Natal Railway 0-4-0ST Durban
NGR 0-4-0ST Durban
Natal Railway Company's 0-4-0ST Durban
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerKitson and Company
BuilderKitson and Company
Serial number1271
Build dateEx works 25 March 1865
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte0-4-0ST
 • UICBn2t
Driver2nd coupled axle
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Broader than the traditional
3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Coupled dia.48 in (1,219 mm)
Wheelbase7 ft 2 in (2,184 mm)
Length:
​
 • Over couplers18 ft 8+3⁄4 in (5,709 mm)
Fuel typeCoal
Firebox:​
 • TypeRound-top
 • Grate area9.27 sq ft (0.861 m2)
Boiler:
​
 • TypeDomeless
 • Pitch5 ft 5 in (1,651 mm)
 • Diameter3 ft (914 mm)
 • Tube plates10 ft 6 in (3,200 mm)
 • Small tubes98: 2 in (51 mm)
Heating surface606 sq ft (56.3 m2) ​
 • Tubes552 sq ft (51.3 m2)
 • Firebox55 sq ft (5.1 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size12 in (305 mm) bore
18 in (457 mm) stroke
Valve gearStephenson
CouplersBuffers-and-chain
Career
OperatorsNatal Railway Company
Natal Government Railways
Number in class1
Official nameDurban
Delivered1865
First run1865

The Natal Railway 0-4-0ST Durban of 1865 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Natal Colony.

In 1865, the Natal Railway Company acquired an 0-4-0ST locomotive. This was the Natal Railway's second locomotive and was named Durban.[1][2]

Manufacturer

The second locomotive to be placed in service by the Natal Railway Company in Durban was an 0-4-0ST engine named Durban. It was built by Kitson and Company and left the Kitson shops on 25 March 1865, with works number 1271. The locomotive arrived in Durban on 4 August 1865, on board the White Cross Line vessel Actaea.[2][3]

As built, the locomotive had an open cab area with a spectacle-type weatherboard as only protection for the crew against the elements. It is not known whether the engine was equipped with an enclosed cab post-delivery. It had a domeless boiler which took steam from the steam space above the firebox, with a sandbox mounted atop the boiler.[4]

Service

Natal Railway Company

For the next ten years, the entire locomotive fleet of the Natal Railway Company consisted of this locomotive and the engine Natal. By 25 January 1867, the original 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) line between Market Square in Durban and Point station at Durban harbour, had only been extended by a further 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometres) to Umgeni. From there stone, quarried from the Umgeni River, was transported to the harbour. No further railway development took place and the locomotive fleet was only expanded to three in January 1876, upon the arrival of the engine Perseverance, a 4-4-0T locomotive.[1][5][6]

Natal Government Railways

In 1875, the Natal Government Railways (NGR) was established. All the assets of the Natal Railway Company were taken over by the Colonial Government and became part of the NGR with effect from 1 January 1877.[1][6]

Since the Natal Government had decided to implement Cape gauge in conformance with the railways in the Cape of Good Hope and to extend the lines inland to Pietermaritzburg, up the north coast to Verulam and down the south coast to Isipingo, the existing tracks were regauged and the railway service life of two of the three locomotives came to an end.[5][6][7]

The engine Natal was sold to a farmer, while the still new engine Perseverance was converted for use as a stationary engine and employed to drive the sawmill machinery in the Durban workshops. It is possible, but not confirmed, that the saddle-tank locomotive Durban was regauged to Cape gauge and retained in service.[1][5]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natal Railway 0-4-0ST Durban.
  1. 1 2 3 4 Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
  2. 1 2 It's a Puzzlement, Article by Bruno Martin, SA Rail December 1990, pp. 214-215.
  3. ↑ Kitson works list, compiled by Reg Carter, November 1997
  4. ↑ New Light on Early Natal Locomotives, Article by Donald Bell & A.E. Durrant, SA Rail September-October 1994, pp. 164-166.
  5. 1 2 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. pp. 19–20. ISBN 9 780620 512282.
  6. 1 2 3 The South African Railways - Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, pp. 5-8, 18.
  7. ↑ Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1944). The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter III - Natal Government Railways. South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, May 1944. p. 337.
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