Namaqualand 0-4-2IST Caledonia

The Cape Copper Company 0-4-2IST Caledonia of 1904 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Namaqualand 0-4-2IST Caledonia
Cape Copper Company 0-4-2IST Caledonia, c. 1904
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerDick, Kerr & Company
BuilderDick, Kerr & Company
Build date1904
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte0-4-2IST
 • UICB1n2t
Driver2nd coupled axle
Gauge2 ft 6 in (762 mm) Namaqualand
Loco weight9 LT 10 cwt (9,652 kg)
Fuel typeOil
Firebox:
 • TypeRound-top
Boiler:
 • TypeDomeless
Safety valveRamsbottom
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size7 in (178 mm) bore
12 in (305 mm) stroke
Valve gearMorton
CouplersBuffers-and-chain
Career
OperatorsCape Copper Company
South African Copper Company
O'okiep Copper Company
Number in class1
Numbers11
Official nameCaledonia
DeliveredJune 1904
First run1904

In 1904, a single 0-4-2IST locomotive was placed in service by the Cape Copper Company as a shunting engine at O'okiep in Namaqualand in the Cape of Good Hope.[1]

Namaqualand Railway

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The Namaqualand Railway was constructed between 1869 and 1876 by the Cape Copper Mining Company, restructured as the Cape Copper Company in 1888. The line from Port Nolloth on the West Coast to the copper mines around O'okiep was initially exclusively mule-powered, but in 1871 the first steam locomotives named John King and Miner were acquired by the mining company. They were followed between 1886 and 1888 by three [[Namaqualand 0-4-0WT Condenser|0-4-0WT condensing locomotives]] and between 1890 and 1901 by seven 0-6-2 Clara Class and Scotia Class Mountain type tender locomotives.[1][2]

The Caledonia

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In 1904, a single 0-4-2IST locomotive named Caledonia was acquired from Dick, Kerr & Company of Kilmarnock in Scotland. On a saddle-tank locomotive the water tank is mounted astride the locomotive's boiler, while on the much less common inverted saddle-tank locomotive, the boiler is nested in the water tank. The locomotive was an oil-burner and used outside mounted Morton's valve gear. Apart from being named, it was also numbered 11 on the Cape Copper Company locomotive roster.[1]

The locomotive was landed at Port Nolloth in June 1904. On 28 June it entered service on trial running and on 20 July 1904 it was allocated to O'okiep, where it relieved the mules from shunting work. At times it appears to have been returned to Port Nolloth to work there, probably as the workload at the port demanded.[1]

Illustration

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Bagshawe, Peter (2012). Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and Copper Mines (1st ed.). Stenvalls. pp. 25–27, 40. ISBN 978-91-7266-179-0.
  2. ^ The South African Railways - Historical Survey. Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd., Published c. 1978, p. 16.