_ex_CGR.jpg/2000px-SAR_Class_6L_(4-6-0)_ex_CGR.jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
South African Class 6L 4-6-0
The South African Railways Class 6L 4-6-0 of 1904 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1904, the Cape Government Railways placed its last two 6th Class 4-6-0 bar-framed steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and designated Class 6L.
The Cape Government Railways (CGR) placed its last order for two 6th Class locomotives with Neilson, Reid and Company in 1903. In that same year, Scottish locomotive builders Sharp, Stewart and Company and Dübs and Company merged with Neilson, Reid to form the North British Locomotive Company (NBL). The two locomotives, Neilson, Reid works numbers 6324 and 6323 and built at the Hyde Park works of the former Neilson, Reid, were therefore delivered with NBL works numbers 15889 and 15888.
The two locomotives in this order were experimental and were the first South African locomotives to be built with superheaters and piston valves with internal admission. Like other second generation 6th Class locomotives with bar frames, they had high running boards with no need for driving wheel fairings. The two locomotives were delivered in 1904, numbered 909 and 910 for the Western System of the CGR.
The pistons, with a bore of 18.5 inches (470 millimetres), were the largest yet used on the 6th Class. The piston valves, arranged above the cylinders, were cast iron, 6 inches (152 millimetres) in diameter and actuated by Stephenson Link motion through rocking shafts. The balance weight was replaced by a compression spring encased in a cast-steel cylinder.
A pressure relief valve was fitted to the cylinder covers and snifting valves were fitted to the steam chests. Lubrication of the cylinders and piston valves was by means of a Ritter six-piston oil press, which was arranged in the cab at the right hand side of the engine and actuated from the trailing crank pin.
The boiler barrel was telescopic in form, with the larger diameter adjacent to the firebox. The front portion of the firebox was supported from the shell by means of partial girder stays, fitted with expansion links. The remaining portion was supported by through stays, each partially encased in an iron tube filled with cement. The stays in the sides, the tubeplates and backplate were copper, while the 158 tubes were iron.
These locomotives were the first engines to be built in Britain with a Schmidt superheater, which was of the smokebox type and consisted of 61 solid drawn-steel tubes. The superheater tubes were encased in a box which was built up of thin steel plates, adapted to the shape of the outer series of tubes, and ended at the steam collector box in two narrow vertical dampers. The whole superheater occupied two-thirds of the total length of the smokebox. To ensure that the superheater tubes received ample heat, a large flue of 10+3⁄4 inches (273 millimetres) diameter was installed in the lower part of the boiler between the firebox and the front tube plate, where it connected to the casing of the superheater.
Hub AI
South African Class 6L 4-6-0 AI simulator
(@South African Class 6L 4-6-0_simulator)
South African Class 6L 4-6-0
The South African Railways Class 6L 4-6-0 of 1904 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1904, the Cape Government Railways placed its last two 6th Class 4-6-0 bar-framed steam locomotives in service. In 1912, when they were assimilated into the South African Railways, they were renumbered and designated Class 6L.
The Cape Government Railways (CGR) placed its last order for two 6th Class locomotives with Neilson, Reid and Company in 1903. In that same year, Scottish locomotive builders Sharp, Stewart and Company and Dübs and Company merged with Neilson, Reid to form the North British Locomotive Company (NBL). The two locomotives, Neilson, Reid works numbers 6324 and 6323 and built at the Hyde Park works of the former Neilson, Reid, were therefore delivered with NBL works numbers 15889 and 15888.
The two locomotives in this order were experimental and were the first South African locomotives to be built with superheaters and piston valves with internal admission. Like other second generation 6th Class locomotives with bar frames, they had high running boards with no need for driving wheel fairings. The two locomotives were delivered in 1904, numbered 909 and 910 for the Western System of the CGR.
The pistons, with a bore of 18.5 inches (470 millimetres), were the largest yet used on the 6th Class. The piston valves, arranged above the cylinders, were cast iron, 6 inches (152 millimetres) in diameter and actuated by Stephenson Link motion through rocking shafts. The balance weight was replaced by a compression spring encased in a cast-steel cylinder.
A pressure relief valve was fitted to the cylinder covers and snifting valves were fitted to the steam chests. Lubrication of the cylinders and piston valves was by means of a Ritter six-piston oil press, which was arranged in the cab at the right hand side of the engine and actuated from the trailing crank pin.
The boiler barrel was telescopic in form, with the larger diameter adjacent to the firebox. The front portion of the firebox was supported from the shell by means of partial girder stays, fitted with expansion links. The remaining portion was supported by through stays, each partially encased in an iron tube filled with cement. The stays in the sides, the tubeplates and backplate were copper, while the 158 tubes were iron.
These locomotives were the first engines to be built in Britain with a Schmidt superheater, which was of the smokebox type and consisted of 61 solid drawn-steel tubes. The superheater tubes were encased in a box which was built up of thin steel plates, adapted to the shape of the outer series of tubes, and ended at the steam collector box in two narrow vertical dampers. The whole superheater occupied two-thirds of the total length of the smokebox. To ensure that the superheater tubes received ample heat, a large flue of 10+3⁄4 inches (273 millimetres) diameter was installed in the lower part of the boiler between the firebox and the front tube plate, where it connected to the casing of the superheater.