South African Class 35 200

Manufacturer

The Class 35-200 type GT18MC diesel-electric locomotive was designed for the South African Railways (SAR) by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD). The first twenty-five were built by GM-EMD and imported, delivered by November 1974 and numbered in the range from 35-201 to 35-225. The remainder were built in two batches by General Motors South Africa (GMSA) in Port Elizabeth, with seventy-five being delivered between 1974 and 1975, numbered in the range from 35-226 to 35-300, and another fifty between 1975 and August 1976, numbered in the range from 35-301 to 35-350.

While the first GMSA batch was being built, an order for one Class 35-200 GT18MC locomotive was received from AECI in Modderfontein, Johannesburg. Since it required urgent delivery, no. 35-244 (works no. 100-19) from the SAR order was delivered to AECI and became their no. 2, named "A.J. de Beer". The AECI locomotive, works no. 107-1, then went to the SAR as no. 34-244.

GE and GM-EMD designs

The Class 35 locomotive group consists of five sub-classes, the General Electric (GE) Classes 35-000 and 35-400 and the GM-EMD Classes 35-200, 35-600 and 35-800. Both manufacturers also produced locomotives for the South African Classes 33, 34 and 36.

Distinguishing features

With the GM-EMD Class 35 locomotives, the Class 35-200 and 35-600 are visually indistinguishable from each other.

South African Railways

The Class 35 is South Africa’s standard branchline diesel-electric locomotive. GM-EMD Class 35-200s were designed for light rail conditions across difficult terrain and they work on most branchlines in the central, eastern, northern and northeastern parts of the country.

Zambia

Between October 1978 and May 1993, Zambia Railways (ZR) hired locomotives to solve it's chronic shortages in motive power, mainly from South Africa but at times also from Zaire, Zimbabwe, the TAZARA Railway and even the Zambian Copper Mines. In Zambia, the South African locomotives were mainly used on goods trains between Livingstone and Kitwe, sometimes in tandem with a ZR locomotive and occasionally also on passenger trains.

The first period of hire lasted from October 1978 until about April 1981. Locomotives were selected from a float of engines in the Classes 33-400, 35-000 and 35-200, which were allocated by the Railways for hire to Zambia. The South African fleet in Zambia was never constant, since locomotives were continually exchanged when they became due back in South Africa for their three-monthly services.

In November 1979, six Class 35-200 locomotives were on hire, but they are believed to have left Zambia in early 1980. A full list of the locomotives which were used in Zambia is not available, but no. 35-246 is known to have been used there during this period.

CamRail and Sudan Railways

Nine Class 35-200 locomotives were leased to CamRail, a company which had a twenty-year concession to operate the Cameroon National Railway, and were regauged to 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge. Six of these later went on a second lease to Sudan Railways until June 2007, where they were numbered in the range from 3601 to 3606.

FCA and FSA, Brazil

Fifteen Class 35-200 locomotives went to Ferrovia Centro Atlântico (FCA) and Ferrovia Sul Atlântico (FSA) in Brazil, where they were also regauged to run on metre gauge. Both these railroads are now part of América Latina Logística (ALL), which operates in Brazil and Argentina.

Ten of these locomotives went to FCA at Divinipolis in Brazil. While they were initially part of Spoornet Traction’s leasing scheme, they were later renumbered onto the FCA roster, in the range from 8200 to 8209. The other five locomotives went to FSA at Curitiba in Brazil. Also initially part of Spoornet Traction’s leasing scheme, they were later renumbered onto the FSA roster, in the range from 8210 to 8214.

Works numbers

The Class 35-200 builders, works numbers, lease details and renumberings are listed in the table.

Illustration

The main picture shows no. 35-294 in Spoornet orange livery, shunting at Electro siding in Pretoria West. Other liveries which were applied to Class 35-200 locomotives are illustrated below.