t)
Water cap 220 imp gal (1,000 l; 260 US gal)
Firebox:
  Firegrate area
11.2 sq ft (1.041 m2)
Boiler 4 ft 7 12 in (1,410 mm) pitch
Boiler pressure 171 psi (1,180 kPa)
Cylinders Two
Cylinder size 320 mm (13 in) bore
450 mm (18 in) stroke
Valve gear Allan
Performance figures
Tractive effort 10,263 lbf (46 kN) at 75% pressure
Career
Operators Otavi Mining and Railway Company
South African Railways
Class Otavi Class Hb
Number in class 15
Numbers 51-65
Delivered 1905-1908
First run 1905

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The South West African Class Hb 0-6-2T of 1905 is a narrow gauge steam locomotive from the Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika era.

Between 1905 and 1908 the German Administration in Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika, now Namibia, acquired fifteen Class Hb tank locomotives with a 0-6-2 wheel arrangement for the Otavi Mining and Railway Company. Six of these locomotives survived to be taken onto the roster of the South African Railways after World War I.[1]

Manufacturer

Between 1905 and 1908 fifteen 600 millimetres (23.6 inches) narrow gauge 0-6-2 tank and tank-and-tender steam locomotives were built for the German Administration in Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika (DSWA) by Henschel and Son in Germany. They were designated Class Hb and numbered in the range from 51 to 65. The locomotives were leased to the Otavi Mining and Railway Company that operated a narrow gauge railway across the Namib Desert between Tsumeb and Swakopmund.[1][2]

Characteristics

The locomotives used Allan valve gear and were equipped with dust covers to protect the motion from wind-blown sand in the Namib Desert. The "Hb" classification identified the locomotive type as the second class to have been built for DSWA by Henschel. They were delivered in four batches.[1][2]

South African Railways

During World War I the former German Colony came under South African administration and the railways in DSWA came under control of the Union Defence Forces. Control of all railway operations in South West Africa (SWA) was passed on from the Military to the Director of Railways in Windhoek on 1 August 1915. On 1 April 1922 all the railway lines and rolling stock in the territory became part of the South African Railways (SAR).[1]

Class Hb without side tanks, c. 1930

Six of these locomotives, numbers 51, 54, 56, 61, 62 and 65, survived into the SAR era. They retained the German Colonial Hb classification and engine numbers while in SAR service.[1][3]

Photographic evidence, as shown alongside, suggests that at some stage, probably in the SAR era, the side tanks on some or all of the remaining locomotives were removed.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 116. ISBN 0869772112.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Henschel-Lieferliste (Henschel & Son works list), compiled by Dietmar Stresow
  3. 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. 235. ISBN 9 780620 512282.
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