The South African Railways Class 8 4-8-0 of 1902 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1902 and 1903, the Cape Government Railways placed 23 8th Class steam locomotives with a Mastodon type wheel arrangement in service, three on the Cape Western System, eight on the Cape Midland System and twelve on the Cape Eastern System. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered, but retained their Class 8 classification.Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer's Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 8, 12, 15, 39-40 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000)

Manufacture Evolution

The first 8th Class locomotives of the Cape Government Railways (CGR) were Consolidation types, designed by H.M. Beatty, the Chief Locomotive Superintendent of the CGR from 1896 to 1910. They entered service in 1901 and were later to become the South African Railways (SAR) Class 8X.

While these first Schenectady and ALCO-built locomotives were being subjected to exhaustive testing on all types of traffic and under varying conditions, some trouble was experienced with the leading two-wheeled pony truck. When designs were prepared at Salt River for a later order for more locomotives, the pony truck was replaced with a four-wheeled bogie and the coupled wheelbase was shortened from to .

Manufacturer The 23 locomotives of 1902 and 1903 were the first 8th Class locomotives of the CGR to be built with a Mastodon type wheel arrangement. These locomotives were built by Neilson, Reid and Company in 1901 and 1902, and delivered in three batches in 1902 and 1903. In spite of the difference in wheel arrangement, these Mastodons and the earlier Consolidations of the CGR were all grouped together into the 8th Class.

They were conceived as mixed traffic locomotives, equally suitable for goods and passenger work. They had larger coupled wheels than the CGR 7th Class, bar frames, used saturated steam and had Stephenson valve gear. In service, it was found that the four-wheeled bogies and the shorter fixed wheelbase made them steadier and easier riding than their Consolidation predecessors.

Tenders The first batch of three locomotives, numbered in the range from 801 to 803, went to the CGR's Western System in 1902. They were delivered with Type XD tenders which had a coal capacity of and a water capacity of .Neilson, Reid works list, compiled by Austrian locomotive historian Bernhard Schmeiser

Of the second batch of ten locomotives which arrived in 1902, eight were numbered in the range from 358 to 365 and allocated to the Midland System, while the other two became numbers 771 and 772, allocated to the Eastern System. These engines were delivered with Type XE1 tenders which had a coal capacity of and a water capacity of .South African Railways & Harbours/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweë en Hawens (15 August 1941). Locomotive Diagram Book/Lokomotiefdiagramboek, 3'6" Gauge/Spoorwydte. SAR/SAS Mechanical Department/Werktuigkundige Dept. Drawing Office/Tekenkantoor, Pretoria. p. 43.South African Railways & Harbours/Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweë en Hawens (15 August 1941). Locomotive Diagram Book/Lokomotiefdiagramboek, 2'0" & 3'6" Gauge/Spoorwydte, Steam Locomotives/Stoomlokomotiewe. SAR/SAS Mechanical Department/Werktuigkundige Dept. Drawing Office/Tekenkantoor, Pretoria. pp. 6a-7a, 41, 43.

The last batch of ten locomotives, numbered in the range from 773 to 782, arrived in 1903 and all went to the Eastern System. These engines were delivered with Type XF tenders which also had a coal capacity of , but a water capacity of .

Class 8 sub-classes When the Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (CGR, Natal Government Railways and Central South African Railways) 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 were only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.The South African Railways – Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 25.

When these 23 locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways (SAR) in 1912, they were renumbered in the range from 1069 to 1091, but they retained their Class 8 classification.

The rest of the 8th Class Consolidations and Mastodons of the CGR, together with the Class 8-L1 to 8-L3 Mastodon locomotives of the Central South African Railways, were grouped into nine more different sub-classes by the SAR. The other locomotives became SAR Classes 8A to 8F and the 2-8-0 locomotives became Classes 8X to 8Z.

Modification During A.G. Watson's term as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the SAR from 1929 to 1936, many of the Class 8 to Class 8F locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers, larger bore cylinders and either inside or outside admission piston valves. The outside admission locomotives had their cylinder bore increased from to and retained their existing SAR Class 8 classifications, while the inside admission locomotives had their cylinder bore increased to and were reclassified by having a "W" suffix added to their existing SAR classification letters.

Of the Class 8 locomotives, five were equipped with superheated boilers, bore cylinders and outside admission piston valves, while retaining their Class 8 classification.

Four locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers, bore cylinders and inside admission piston valves and reclassified to Class 8W.

Service In SAR service, the Class 8 family of locomotives served on every system in the country and in the 1920s became the mainstay of motive power on many branch lines. From Volksrust in the Western Transvaal system, the Class 8 worked the link line to Bethal for several decades until the end of the 1950s, initially sharing their duties with some versions of the Class 6 family. In their last decade at Volksrust until mid-1961 they were increasingly used on standby and shunting duties while the 1948 batch of North British-built Class 19D locomotives were phased in. By 1972, they were all withdrawn from service.Soul of A Railway, System 7, Western Transvaal, based in Johannesburg, Part 12. South-Eastwards as far as Volksrust (Part 5) by Les Pivnic. Caption 35. (Accessed on 25 April 2017)

Preservation Only one member of this class survives, Class 8 no. 1090 formerly Cape Government Railways Eastern no. 781 is preserved under ownership of TRANSnet at Louis Trichaart Station.Sandstone Heritage Trust – 2017016 Locomotive status – January 2017. (Accessed on 13 December 2019)

Works numbers The Class 8 and Class 8W works numbers, renumbering and superheating modifications are shown in the table. +Neilson, Reid-built Class 8 & 8WWorks numbers, renumbering and modificationYearWorksNo.CGRNo.CGRSystemSARNo.SARModel1901 6111 801 Western1069 1901 6112 802 Western1070 Superheated1901 6113 803 Western1071 1902 6216 358 Midland1072 1902 6217 359 Midland1073 Class 8W1902 6218 360 Midland1074 Class 8W1902 6219 361 Midland1075 1902 6220 362 Midland1076 1902 6221 363 Midland1077 Class 8W1902 6222 364 Midland1078 Class 8W1902 6223 365 Midland1079 1902 6224 771 Eastern1080 1902 6225 772 Eastern1081 1902 6241 773 Eastern1082 Superheated1902 6242 774 Eastern1083 1902 6243 775 Eastern1084 1902 6244 776 Eastern1085 Superheated1902 6245 777 Eastern1086 Superheated1902 6246 778 Eastern1087 1902 6247 779 Eastern1088 Superheated1902 6248 780 Eastern1089 1902 6249 781 Eastern1090 1902 6250 782 Eastern1091

Illustration The main picture shows Class 8 no. 1088, ex CGR no. 779, at East London c. 1930, as built with slide valves, but with a rebuilt Type XF tender. The following pictures serve to illustrate the original slide valve configuration and the modified piston valve and superheating configuration.

References