The first known tank locomotive was rebuilt from a Natal Government Railways (NGR) K&S Class 4-6-0 which was modified in 1896 to enable it to run equally well in either direction on the Natal South Coast line, where no turning facilities were available at the time. This sole locomotive later became the Class C2 on the South African Railways (SAR). The first known locomotive class to be designed with a wheel arrangement, the NGR's Class F tank locomotive, was based on this modified locomotive and built by Neilson, Reid and Company in 1902. These became the Class E on the SAR in 1912.