South African Class 19E

No. 19-009, 19-054 and 19-067 at the Richards Bay Locomotive Depot, 8 December 2013

Type and origin
Power type	Electric
Designer	Mitsui
Builder	Union Carriage & Wagon
Model	Mitsui 19E
Build date	2007-2011
Total produced	110

Specifications
Configuration:
• AAR	B-B
• UIC	Bo'Bo'
• Commonwealth	Bo-Bo
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Wheel diameter	1,250 mm (49.2 in)
Length:
• Over couplers	18,300 mm (60 ft 0.5 in)
Axle load	26,000 kg (57,000 lb)
Adhesive weight	104,000 kg (229,000 lb)
Loco weight	104,000 kg (229,000 lb) max
Electric system/s	Dual 3 kV DC & 25 kV AC 50 Hz catenary
Current pickup(s)	Pantographs
Loco brake	Electro-pneumatic, regenerative & rheostatic
Train brakes	Air
Couplers	AAR knuckle Type F

Performance figures
Maximum speed	120 km/h (75 mph) operating 132 km/h (82 mph) by design
Power output:
• Continuous	3,000 kW (4,000 hp)
Tractive effort:
• Starting	392 kN (88,000 lbf)
• Continuous	300 kN (67,000 lbf)

Career
Operators	Transnet Freight Rail
Class	19E
Number in class	110
Numbers	19-001 to 19-110
Delivered	2009
First run	2009

The Transnet Freight Rail Class 19E of 2009 is a South African electric locomotive.

In 2009, Transnet Freight Rail placed the first of 110 Class 19E single-cab dual-voltage 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC electric locomotives with a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement in service on the Coalink line from Ermelo to Richards Bay.^[1]^[2]

Manufacturer

The dual-voltage 3 kV DC and 25 kV AC Class 19E is the product of a joint venture by Mitsui for the design, Toshiba for the electrical equipment, Union Carriage and Wagon (UCW) for the bodies and the RSD division of DCD-Dorbyl for the bogies. It was locally manufactured by UCW in Nigel, Gauteng. Road testing on the Class 19E started in August 2008.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Characteristics

The Class 19E was the first South African AC locomotive to incorporate regenerative as well as rheostatic electric braking. While regenerative braking was used on all South African 3 kV DC mainline locomotives dating back all the way to the introduction of the Class 1E in 1925, the notable exception being the Class 18E, all earlier 25 kV and 50 kV AC South African locomotives made use of rheostatic braking only.^[6]

The locomotive uses Toshiba-made 3-phase AC motors, powered through Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) control. It is a dual-voltage locomotive, designed to operate on either 3 kV DC or 25 kV AC. Like the earlier Classes 7E1, 7E4, 9E, 11E, 15E and 18E electric locomotives, these engines have driving cabs at one end only since they would only be utilised in multi-unit consists.^[7]

As on the dual-voltage Classes 20E and 21E, the main electric circuit is automatically selected in either AC or DC mode based on the voltage of the overhead contact wire feeding the locomotive. To facilitate automatic trouble-free transition on the run, the locomotive is equipped with onboard voltage detectors, while the overhead wire is equipped with two wooden isolators and a 3 metres (10 feet) length of neutral wire to separate the AC and DC feeds. The neutral section is connected to the rails, which serve as the return conductor on electrified lines.^[8]

The transition process requires that the locomotive should be switched off automatically before it reaches the isolators and the unpowered overhead wire section, and automatically restarted after exiting from under the unpowered wire. This is done by a pair of track magnets, one on either side of the neutral overhead wire and spaced 45 metres (148 feet) apart. The two magnets are mounted with their polarities reversed in relation to each other and they activate a magnetic relay, located underneath the locomotive, to do the switching off and restarting.^[8]

By July 2009, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) had taken delivery of the first three Class 19E locomotives, and UCW intended to deliver between six and eight new units per quarter.^[9]

Service

The Class 19E locomotives were placed in service on the 580 kilometres (360 miles) long Coalink line from Ermelo to Richards Bay to haul export coal from forty-four coal mines in Mpumalanga to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), the export coal harbour in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. In the process, it relieved some Classes 7E, 7E1 and 7E3 electric locomotives on the Coalink Line for use elsewhere.

Illustration

No. 19-011 at Ermelo, Mpumalanga, 18 September 2010

References

^ Railways Africa, 29 Aug 2008: First 19E Loco
^ ^a ^b South African Railway News, 9 Apr 2009: TFR Class 19E Test Train / Information
^ Railways Africa, 29 Aug 2008: First 19E Loco
^ Toshiba Review Feature article (Japanese)
^ Railways Africa, 1 Sep 2006: 220 Bogies on Order
^ Toshiba Review, 2008, Vol 63 No 9
^ Railways Africa, 2 Aug 2009: Visit to UCW
^ ^a ^b Class 20E manual: Part 1: Locomotive Profile and Technical Data
^ Railways Africa, 9 Jul 2009: Loco Delivery Delays

External links

Media related to South African Class 19E at Wikimedia Commons

Locomotives of South Africa

Steam

7' ¼" gauge	East London 0-4-0VB Table Bay 0-4-0ST Table Bay 0-4-0T Table Bay 0-4-0WT
Standard gauge	Cape 0-4-0T Blackie Cape 0-4-2 Cape 2-4-0T CGR 0-4-0ST Aid Natal 0-4-0ST Durban Natal 0-4-0WT Natal Natal 4-4-0T Perseverance
Cape gauge Tank engines	CGR 0-4-0ST 1873 CGR 0-4-0ST 1874 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot CGR 0-6-0ST CGR 0-6-0T CGR 2-6-0ST 1900 CGR 2-6-0ST 1902 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1875 CGR 1st Class 0-4-0ST 1876 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0ST CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T CGR 2nd Class 4-4-0T CGR 3rd Class 2-6-0T CGR Railmotor CSAR Class C CSAR Class E CSAR Rack 4-6-4RT CSAR Railmotor Durban's Congella Durban's Edward Innes Durban's John Milne Durban's Sir Albert Port Elizabeth 0-4-0ST Kowie Railway 0-6-0T Kowie Railway 4-4-0T Metropolitan & Suburban 4-6-2T NGR 2-6-0T Durban & Pietermaritzburg NGR Class I 2-6-2T NGR Class K 0-4-0ST NGR Class K 0-6-0ST NGR Class K 2-6-0T NZASM 10 Tonner NZASM 13 Tonner NZASM 14 Tonner NZASM 18 Tonner NZASM 19 Tonner NZASM 32 Tonner NZASM 40 Tonner PPR 26 Tonner PPR 35 Tonner Portuguese SAR Class A SAR Class B SAR Class C SAR Class C1 SAR Class C2 SAR Class D SAR Class E SAR Class F SAR Class G SAR Class H SAR Class H1 SAR Class H2 SAR Class J SAR Class K SAR Railmotor SAR Dock 0-4-0ST SAR Dock 0-4-0T SWA 2-8-0T
Cape gauge Tender engines	CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 BP CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1876 Kitson CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1879 CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1891 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0TT CGR 2nd Class 2-6-2TT CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1883 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1884 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1889 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1898 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1901 CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1903 CGR 4th Class 4-4-2 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1880 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 Joy CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1884 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1890 CGR 5th Class 4-6-0 1891 NGR Havelock NGR Class I SAR Class Exp 1 SAR Class Exp 2 SAR Class Exp 3 SAR Class Exp 4 SAR Class Exp 5 SAR Class Exp 6 SAR Class S SAR Class S1 SAR Class S2 SAR Class 1 SAR Class 1A SAR Class 1B SAR Class 2 SAR Class 2C SAR Class 3 SAR Class 3A SAR Class 3B SAR Class 4 SAR Class 4A SAR Class 5 SAR Class 5A SAR Class 5B SAR Class 6 SAR Class 6A SAR Class 6B SAR Class 6C SAR Class 6D SAR Class 6E SAR Class 6F SAR Class 6G SAR Class 6H SAR Class 6J SAR Class 6K SAR Class 6L SAR Class 6Y SAR Class 6Z SAR Class 7 SAR Class 7A SAR Class 7B SAR Class 7C SAR Class 7D SAR Class 7E SAR Class 7F SAR Class 8 SAR Class 8A SAR Class 8B SAR Class 8C SAR Class 8D SAR Class 8E SAR Class 8F SAR Class 8R SAR Class 8X SAR Class 8Y SAR Class 8Z SAR Class 9 SAR Class 10 SAR Class 10A SAR Class 10B SAR Class 10C SAR Class 10D SAR Class 11 SAR Class 12 SAR Class 12A SAR Class 12B SAR Class 13 SAR Class 14 SAR Class 14A SAR Class 14B SAR Class 14C 1st SAR Class 14C 2nd SAR Class 14C 3rd SAR Class 14C 4th SAR Class 15 SAR Class 15A SAR Class 15B SAR Class 15C SAR Class 15CA SAR Class 15E SAR Class 15F SAR Class 16 SAR Class 16A SAR Class 16B SAR Class 16C SAR Class 16D SAR Class 16DA 1928 SAR Class 16DA 1930 SAR Class 16E SAR Class 17 SAR Class 18 SAR Class 19 SAR Class 19A SAR Class 19B SAR Class 19C SAR Class 19D SAR Class 20 SAR Class 21 SAR Class 23 SAR Class 24 SAR Class 25 SAR Class 25NC SAR Class 26 SAR Katanga SWA 2-8-0
Cape gauge Articulated engines	CGR Fairlie CGR Kitson-Meyer SAR Class FC SAR Class FD SAR Class GA SAR Class GB SAR Class GC SAR Class GCA SAR Class GD SAR Class GDA SAR Class GE SAR Class GEA SAR Class GF SAR Class GG SAR Class GH SAR Class GK SAR Class GL SAR Class GM SAR Class GMA SAR Class GO SAR Class HF SAR Class KM SAR Class MA SAR Class MB SAR Class MC SAR Class MC1 SAR Class MD SAR Class ME SAR Class MF SAR Class MG SAR Class MH SAR Class MJ SAR Class MJ1 SAR Class U
2' 6" gauge	Cape Copper John King & Miner Cape Copper Britannia Cape Copper Caledonia Cape Copper Clara Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Namaqua Copper Pioneer Walvis Bay 2-4-2T Hope
2' & 600mm gauges	ACR Class NG-G16A CGR NG 0-4-0T CGR NG 0-6-0T CGR NG 4-6-2T CGR Type A 2-6-4T CGR Type C 0-4-0T NGR Class N 4-6-2T SAR Dutton SAR NG 0-4-0T SAR Class NG1 SAR Class NG2 SAR Class NG3 SAR Class NG4 SAR Class NG5 SAR Class NG6 SAR Class NG7 SAR Class NG8 SAR Class NG9 SAR Class NG10 SAR Class NG-G11 SAR Class NG-G12 SAR Class NG-G13 SAR Class NG-G14 SAR Class NG15 SAR Class NG-G16 SWA Class Ha SWA Class Hb SWA Class Hc SWA Class Hd SWA Jung SWA Zwillinge

Electric

Amcoal Class E38

Gas-electric

SAR Gas-electric

Diesel

Cape gauge Diesel-electric	PRASA Class Afro 4000 SAR Class DS SAR Class DS1 SAR Class 31-000 SAR Class 32-000 SAR Class 32-200 SAR Class 33-000 SAR Class 33-200 SAR Class 33-400 SAR Class 34-000 SAR Class 34-200 SAR Class 34-400 SAR Class 34-500 SAR Class 34-600 SAR Class 34-800 SAR Class 34-900 SAR Class 35-000 SAR Class 35-200 SAR Class 35-400 SAR Class 35-600 TFR Class 35-800 SAR Class 36-000 SAR Class 36-200 SAR Class 37-000 Spoornet Class 39-000 TFR Class 39-200 TFR Class 43-000 TFR Class 44-000 TFR Class 45-000
2' gauge Diesel-electric	SAR Class 91-000
Cape gauge Diesel-hydraulic	SAR Class 61-000
Cape gauge Electro-diesel	Spoornet Class 38-000