South African Class 32-000
No. 32-029 and 32-042 atOudtshoorn, 22 September 2007
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Designer General Electric Builder General Electric Serial number 33722-33836 Model GE U18C1 Build date 1959-1961 Total produced 115
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR 1-C+C-1  • UIC (1′Co)+(Co1′)  • Commonwealth 1Co+Co1 Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)Cape gauge Leading dia. 762 mm (30.0 in) Wheel diameter 915 mm (36.0 in) Wheelbase 15,246 mm (50 ft 0.2 in) ​  • Bogie 4,927 mm (16 ft 2.0 in) Pivot centres 8,128 mm (26 ft 8.0 in) Length: ​  • Over couplers 16,866 mm (55 ft 4.0 in) Width 2,756 mm (9 ft 0.5 in) Height 3,924 mm (12 ft 10.5 in) Axle load 12,700 kg (28,000 lb) ​  • Leading 10,160 kg (22,400 lb) Adhesive weight 76,200 kg (168,000 lb) Loco weight 96,520 kg (212,790 lb) max Fuel type Diesel Fuel capacity 4,300 litres (950 imp gal) Prime mover Cooper-Bessemer FVBL-12 RPM range 400-1,000 ​  • RPM low idle 400  • RPM idle 535  • Maximum RPM 1,000 Engine type 4 stroke V12 diesel Aspiration C-B ET13turbocharger Generator DC 10 pole GE 5GT-581C5 Traction motors Six GE 5GE-761A3 DC 4 pole ​  • Rating 1 hour 600A  • Continuous 590A @ 17 km/h (11 mph) Gear ratio 92:19 MU working 3 maximum Loco brake 6-SLAV-1 with vigilance control Train brakes Westinghouse 6CDX4UC compressor/exhauster Air tank cap. 700 litres (150 imp gal) Compressor 0.039 m3/s (1.4 cu ft/s) Exhauster 0.155 m3/s (5.5 cu ft/s) Couplers AAR knuckle (SASKOP DS)
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 km/h (62 mph) Power output: ​  • Starting 1,475 kW (1,978 hp)  • Continuous 1,340 kW (1,800 hp) Tractive effort: ​  • Starting 183 kN (41,000 lbf) @ 25% adhesion  • Continuous 146 kN (33,000 lbf) @ 27 km/h (17 mph) Factor of adh.: ​  • Starting 25%  • Continuous 20% Brakeforce 60% ratio @ 345 kPa (50.0 psi)
Career Operators South African Railways Spoornet SNCZ,Democratic Republic of the Congo Consortium ARZ Class Class 32-000 Number in class 115 Numbers 32-001 to 32-115 Delivered Nov 1959 to Nov 1961 First run 1959

TheSouth African Railways Class 32-000 of 1959 was a diesel-electric locomotive.

Between November 1959 and November 1961, the South African Railways placed 115 Class32-000 General Electric type U18C1 diesel-electric locomotives with a1Co+Co1 wheel arrangement in service inSouth West Africa.^{[1][page needed]}

The South African Class 32-000 typeGE U18C1 diesel-electric locomotive was designed and built to South African Railways (SAR) requirements byGeneral Electric (GE) and imported. They were numbered in the range from32-001 to32-115.^{[1][page needed]}

The Class 32 consisted of two series, the high short hood Class32-000 and the low short hoodClass32-200, both GE products and both with a 1Co+Co1 wheel arrangement. The short hood end was the front on both versions and both had single station controls.^{[1][page needed]}

In theUnited States of America, the South African Class32-000 is credited with being a major factor in the demise of theAmerican Locomotive Company (Alco) and the rise of GE in the locomotive building business.^{[2][page needed]}

In the late 1950s South Africa, at the time one of the last bastions of steam traction, planned to embark on a massive dieselisation program. A SAR technical team was sent toEurope and the United States to prepare an assessment of design alternatives, finalise specifications and compile a list of qualified bidders.^{[2][page needed]}

In the United States only Alco, GE and General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) were considered to be qualified bidders. The SAR was not very enthusiastic about two-stroke cycle prime movers and had a strong preference forAlco's Model 251 prime mover and GE's transmission systems. As a long-time prior supplier of steam locomotives for the SAR, Alco appeared to be virtually assured of receiving the order.^{[2][page needed]}

The SAR's tender for bid was issued in 1957, with two options:^{[2][page needed]}

• 115 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kilowatts) locomotives with a 1Co+Co1 wheel arrangement; or
• 230 1,000 horsepower (750 kilowatts) locomotives with aCo+Co wheel arrangement

These units were intended for operation in South West Africa under very light rail conditions that necessitated lighter axle loadings which could not be achieved with conventional Co bogies under a heavy locomotive.General Steel Castings had a design on paper for a 1Co bogie, a Co bogie with an integralpony truck, which could be utilised by either Alco or GE and which would enable the SAR's specifications to be met for the heavier 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kilowatts) units.^{[2][page needed]}

The SAR made it clear that, despite the two options afforded by the tender, its strong preference was for a 1Co+Co1 locomotive. The use of a pony truck was not universally accepted by Alco's engineering management, however, and the result was that Alco bid on only the Co+Co option and lost out to GE, who had bid on both options.^{[2][page needed]}

In South Africa, this virtually opened the floodgates for GE since more than half of the SAR's vastdiesel-electric locomotive fleet which was acquired between 1959 and 1981 were GE products.^{[2][page needed]}

There is debate whether the Pony Truck Affair was a consequential historical event or an idea retroactively proposed by railfans to explain the changing fortunes of ALCo and GE Transportation.^{[citation needed]}

The Class32-000 was designed specifically for service in SWA and most of them spent their entire SAR working lives there.^[3][4][5]

Some initially entered service atGermiston to work coal trains on theWitbank coal line where electrification was approaching completion. From Germiston they worked all sorts of traffic, including the Trans-Natal Express betweenJohannesburg andVolksrust. Ten of these units were temporarily allocated toDe Aar in the last quarter of 1961 to work the mainline toBeaufort West. Between 1964 and 1976, several were also allocated to the Eastern Transvaal for service aroundWaterval Boven.^[3][5][6]

Of the original 115 locomotives, only five survived into the Spoornet era in the 1990s. In SWA they began to be replaced by theClass 33-400 during the early 1970s. After being withdrawn from Spoornet service, a few were allocated to the National Collection, later the Transnet Heritage Foundation, and two of these, numbers32-029 and32-042, still saw occasional service asOuteniqua Choo-Tjoe excursion locomotives based atGeorge, South Africa. Numbers32-021 and32-094 were staged atDanskraal for years and were sold in 2013, believed to be for further use by the buyer.^[3][7]

After withdrawal from SAR service in the 1980s, almost fifty of the Class32-000 locomotives were sold toZaire'sSociété Nationale des Chemins de Fer Zaïrois (SNCZ) which became theSociété nationale des Chemins de fer du Congo (SNCC) after the country's name change to theDemocratic Republic of the Congo. Of these at least one, SNCC no. 1405 (ex SAR no.32-019) was seen on local workings aroundLubumbashi in 2013.^[3][7]

Three went to Consortium ARZ (CARZ), an Italian per-way contractor working in Zaire and later also inZambia.^[3]

Numbers32-007,32-010,32-013,32-069 and32-113 went toZambia, two toNchanga and three toNkana, two of the Zambian copper mines, where they were used on the mine systems at Nchanga andKitwe on both ore trains and miner's passenger trains. The three locomotives at the Nkana Mine retained their SAR numbers. No.32-013 is depicted alongside on the Nkana-Chibuluma miner's train at Nkana Mine Sidings in Zambia. The coaches behind it are second-handTata bus bodies mounted on freight wagon frames and bogies which were initially made for theMulungushi Commuter train service inLusaka, which was later taken over byZambia Railways and renamed Njanji Commuter.^[7]

LEGE inDurban, who operates an active hire and overhaul business, owns two of these locomotives, numbers32-070 and32-084. Of these, no.32-070 has been observed shunting in the Merewent Oil Refinery on theBluff as late as 2014.^[7]

The class 32-000 were delivered in the new Gulf Red livery with yellow side-stripes and a yellow V on each end. They wore this livery throughout their SAR and Spoornet service life.^[5]

Four of the Class 32-000's have been preserved.

• 32002 incorrectly numbered32001 is plinthed in Windhoek in Namibia.
• 32029 is preserved at The Railway Museum in George.^[8]
• 32042 is preserved at the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe Railway in George.^[8]
• 32047 preserved at Voorbaai Loco Depot.^[8]

The Class 32-000 builder's works numbers and known disposition are listed in the table.

• 
  No. 32-042 on the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe, 16 February 2005
• 
  No. 32-002 renumbered to 32-001 and plinthed inWindhoek, 20 February 2006^[3]
• 
  No. 32-047 staged at Voorbaai Depot near Mosselbaai, 15 April 2013

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• Diesel–electric locomotives of South Africa
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• Diesel–electric locomotives of Namibia
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