#4223
South African Class 34-500
🇿🇦 South Africa ·built by South African General Electric – Dorman Long Locomotive Group· from 1974· class of 46 South African diesel-electric locomotives
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SAR Class 34-500 34-530: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Class 34-500 34-538: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. Class 34-500 no. 34-533: User:Peter Bagshawe· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. Class 34 Iscor G04 Kumba 4: User:Logan Stone· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. SAR Class 34-500 34-501: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. SAR Class 34-500 34-516: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. SAR Class 34-500 34-518 ID: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 8. SAR Class 34-500 34-538: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 9. Class 34-500 34-501: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 10. SAR Class 34-500 34-503: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The South African Railways Class 34-500 of 1974 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Between 1974 and 1977, the state-owned South African Iron and Steel Corporation placed forty-four General Electric type U26C diesel-electric locomotives in service. They were employed on Iscor's 1974-built Sishen-Saldanha iron ore line and as heavy shunters at the Sishen mine.
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 52 years ago, in 1974.
- Weighs about as much as 19 African elephants (~6 t each).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1974–1977
- in service from
- 1974
- number built
- 46
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- builders
- South African General Electric – Dorman Long Locomotive Group
- designer
- General Electric
- operators
- Mittal Steel South Africa, Kumba Iron Ore, Sheltam, Transnet Freight Rail, South African Railways and Harbours Administration
- top speed
- 100 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Co'Co'
- weight
- 113 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q7565511, Wikipedia: South African Class 34-500 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.