#4712
South African Class 14E
🇿🇦 South Africa ·built by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works· from 1988· class of 3 South African electric locomotives
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SAR Class 14E Series 1 14-002: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. SAR Class 14E Series 1 14-001: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. Class 14E 14-001: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. SAR Class 14E Series 1 14-003: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Spoornet Class 14E of 1991 was a South African electric locomotive. In 1990, Spoornet took delivery of three prototype Class 14E dual voltage electric mainline locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement. They were the first dual voltage 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC locomotives to see service on South African rails when they were placed in service in 1991 and were followed in 1994 by ten locally manufactured Class 14E1 locomotives.
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 38 years ago, in 1988.
- Top speed is 1.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Weighs about as much as 15 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Served for 24 years (1991–2015).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1988
- in service from
- 1991
- retired
- 2015
- status
- retired
- number built
- 3
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- builders
- Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works
- designer
- 50 c/s Group
- operators
- Transnet Freight Rail
- top speed
- 140 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- Dual 3 kV DC & 25 kV AC 50 Hz catenary
- wheel arrangement
- Bo'Bo'
- weight
- 92.5 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7565464, Wikipedia: South African Class 14E (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.