page_title: 2-8-0
section_title: South Africa
hierarchical_section_title: 2-8-0 / Usage / South Africa
caption_attribution_description: English: SAR Class Exp 3 909 (2-8-0), ex CGR 839 tandem compound locomotive
context_page_description: Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation, after the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad’s Consolidation, the name of the first 2-8-0.
  The Consolidation represented a notable advance in locomotive power. After 1875, it became "the most popular type of freight locomotive in the United States and was built in greater quantities than any other single wheel arrangement."
context_section_description: Five 2-8-0 locomotive classes saw service in South Africa, all of them initially acquired by the Cape Government Railways (CGR), which classified all but two as 8th Class. All of them were variations on the same design, used saturated steam, and had cylinders with overhead slide valves, actuated by inside Stephenson valve gear.
  In 1901 and 1902, the CGR placed 16 Consolidations in service. Designed by H.M. Beatty, chief locomotive superintendent of the CGR from 1896 to 1910, they were ordered from the Schenectady Locomotive Works in the United States and partly delivered by Schenectady in 1901, with the remainder delivered from the newly established American Locomotive Company in 1902. Conceived as mixed-traffic locomotives, they had bar frames and narrow fireboxes. In 1912, when these locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways (SAR), they were designated Class 8X.
  In 1902, the CGR also placed a single experimental tandem compound Consolidation in service, based on its Schenectady/ALCO-built 8th Class. Delivered by ALCO in 1902, the locomotive was not classified and was simply referred to as the Tandem Compound. In 1912, it was designated Class Experimental 2 on the SAR.
  In 1903, the CGR received a second experimental tandem compound Consolidation from ALCO. It was similar to the earlier one, but with a larger fire grate and an increased heating surface which enhanced its steaming ability. It also remained unclassified and was also simply referred to as a Tandem Compound. In 1912, it was designated Class Experimental 3 on the SAR.
  Also in 1903, the CGR received four more Consolidations from Kitson and Company of Hunslet in Leeds. They were very similar to the earlier Schenectady and ALCO-built Consolidations, but with the boiler pitch raised by 2 in (51 mm). Coupled with a shallow firebox, this enabled the grate to be extended out sideways over the fourth set of drivers, resulting in a grate area of 30.9 sq ft (2.871 m²) compared to the 20 sq ft (1.858 m²) of the previous model. In 1912, they were designated Class 8Y on the SAR.
  In 1904, the CGR placed its last eight Consolidations in service. These were ordered from the North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow in Scotland and were very similar to the previous four Kitson-built locomotives, but slightly larger in boiler and firegrate area dimensions. In 1912, these eight were designated Class 8Z on the SAR.
  While subjecting the Consolidations to exhaustive testing on all types of traffic and under varying conditions, some trouble was experienced with the leading pony truck and it was dropped in favour of a four-wheeled bogie in later orders for more eighth class locomotives. All subsequent Cape eighth class locomotives were therefore built with a 4-8-0 Mastodon wheel arrangement.
caption: SAR Class Experimental 2
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