South African Class NG G12 2-6-2+2-6-2
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.jpg) Class NG G12 no. 57, c. 1930 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The South African Railways Class NG G12 2-6-2+2-6-2 of 1927 was an articulated narrow-gauge steam locomotive.
In 1927, the South African Railways (SAR) placed two Class NG G12 Garratt articulated 2-6-2+2-6-2 steam locomotives in service. They were the smallest Garratt locomotives to see service in South Africa.[1][2][3]
The five Class NG G11 Garratt narrow-gauge locomotives which had been placed in service on the Avontuur line in the Langkloof and the Stuartstown line in Natal between 1919 and 1925 had met with success. As a result, F.R. Collins, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South African Railways (SAR), decided to acquire a smaller Garratt type for two new light-rail narrow-gauge branch lines which were completed in 1926. In 1927, an orders was placed with Beyer, Peacock & Company for the design and construction of two lightweight narrow-gauge 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt locomotives.[1][3]
Beyer, Peacock sub-contracted their construction and the two locomotives were delivered by the Belgian locomotive builders Société Franco-Belge in November 1927. They were allocated separate works numbers by Beyer, Peacock as well as Franco-Belge and were numbered NG56 and NG57 upon delivery.[1][2][4][5]
Characteristics
The locomotives were superheated, with outside plate frames, Walschaerts valve gear, inclined cylinders, piston valves and round-topped fireboxes. Designed for light 20 pounds per yard (9.9 kilograms per metre) rail, their lightness of construction made them popular with the fitters who had to maintain them.[1][3]
Classification
The system of grouping narrow-gauge locomotives into classes was only adopted by the SAR somewhere between 1928 and 1930 and, at that point, these two locomotives were designated Class NG G12, with the letters "NG" indicating narrow gauge and the "G" prefix to the classification number identifying it as a Garratt locomotive.[2][3]
