South West African Class Hb
Class Hb no. 61 with optional coal and water tender and dust covers to protect the motion, c. 1930 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
- The first three locomotives were delivered in 1905, with works numbers in the range from 7298 to 7300 and numbered in the range from 51 to 53.[2]
- Four more followed in 1906, with works numbers in the range from 7623 to 7626 and numbered in the range from 54 to 57.[2]
- Two arrived in 1907, with works numbers 8610 and 8611 and numbered 64 and 65.[2]
- Six were delivered in 1908, with works numbers in the range from 7740 to 7745 and numbered in the range from 58 to 63. These last six locomotives were delivered as tank-and-tender engines, equipped with optional coal and water tenders.[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]
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 2 3 4 5 Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 116. ISBN 0869772112.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Henschel-Lieferliste (Henschel & Son works list), compiled by Dietmar Stresow
- ↑ 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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