| NGR Class K 0-4-0ST PPR 0-4-0STNatal South African 0-4-0ST 1891 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NGR no. 89, c. 1891 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheNatal Government Railways Class K 0-4-0ST of 1891 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in theColony of Natal.
In 1891, the Natal Government Railways placed five0-4-0ST locomotives in service as shunting engines. One was later sold to the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway, while two more went to the Harbour Board of Natal. In 1905 or 1906, the remaining two of these locomotives became part of the NatalClass K. By 1912, four of these locomotives survived to come onto the roster of the South African Railways as unclassified obsolete locomotives.[1][2][3][4]
Five0-4-0ST shunting locomotives were delivered to theNatal Government Railways (NGR) fromNeilson and Company in 1891, numbered in the range from 89 to 93.[1]
The locomotive's cylinders were arranged outside the frame, while the slide valves were arranged between the frames and actuated byStephenson valve gear link motion through rocker shafts. The boiler dome was arranged above the firebox, with twoSalter safety valves which were adjusted to blow off at 140 pounds per square inch (965 kilopascals). The locomotive was equipped with a No. 40 combination ejector and two vacuum brake cylinders, each 15 inches (381 millimetres) in diameter.[4]
In c. 1896, two of the locomotives were either sold or leased to the Harbour Board of Natal for use as harbour shunters at Durban Harbour, where they were namedAndy andDick King.[2][5][6][7]
In c. 1897, another one of the locomotives, no. 90, was sold to the Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway (PPR), where it was namedNatal and employed as a shunting engine. By 1912, when the South African Railways (SAR) classification and renumbering program was executed, this locomotive had also seen service with theNederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NZASM) and the Imperial Military Railways (IMR) and was still in service on theCentral South African Railways (CSAR), who used it as a shop engine in the Pretoria railway workshops.[1][2][5][6][7]

The other two locomotives remained in service on the NGR, where they were later renumbered to 510 and 511. By the turn of the 20th Century they were used on light duties like the testing of the vacuum brakes of passenger trains at Durban Station, such as the depictedPrincess Christian Hospital Train which was used to attend wounded soldiers during theSecond Boer War.[3][8][9][10][11]
At some stage in 1905 or 1906, a locomotive classification system was introduced on the NGR and they became part of the Natal Class K, which consisted of a potpourri of different tank locomotive types, including an0-6-0ST and four2-6-0T engines. Both locomotives were still in service in 1905, but by the end of 1906, no. 510 had disappeared from the books.[3][9][10][11]
When theUnion of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910, the three Colonial government railways (Cape Government Railways, NGR and CSAR) were united under a single administration to control and administer the railways, ports and harbours of the Union. Although the South African Railways and Harbours came into existence in 1910, the actual classification and renumbering of all the rolling stock of the three constituent railways was only implemented with effect from 1 January 1912.[5][12]
In 1912,Andy,Dick King, no. 511 and the Pretoria shop locomotiveNatal came onto the roster of the SAR as unclassified obsolete locomotives. The named engines retained their names on the SAR, while no. 511 was renumbered 0511.[2][5][6][7]
The locomotive numbers, works numbers, names and SAR renumber information are listed in the table. The three unspecified names can all be any one ofAndy,Dick King or no. 510.[1][2][5][6][7]
Loco no. | Works no. | Names & renumber | SAR no. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | 4481 | 510,Andy orDick King | 510,Andy orDick King |
| 90 | 4482 | Natal | Natal |
| 91 | 4483 | 511 | 0511 |
| 92 | 4484 | 510,Andy orDick King | 510,Andy orDick King |
| 93 | 4485 | 510,Andy orDick King | 510,Andy orDick King |