#2046
South African Class ES1
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by English Electric· from 1924· class of 1 South African battery-electric locomotive
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SAR Class ES1 E 502: Unknown author Unknown author· Public domain
what is it?
The South African Railways Class ES1 of 1924 was an electric locomotive. In 1924, the South African Railways placed a single Class ES1 battery-powered shunting locomotive in service at the construction site of the Colenso power station. In 1927, the power station and the locomotive were sold to the Electricity Supply Commission and in 1937 the locomotive was purchased back for use at the Daimana (Danskraal) locomotive depot.
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 102 years ago, in 1924.
- Served for 54 years (1924–1978).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1924
- in service from
- 1924
- retired
- 1978
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- battery
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- English Electric
- designer
- English Electric
- operators
- Eskom, South African Railways and Harbours Administration
- top speed
- —
- power
- 37 kW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- 235 V 196 A, 208 cell battery
- wheel arrangement
- 4w
- nicknames
- Queen Mary
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7565612, Wikipedia: South African Class ES1 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.