#0979
South African Class H 4-10-2T
🇿🇦 South Africa ·built by Dübs and Company· from 1899· 4-10-2 tank locomotive developed in 1899 as a Class C tank locomotive on Natal Government Railway. Reclassified in 1912 as a Class H tank locomotive by South African Railways
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. NGR Class C 4-10-2T no. 171, SAR Class H no. 253: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
what is it?
The South African Railways Class H 4-10-2T, introduced in 1899, was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal. Between 1899 and 1903, the Natal Government Railways placed 101 tank steam locomotives with a 4-10-2 wheel arrangement in service.
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 127 years ago, in 1899.
- Served for 78 years (1899–1977).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1899–1903
- in service from
- 1899
- retired
- 1977
- status
- retired
- number built
- 102
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- builders
- Dübs and Company, North British Locomotive Company
- designer
- Natal Government Railways, (G.W. Reid)
- operators
- Transnet Freight Rail
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 4-10-2T (Reid Tenwheeler)
- nicknames
- Walloper
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1960611, Wikipedia: South African Class H 4-10-2T (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.