#4191
South African Class 6E1, Series 4
🇿🇦 South Africa ·built by Union Carriage & Wagon· from 1973· class of 100 South African electric locomotives
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SAR Class 6E1 Series 4 E1481: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Class 6E1 E1468 BPF: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. Class 6E1 E1507 IDR: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. Class 6E1 E1525 c. 1978: Philmar du Plessis· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. Class 6E1 E1525 nose cone R: Hennie Heymans· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. Class 6E1 Series 4 E1525: John N. Middleton· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. SAR Class 6E1 Series 4 E1446: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 8. SAR Class 6E1 Series 4 E1461: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 9. SAR Class 6E1 Series 4 E1464 Blue: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 10. SAR Class 6E1 Series 4 E1464 Purple: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The South African Railways Class 6E1, Series 4 of 1973 was an electric locomotive. In 1973 and 1974, the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 6E1, Series 4 electric locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement in mainline service. One of them holds the narrow gauge world rail speed record on Cape gauge.
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 53 years ago, in 1973.
- Weighs about as much as 15 African elephants (~6 t each).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1973–1974
- in service from
- 1973
- number built
- 100
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- builders
- Union Carriage & Wagon
- designer
- Union Carriage & Wagon
- operators
- Transnet Freight Rail, South African Railways and Harbours Administration, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa
- top speed
- 113 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- 3 kV DC catenary
- wheel arrangement
- Bo'Bo'
- weight
- 88.9 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7565556, Wikipedia: South African Class 6E1, Series 4 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.