South African Class 34-600

The South African Railways Class 34-600 of 1974 is a diesel-electric locomotive.

Between December 1974 and July 1976, the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 34-600 General Motors Electro-Motive Division type GT26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.^[1]

Manufacturer

The Class 34-600 type GT26MC diesel-electric locomotive was designed by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and built for the South African Railways (SAR) by General Motors South Africa (GMSA) in Port Elizabeth. One hundred locomotives were delivered between December 1974 and July 1976, numbered in the range from 34-601 to 34-700.^[1][2][3]

Class 34 series

The Class 34 locomotive family consists of seven series from two manufacturers, the General Electric (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 manufacturers also produced locomotives for the South African Classes 33, 35 and 36.^[1]

On the GM-EMD Class 34 series locomotives, the Class 34-200 and Class 34-600 locomotives are visually indistinguishable from one another, but they can be distinguished from the Class 34-800 by the thicker fishbelly shaped sills on their left sides, compared to the straight sill on the left side of the Class 34-800.^[4][5]

Rebuilding and modification

Class 39-000

The South African Class 39-000 type GT26CU-3 diesel-electric locomotives were to be rebuilt from Class 34-600, 34-800 and 37-000 locomotives. The project commenced in 2005, using suitable frames from wrecked locomotives. Rebuilding was done at the Transwerk shops in Bloemfontein between 2006 and 2008.^[2][6]

It was intended to produce one hundred Class 39-000 locomotives, but in spite of the technical success of the project, rebuilding was halted after completing the first five locomotives, due to higher than anticipated cost. It was decided, instead of rebuilding old locomotives, to continue the program by building fifty new Class 39-200 locomotives from imported and locally produced components. Three Class 34-600 locomotives, numbers 34-620, 34-635 and 34-674, were rebuilt to Class 39-000 before rebuilding was halted.^[7]

Traction motor upgrade

In 2010, an upgrading project commenced at the Koedoespoort Transnet Rail Engineering shops, to upgrade Class 34-600 locomotives by, amongst other modifications, replacing the GM-EMD D29B with GM-EMD D31 traction motors, thereby improving their performance to the standard of the Class 37-000.^[6] Locomotives which are known to have undergone this upgrade are annotated "D31 TM" in the "Leased, rebuilt or sold to" column in the table below.

Service

South African Railways

In SAR, Spoornet and Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) service, the Class 34-600s worked on most mainlines and some unelectrified branchlines in the central, eastern, northern and northeastern parts of South Africa.^[3]

National Railways of Zimbabwe

From at least 1988 until at least 1992, the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) hired type GT26MC Class 34-600 locomotives from the SAR and later Spoornet. Locomotives which were observed to be working on the NRZ between April 1988 and September 1992, are annotated "NRZ" in the "Leased, rebuilt or sold to" column in the table below.^[8]

NLPI Ltd.

NLPI Limited, abbreviated from New Limpopo Projects Investments, a Mauritius-registered company, specialises in private sector investments, using the build-operate-transfer (BOT) concept. It had three connected railway operations in Zimbabwe and Zambia, which formed a rail link between South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.^[2]

• The Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (BBR), commissioned on 1 September 1999, operates the Beit Bridge to Bulawayo line in Zimbabwe.
• Since February 2004, NLPI Logistics (NLL or LOG) operates between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border.
• Since February 2003, the Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ) operated on the former Zambian Railways (ZR) from Victoria Falls to Sakania in the Congo.

In Zambia, the RSZ locomotive fleet included former ZR locomotives, but the rest of the locomotive fleet of all three operations consisted of South African GM-EMD Classes 34-200, 34-600 and 34-800 and GE Classes 35-000 and 35-400 locomotives from Spoornet and later TFR. These locomotives were sometimes marked or branded as either BBR or LOG or both, but their status, whether leased or loaned, was unclear, since they were still on the TFR roster and still often worked in South Africa as well.^[2] Class 34-600 locomotives which served with NLPI include the locomotives annotated "NLPI" in the "Leased, rebuilt or sold to" column in the table below.

Zambia Railways, the state-owned holding company, resumed control of the Zambian national rail network on 11 September 2012. This followed the Zambian government’s decision to revoke the operating concession awarded to RSZ, after Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda claimed that RSZ had "blatantly disregarded the provisions of the agreement" and had been "acting in a manner prejudicial to the interests of Zambians”.^[9]

Sheltam

One of the Class 34-600 locomotives, no. 34-640, was sold to Sheltam, a locomotive hire and repair company, which undertakes complete operating contracts and maintenance contracts, based at the Douglas Colliery near Witbank in Mpumalanga. By the turn of the millennium, Sheltam locomotives were operating at Randfontein Estates Gold Mine in Gauteng, in Mpumalanga at Douglas and Vandyksdrift Collieries and at SAPPI, Ngodwana. They also operated on Spoornet’s Newcastle-Utrecht branch in KwaZulu-Natal and on Kei Rail in the Eastern Cape. Outside South Africa, they operated on the BBR, NLL and RSZ lines through Zimbabwe and Zambia, and in the Congo.^[2][10]

Chemin de Fer Congo-Ocean

Six Class 34-600 locomotives were leased to the Congolese railway, the Chemin de Fer Congo-Ocean (CFCO), where they were renumbered in the range from CC801 to CC806.^[2]

Camrail

Six more locomotives, which were at one time erroneously believed to have also gone to CFCO in the Congo, are now believed to have gone to Camrail in the Republic of Cameroon in about 2002, where they were renumbered in the range from CC2601 to CC2606. The order of their renumbering is not known.^[8]

Ferrovia Centro Atlântico

Five Class 34-600 locomotives went to Ferrovia Centro Atlântico (FCA) at Divinipolis in Brazil, where they run on 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) . While they were initially part of Spoornet Traction’s leasing scheme, they were later renumbered onto the FCA roster, in the number range from 8226 to 8230.^[2]

Ferrovia Sul Atlântico

Ten Class 34-600 locomotives went to Ferrovia Sul Atlântico (FSA) at Curitiba in Brazil, where they also run on Metre gauge. While they were also initially part of Spoornet Traction’s leasing scheme, they were later renumbered onto the FSA roster, in the number range from 8231 to 8240.^[2]

Works numbers

The builder’s works numbers of Class 34-600 locomotives, as well as their known disposal and deployment, are listed in the table.^[2]

The Blue Train

In the SAR and Spoornet eras, when the official 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.^[2]

Two known Class 34-600 locomotives, numbers 34-651 and 34-652, were painted in Spoornet’s orange era Blue Train livery.

Illustration

Depicted below is no. 34-652 in Spoornet’s Blue Train livery, incorrectly numbered as a Class 84-000 on the cabside. The error was corrected later. Other liveries which were applied to Class 34-600 locomotives, are also illustrated.^[11]

• 
  No. 34-660 in SAR Gulf Red and whiskers, Dabuka, Zimbabwe, 22 February 1992
• 
  Blue Train no. 34-652 at Capital Park, 2 October 2006, incorrectly numbered 84-652
• 
  No. 34-694 in Spoornet orange with NLPI LOG emblems, Capital Park, 10 May 2013
• 
  No. 34-650 in Spoornet maroon with NLPI LOG emblems, Capital Park, 6 May 2013
• 
  No. 34-601 with TRAÇÃO markings for Brazil, Pyramid South, 22 September 2015
• 
  No. 34-610 in Transnet Freight Rail livery, Koedoespoort, Pretoria, 20 May 2011

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South African Class 34-600.

Locomotives of South Africa
Steam	7' ¼" gauge East London 0-4-0VB Table Bay 0-4-0ST Table Bay 0-4-0T Table Bay 0-4-0WT 4' 8½" gauge Cape 0-4-0T Blackie Cape 0-4-2 Cape 2-4-0T CGR 0-4-0ST Aid Natal 0-4-0ST Durban Natal 0-4-0WT Natal Natal 4-4-0T Perseverance 3' 6" gauge Tank engines CGR 0-4-0ST 1873 CGR 0-4-0ST 1874 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot CGR 0-6-0ST CGR 0-6-0T CGR 2-6-0ST 1900 CGR 2-6-0ST 1902 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1875 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1876 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0ST CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T CGR 2nd Class 4-4-0T CGR 3rd Class 2-6-0T CGR Railmotor CSAR Class C CSAR Class E CSAR Rack 4-6-4RT CSAR Railmotor Durban's Congella Durban's Edward Innes Durban's John Milne Durban's Sir Albert Port Elizabeth 0-4-0ST Kowie Railway 0-6-0T Kowie Railway 4-4-0T Metropolitan & Suburban 4-6-2T NGR 2-6-0T Durban & Pietermaritzburg NGR Class I 2-6-2T NGR Class K 0-4-0ST NGR Class K 0-6-0ST NGR Class K 2-6-0T NZASM 10 Tonner NZASM 13 Tonner NZASM 14 Tonner NZASM 18 Tonner NZASM 19 Tonner NZASM 32 Tonner NZASM 40 Tonner PPR 26 Tonner PPR 35 Tonner Portuguese SAR Class A SAR Class B SAR Class C SAR Class C1 SAR Class C2 SAR Class D SAR Class E SAR Class F SAR Class G SAR Class H SAR Class H1 SAR Class H2 SAR Class J SAR Class K SAR Railmotor SAR Dock 0-4-0ST SAR Dock 0-4-0T SWA 2-8-0T 3' 6" gauge Tender engines CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 BP CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Kitson CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1879 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1891 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0TT CGR 2nd Class 2-6-2TT CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1883 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1884 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1889 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1898 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1901 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1903 CGR 4th Class 4-4-2 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1880 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 Joy CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1884 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1890 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1891 NGR Havelock NGR Class I SAR Class Exp 1 SAR Class Exp 2 SAR Class Exp 3 SAR Class Exp 4 SAR Class Exp 5 SAR Class Exp 6 SAR Class S SAR Class S1 SAR Class S2 SAR Class 1 SAR Class 1A SAR Class 1B SAR Class 2 SAR Class 2C SAR Class 3 SAR Class 3A SAR Class 3B SAR Class 4 SAR Class 4A SAR Class 5 SAR Class 5A SAR Class 5B SAR Class 6 SAR Class 6A SAR Class 6B SAR Class 6C SAR Class 6D SAR Class 6E SAR Class 6F SAR Class 6G SAR Class 6H SAR Class 6J SAR Class 6K SAR Class 6L SAR Class 6Y SAR Class 6Z SAR Class 7 SAR Class 7A SAR Class 7B SAR Class 7C SAR Class 7D SAR Class 7E SAR Class 7F SAR Class 8 SAR Class 8A SAR Class 8B SAR Class 8C SAR Class 8D SAR Class 8E SAR Class 8F SAR Class 8R SAR Class 8X SAR Class 8Y SAR Class 8Z SAR Class 9 SAR Class 10 SAR Class 10A SAR Class 10B SAR Class 10C SAR Class 10D SAR Class 11 SAR Class 12 SAR Class 12A SAR Class 12B SAR Class 13 SAR Class 14 SAR Class 14A SAR Class 14B SAR Class 14C 1st SAR Class 14C 2nd SAR Class 14C 3rd SAR Class 14C 4th SAR Class 15 SAR Class 15A SAR Class 15B SAR Class 15C SAR Class 15CA SAR Class 15E SAR Class 15F SAR Class 16 SAR Class 16A SAR Class 16B SAR Class 16C SAR Class 16D SAR Class 16DA 1928 SAR Class 16DA 1930 SAR Class 16E SAR Class 17 SAR Class 18 SAR Class 19 SAR Class 19A SAR Class 19B SAR Class 19C SAR Class 19D SAR Class 20 SAR Class 21 SAR Class 23 SAR Class 24 SAR Class 25 SAR Class 25NC SAR Class 26 SAR Katanga SWA 2-8-0 3' 6" gauge Articulated engines CGR Fairlie CGR Kitson-Meyer SAR Class FC SAR Class FD SAR Class GA SAR Class GB SAR Class GC SAR Class GCA SAR Class GD SAR Class GDA SAR Class GE SAR Class GEA SAR Class GF SAR Class GG SAR Class GH SAR Class GK SAR Class GL SAR Class GM SAR Class GMA SAR Class GO SAR Class HF SAR Class KM SAR Class MA SAR Class MB SAR Class MC SAR Class MC1 SAR Class MD SAR Class ME SAR Class MF SAR Class MG SAR Class MH SAR Class MJ SAR Class MJ1 SAR Class U 2' 6" gauge Cape Copper John King & Miner Cape Copper Britannia Cape Copper Caledonia Cape Copper Clara Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Namaqua Copper Pioneer Walvis Bay 2-4-2T Hope 2' & 600mm gauges ACR Class NG-G16A CGR NG 0-4-0T CGR NG 0-6-0T CGR NG 4-6-2T CGR Type A 2-6-4T CGR Type C 0-4-0T NGR Class N 4-6-2T SAR Dutton SAR NG 0-4-0T SAR Class NG1 SAR Class NG2 SAR Class NG3 SAR Class NG4 SAR Class NG5 SAR Class NG6 SAR Class NG7 SAR Class NG8 SAR Class NG9 SAR Class NG10 SAR Class NG-G11 SAR Class NG-G12 SAR Class NG-G13 SAR Class NG-G14 SAR Class NG15 SAR Class NG-G16 SWA Class Ha SWA Class Hb SWA Class Hc SWA Class Hd SWA Jung SWA Zwillinge
Electric	Amcoal Class E38 SAR Class ES SAR Class ES1 SAR Class Exp-AC SAR Class 1E SAR Class 2E SAR Class 3E SAR Class 4E SAR Class 5E s1 SAR Class 5E s2 SAR Class 5E s3 SAR Class 5E1 s1 SAR Class 5E1 s2 SAR Class 5E1 s3 SAR Class 5E1 s4 SAR Class 5E1 s5 SAR Class 6E SAR Class 6E1 s1 SAR Class 6E1 s2 SAR Class 6E1 s3 SAR Class 6E1 s4 SAR Class 6E1 s5 SAR Class 6E1 s6 SAR Class 6E1 s7 SAR Class 6E1 s8 SAR Class 6E1 s9 SAR Class 6E1 s10 SAR Class 6E1 s11 SAR Class 7E SAR Class 7E1 SAR Class 7E2 s1 SAR Class 7E2 s2 SAR Class 7E3 s1 SAR Class 7E3 s2 Spoornet Class 7E4 SAR Class 8E SAR Class 9E s1 SAR Class 9E s2 SAR Class 10E SAR Class 10E1 s1 Spoornet Class 10E1 s2 SAR Class 10E2 SAR Class 11E SAR Class 12E Spoornet Class 14E Spoornet Class 14E1 TFR Class 15E Spoornet Class 16E Spoornet Class 17E Spoornet Class 18E s1 TFR Class 18E s2 TFR Class 19E TFR Class 20E TFR Class 21E TFR Class 22E
Gas-electric	SAR Gas-electric
Diesel	3' 6" gauge Diesel-electric PRASA Class Afro 4000 SAR Class DS SAR Class DS1 SAR Class 31-000 SAR Class 32-000 SAR Class 32-200 SAR Class 33-000 SAR Class 33-200 SAR Class 33-400 SAR Class 34-000 SAR Class 34-200 SAR Class 34-400 SAR Class 34-500 SAR Class 34-600 SAR Class 34-800 SAR Class 34-900 SAR Class 35-000 SAR Class 35-200 SAR Class 35-400 SAR Class 35-600 TFR Class 35-800 SAR Class 36-000 SAR Class 36-200 SAR Class 37-000 Spoornet Class 39-000 TFR Class 39-200 TFR Class 43-000 TFR Class 44-000 2' gauge Diesel-electric SAR Class 91-000 3' 6" gauge Diesel-hydraulic SAR Class 61-000 3' 6" gauge Electro-diesel Spoornet Class 38-000
List of South African locomotive classes South African locomotive numbering and classification