South African Class NG6 4-4-0
1895 narrow-gauge steam locomotive
The South African Railways Class NG6 4-4-0 of 1895 was an ex-Mozambican narrow-gauge steam locomotive from the Beira Railway era.
Between 1895 and 1898, Pauling and Company placed 42 Falcon-built types F2 and F4 tender steam locomotives with a 4-4-0 American type wheel arrangement in service on the two-foot narrow-gauge line which was being constructed for the Beira Railway in Mozambique. In 1915, thirteen of these locomotives were acquired by the South African Railways to replace locomotives which had been commandeered by the Union Defence Forces for use in German South West Africa during the First World War.
At the end of the war, these locomotives were staged, but in 1921 they were placed back in service by the South African Railways. When a system of grouping narrow-gauge locomotives into classes was eventually introduced somewhere between 1928 and 1930, they were designated Class NG6.
The Beira Railway
Construction of the first 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge railway in Southern Africa began in 1892. This was the 370-kilometre-long (230-mile) line of the narrow-gauge Beira Railway which eventually stretched from Beira in Mozambique to Umtali across the Rhodesian border. The border was reached in October 1897 and the full line to Umtali was opened to traffic on 4 February 1898. The work was undertaken by Pauling and Company and was subcontracted to Alfred Lawley.
Manufacturers and characteristics
Between 1895 and 1898, the Beira Railway placed 42 Falcon types F2 and F4 tender steam locomotives with a 4-4-0 American type wheel arrangement in service, supplied in six batches by Falcon Engine and Car Works Limited in England and the Glasgow Railway Engineering Company in Scotland.
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