#2654

South African Class DS

🇿🇦 South Africa ·built by AEG· from 1939· class of 1 South African diesel-electric locomotive

1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. SAR Class DS D137 (D513) a: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain

what is it?

The South African Railways Class DS of 1939 was a diesel-electric locomotive. The first diesel-electric locomotive on the South African Railways was a single Class DS AEG diesel-electric shunting locomotive which was placed in service at the Congella yards near Durban in 1939.

who runs it

South African Railways and Harbours Administration

base stats

power 306 kWpower output
built 1made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

First built 87 years ago, in 1939.
306 kW is about 4 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
Served for 27 years (1939–1966).

diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).

spec sheet

built: 1939
in service from: 1939
retired: 1966
status: retired
number built: 1
kind: Diesel-electric
traction: diesel
origin: 🇿🇦 South Africa
builders: AEG
designer: Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft
operators: South African Railways and Harbours Administration
top speed: —
power: 306 kW
gauge: 1,067 mm Cape gauge
wheel arrangement: Bo'Bo'

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q7565607, Wikipedia: South African Class DS (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.