South African Class 24 2-8-4 South African Class 24 2-8-4 The South African Railways Class 24 2-8-4 of 1949 is a steam locomotive. In 1949 and 1950, the South African Railways placed 100 branch line steam locomotives with a 2-8-4 Berkshire type wheel arrangement in service. By the late 1940s, the South African Railways (SAR) still had a comparatively large mileage of track. In South West Africa, where most of the locomotive fleet consisted of Classes 6, 7, GC and GCA, there were still hundreds of miles of track. Considering the increasing age of these locomotives, the options were either to relay these tracks with
2-8-8-2 still used on steel mill lines and other railroads until 1983. Other equivalent classifications are: UIC classification: 1DD1 (also known as German classification and Italian classification) French classification: 140+041 Turkish classification: 45+45 Swiss classification: 4/5+4/5 The first 2-8-8-2 was built in 1909 by Baldwin, who sold two to the Southern Pacific Railroad (classified MC-1), and then three each to the Union Pacific Railroad and UP-owned Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. Baldwin conceived the type as an expansion of the 2-6-6-2 permitting a greater tractive effort. The next order for the type was from the Southern Pacific; these differed in being