The first twenty of the CGR 5th Class tender locomotives were delivered from Dübs and Company in 1890. In 1891, the CGR placed a second batch of thirty CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1891 tender locomotives in mainline service on all three Cape Systems. They were similar to the previous batch of 1890, but differed in respect of the diameter of their coupled wheels, the length of their smokeboxes and their tractive effort. In 1912, when the South African Railways (SAR) was established, the survivors were considered obsolete and designated Class 05. Nevertheless, some of the Class 05 locomotives survived as shunting engines in SAR service for another four decades. They were the last obsolete locomotives to be still in service when they were eventually withdrawn in 1953.