South African Class 33-200

South African Class 33-200
Class 33-200 no. 33-212 and Class 33-000 no. 33-023, 8 January 1970
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Designer General Motors Electro-Motive Division Builder General Motors Electro-Motive Division Serial number 31191-31210 Model GM-EMD GL26MC Build date 1966-1967 Total produced 20
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR C-C  • UIC Co′Co′  • Commonwealth Co+Co Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Wheel diameter 915 mm (36.0 in) Wheelbase 13,900 mm (45 ft 7.2 in) ​  • Axle spacing (Asymmetrical) 1-2: 1,600 mm (5 ft 3.0 in) 2-3: 2,007 mm (6 ft 7.0 in)  • Bogie 3,607 mm (11 ft 10.0 in) Pivot centres 10,516 mm (34 ft 6.0 in) Length: ​  • Over couplers 17,474 mm (57 ft 4.0 in) Width 2,819 mm (9 ft 3.0 in) Height 3,943 mm (12 ft 11.2 in) Axle load 15,749 kg (34,721 lb) Adhesive weight 94,494 kg (208,324 lb) Loco weight 94,494 kg (208,324 lb) Fuel type Diesel Fuel capacity 4,300 litres (950 imp gal) Prime mover GM-EMD EMD 16-645E RPM range 315-900 ​  • RPM low idle 315  • RPM idle 435  • Maximum RPM 900 Engine type 2-stroke diesel Displacement 10.57 litres (645.0 cu in) Generator DC 12 pole GM-EMD D-32S Traction motors Six GM-EMD D-29CC-7 DC 4 pole ​  • Rating 1 hour 485A  • Continuous 450A @ 19 km/h (12 mph) Cylinders V16 Gear ratio 57:16 MU working 4 maximum Loco brake 28-LV-1 with vigilance control Train brakes Gardner-Denver ADJV-8003 compressor/exhauster Air tank cap. 450 litres (99 imp gal) Compressor 0.029 m3/s (1.0 cu ft/s) Exhauster 0.116 m3/s (4.1 cu ft/s) Couplers AAR knuckle (SASKOP DS)
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 km/h (62 mph) Power output: ​  • Starting 1,640 kW (2,200 hp)  • Continuous 1,490 kW (2,000 hp) Tractive effort: ​  • Starting 223 kN (50,000 lbf) @ 25% adh.  • Continuous 178 kN (40,000 lbf) @ 24 km/h (15 mph) Factor of adh.: ​  • Starting 25%  • Continuous 20% Brakeforce 70% ratio @ 345 kPa (50.0 psi) Dynamic brake peak effort 165 kN (37,000 lbf) @ 30 km/h (19 mph)
Career Operators South African Railways Spoornet Sheltam SitaRail, Côte d'Ivoire Sudan Railways Nkana Mine Class Class 33-200 Number in class 20 Numbers 33-201 to 33-220 Nicknames Brommer Delivered 1966-1967 First run 1966 Withdrawn c. 2000

The South African Railways Class 33-200 of 1966 was a diesel-electric locomotive.

Between October 1966 and May 1967 the South African Railways placed twenty Class 33-200 General Motors Electro-Motive Division type GL26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.

Manufacturer

The Class 33-200 type GM-EMD GL26MC diesel-electric locomotive was designed and built for the South African Railways (SAR) by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD) and imported. They were delivered between October 1966 and May 1967 and numbered in the range from 33-201 to 33-220.

Class 33 series

The Class 33-200 was the first GM-EMD diesel-electric locomotive to be placed in service by the SAR. The Class 33 consisted of three series, the General Electric (GE) Class 33-000 and 33-400 and the GM-EMD Class 33-200. Both manufacturers also produced locomotives for the subsequent SAR Classes 34, 35 and 36.

Of the three series, the Class 33-200 was the only one to be delivered with a high short hood.

Service

South African Railways

The Class 33-200 locomotives spent their entire SAR working lives operating out of East London. After some of the locomotives were sold by the SAR, their dynamic braking equipment, located in the high short hood, was removed by some of the new owners and the short hoods were rebuilt to low noses. In the process their starting power output was reduced from 1,640 to 1,490 kilowatts (2,200 to 2,000 horsepower).

Between 1991 and 1992, the remaining Spoornet locomotives were similarly modified and placed in shunting service around East London. All of them were eventually withdrawn and sold by Spoornet and several are still operating in other parts of Africa.

Sheltam

Of the original twenty locomotives, eleven were still in service with Sheltam by 2010, two having first served at Douglas Colliery as numbers D8 and D9. Sheltam is a locomotive leasing and repair company. All their serving Class 33-200 locomotives have had their short hoods modified to low noses.

Three more locomotives were bought by Sheltam for spare parts and are believed now to be scrapped. Sheltam initially numbered all their locomotives from no. 1 upwards, but have since renumbered them according to their horsepower.

Other operators

Of the remainder, four locomotives went to SitaRail in Côte d'Ivoire, one to the Sudan Railways and one to the Nkana mine of Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia.

Works numbers

The Class 33-200 builder's works numbers and disposition are listed in the table.

Class 33-200, type GM-EMD GL26MC

SAR No.	GM-EMD works no.	Post-SAR owner	Post-SAR no.	Sheltam new no.
33-201	31191	Sheltam	Spare parts
33-202	31192	SitaRail	CC 2001
33-203	31193	Sheltam	1	2001
33-204	31194	SitaRail	CC 2003
33-205	31195	Sheltam	14	2008
33-206	31196	Sheltam	8	2004
33-207	31197		D8
33-208	31198	Sheltam	Spare parts
33-209	31199	SitaRail	CC 2004
33-210	31200	Sheltam	15	2009
33-211	31201		D9
33-212	31202	Nkana	1
33-213	31203	Sheltam	13	2007
33-214	31204	SitaRail	CC 2002
33-215	31205	Sheltam	12	2006
33-216	31206	Sheltam	3	2003
33-217	31207	Sheltam	2	2002
33-218	31208	Sheltam	16	2010
33-219	31209	Sheltam	17	2011
33-220	31210	Sudan Ry

Illustration

The main picture shows Class 33-200 no. 33-212 on 8 January 1970 with its original high short hood and in the SAR Gulf Red livery, leading General Electric-built Class 33-000 no. 33-023 on a passenger train near Vincent, Eastern Cape. The following pictures show some of these locomotives with low short hoods in various liveries.

• 
  No. 33-203 in SAR Gulf Red and whiskers, Cambridge depot, East London, 26 December 1996
• 
  No. 33-215 in Spoornet orange livery, Cambridge depot, East London, 26 December 1996
• 
  Ex SAR no. 33-219, now Sheltam no. 2011, Kamina, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2 September 2010