#1803
South African Dutton road–rail tractors
🇿🇦 South Africa ·built by Dennis Specialist Vehicles· from 1917· 1923 narrow gauge steam tractors
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Dutton Road-Rail Tractor no. RR1155 b: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 2. Dutton's Road-Rail Tractor no. RR973: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 3. Dutton Road-Rail Tractor no. RR1155 c: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
- 4. Dutton Road-Rail Tractor prototype no. RR1501 d: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
what is it?
The South African Railways Dutton road–rail tractors of 1923 were road–rail steam tractors. In 1917, the South African Railways conducted trials with a prototype petrol-paraffin powered Dutton road–rail tractor. In 1924, it placed two production model steam rail tractors in service on the new narrow gauge line between Naboomspruit and Singlewood in Transvaal.
who runs it
base stats
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 109 years ago, in 1917.
- Served for 4 years (1923–1927).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1917–1924
- in service from
- 1923
- retired
- 1927
- status
- retired
- number built
- 3
- kind
- Internal combustion (prototype), Steam (production models)
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- builders
- Dennis Specialist Vehicles, Yorkshire Patent Steam Wagon Co.
- designer
- South African Railways, (Maj Frank Dutton)
- operators
- Transnet Freight Rail
- top speed
- —
- power
- 26 kW
- gauge
- 610 mm 2 ft narrow gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 4-2-0 (Jervis)R1501 & RR973
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q24088569, Wikipedia: South African Dutton road–rail tractors (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.