#3196
South African Class 5E, Series 1
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Vulcan Foundry· from 1954· class of 60 South African Bo′Bo′ electric locomotives
8 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SAR Class 5E Series 1 E259: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Class 5E E259 L: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. Class 5E no. E293: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. SAR Class 5E Series 1 E259 ID: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. Class 5E no. E262 IDL: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 6. Class 5E no. E262 IDR: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. Class 5E no. E263 IDL: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 8. SAR Class 5E Series 1 E293: Col André Kritzinger· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The South African Railways Class 5E, Series 1 of 1955 was an electric locomotive. In 1955 and 1956, the South African Railways placed sixty Class 5E, Series 1 electric locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement in mainline service. The Class 5E introduced what eventually became the most prolific locomotive body shape to ever run on South African rails.
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 72 years ago, in 1954.
- Weighs about as much as 14 African elephants (~6 t each).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1954–1955
- in service from
- 1955
- number built
- 60
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Vulcan Foundry, English Electric
- designer
- English Electric
- operators
- Transnet Freight Rail, Impala Platinum, South African Railways and Harbours Administration
- top speed
- 97 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- 3 kV DC catenary
- wheel arrangement
- Bo'Bo'
- weight
- 86.4 t
- nicknames
- af, Klein Mamba (Little Mamba)
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7565536, Wikipedia: South African Class 5E, Series 1 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.