South African Class 34 000

Manufacturer

The Class 34-000 type GE U26C diesel-electric locomotive of the South African Railways (SAR) was designed by General Electric (GE). The first three locomotives were built by GE and imported, numbered in the range from 34-001 to 34-003, while the remainder were built by the South African General Electric-Dorman Long Locomotive Group (SA GE-DL, later Dorbyl) and numbered in the range from 34-004 to 34-125. The 125 locomotives entered service between July 1971 and March 1973.

The same U26C locomotive type is also in use on other railways around the world. One of them is the New Zealand Railways, where it is known as their DX class. Other users are Kenya Railways who, for some years, also leased South African Class 34 U26C locomotives, and América Latina Logística (ALL) in Brazil.

GE and GM-EMD designs

The Class 34 consists of seven series, the GE Classes 34-000, 34-400, 34-500 (also known as "34-400 ex Iscor") and 34-900, and the General Motors Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD) Classes 34-200, 34-600 and 34-800. Both these manufacturers also produced locomotives for the South African Classes 33, 35 and 36.

Distinguishing features

As built, the GE Classes 34-000, 34-400 and 34-900 locomotives were visually indistinguishable from each other. The Class 34-500 locomotives could be visually distinguished from the other series by the air conditioning units mounted on their cab roofs and initially, when it was still a feature unique to them, by their running board mounted handrails. At some stage during the mid-1980s, all Class 34-000, 34-400 and 34-500 locomotives had saddle filters installed across the long hood, mounted just to the rear of the screens behind the cab on the sides. Since then, Class 34-900 locomotives could be distinguished from the older models by the absence of the saddle filter.

Fuel capacity

As built, the Class 34-000 has a 5,400 litres (1,200 imperial gallons) fuel tank and interlinked bogies, while the Class 34-500 was delivered new to Iscor with a 7,000 litres (1,500 imperial gallons) fuel tank in order to cope with the lack of en route refuelling points on the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line. To facilitate the larger fuel tank, the inter-bogie linkage, found on all other models, had to be omitted on the Class 34-500.

In order to be usable on the iron ore line, Class 34-000 locomotives which ended up working there, were modified to a similar fuel capacity. The inter-bogie linkage was removed and the fuel tank was enlarged, by changing it from saddle-shaped to rectangular box-shaped. To maintain its lateral balance, a slab of metal was attached to each bogie, in place of the removed linkage. In the second picture, the weld lines on the end of the enlarged fuel tank as well as the metal slab at the end of the bogie are visible.

Running board mounted handrails

Class 34-000 locomotives which were allocated to the Sishen-Saldanha Orex line, were often modified by having removable running board mounted handrails installed. All South African diesel-electric locomotives have their side handrails mounted along the upper edges of their long hoods. The ex Iscor Class 34-500s, however, came equipped with additional removable running board mounted handrails. Since these handrails are slide-fit into brackets which are welded onto the running board, they are easily removed.

Since c. 2009, other mainline diesel-electric locomotive types also emerged from the Koedoespoort Transwerk shops with running board mounted handrails after major overhauls.

Electronic control system

Beginning in 2010, some locomotives were equipped with electronic fuel injection and GE "Brite Star" control systems. On some of the first locomotives which were so modified, evidence of the modification is a raised middle portion of the long hood.

Service

GE Class 34-000s work on most mainlines and some branchlines in the central, western, southern and southeastern parts of the country. Some eventually joined the Class 34-500 on the 861 kilometres (535 miles) long Sishen–Saldanha Orex line, to haul export ore from the open cast iron mines at Sishen, near Kathu in the Northern Cape, to the harbour at Saldanha in the Western Cape, until they gradually began to be replaced by new Class 43-000 locomotives in 2012.

On the Orex line, GE Class 34 series diesel-electric locomotives run consisted to Class 9E or Class 15E electric locomotives, to haul the 342 wagon iron ore trains. Each wagon has a 100-ton capacity and the trains are at least 3.72 kilometres (2.31 miles) in length, powered by mixed consists of Class 9E and Class 15E electric, GE U26C Class 34-000, 34-400, 34-500 and 34-900 and, from 2012, GE C30ACi Class 43-000 diesel-electric locomotives. In South Africa, mixed electric and diesel-electric consists are unique to the iron ore line.

Works numbers

The Class 34-000 builder's works numbers are listed in the table.

The Blue Train

In the SAR and Spoornet eras, when the official locomotive liveries were Gulf Red and whiskers for the SAR, and initially orange and later maroon for Spoornet, many selected electric locomotives and some diesel-electrics were painted blue for use with the Blue Train, but without altering the layout of the various paint schemes. Blue Train locomotives were therefore blue with yellow whiskers in the SAR era, blue with the Spoornet logo and "SPOORNET" in Spoornet’s orange era, and blue with the Spoornet logo but without "SPOORNET" in Spoornet’s maroon era. In Spoornet’s blue era, there was no need for a separate Blue Train livery, while in the Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) era one Class 14E and the surviving Class 14E1 electric locomotives were eventually repainted in blue during 2012, for use with the Blue Train.

Five Class 34-000 locomotives, numbers 34-055 to 34-059, were painted in the SAR Blue Train livery. They were all eventually repainted in Spoornet’s orange livery, after they were replaced in Blue Train service by seven Class 34-900 locomotives, numbers 34-924 to 34-930.

Illustration

The main picture shows no. 34-044 in the Orex yard at Saldanha, in Spoornet orange livery and with running board mounted handrails. Other liveries which were applied to Class 34-000 locomotives are illustrated below.