Namaqualand 0-6-2 Clara Class
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 Cape Copper Company no. 4 Clara, c. 1890 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Namaqualand 0-6-2 Clara Class of 1890 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
Between 1890 and 1898, four tender locomotives with a 0-6-2 wheel arrangement were placed in service by the Cape Copper Company on its two-foot six-inch gauge Namaqualand Railway between Port Nolloth and O'okiep in the Cape of Good Hope. Acquired to meet the traffic needs of the upper mountainous section of the railway, they became known as the Mountain type. The first three of these locomotives were later described as the Clara Class, while the fourth was included in this Class by some and included in the subsequent Scotia Class by others.[1]
The Namaqualand Railway was constructed between 1869 and 1876 by the Cape Copper Mining Company, restructured as the Cape Copper Company in 1888. The 93+1⁄2-mile-long (150-kilometre) railway from Port Nolloth on the West Coast to the copper mines around O'okiep was initially exclusively mule-powered, but in 1871 two 0-6-0T locomotives named John King and Miner were acquired by the mining company on an experimental basis. They were followed between 1886 and 1888 by three 0-4-0WT condensing locomotives.[1][2]
The Mountain locomotives
In the early years when most of the traffic on the railway was still mule-powered, the high-grade copper ore with an average copper content of 20% was hand-sorted to make its transport to the coast as economical as possible. By 1867, the first smelter was opened at the mines to further reduce the tonnage which needed to be carried to the coast, and coke for the smelter began to be carried on the return journeys.[1]
As smelting capacity at the mines increased, tonnages of coke from the coast to the mine increased and the mules could no longer cope. To meet the needs of the upper mountainous section of the railway, Kitson and Company supplied a powerful 0-6-2 tender locomotive in 1890. Another engine entered service in 1892, and a third in 1893. These locomotives were numbered in the range from 4 to 6 and were named Clara, Marie and James Kitson respectively.[1]
A fourth locomotive was delivered from Kitson in August 1898, numbered 7 and named Albion. It differed from the first three locomotives in some respects, mainly its shorter boiler, longer firebox and a larger firegrate area.[1]
Like their predecessor condensing locomotives, these tender locomotives were equipped with sheet-metal casing above and below the running boards. This was to protect the motion and bearings as well as working parts of the J. Hawthorn-Kitson valve gear above the running boards from wind-blown sand. The bottom encasement was hinged to allow easy access to the motion. The engines all had copper boilers.[1]
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