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GSWA Zwillinge 0-6-0T South West African Zwillinge 0-6-0T
Krauss picture of Zwillinge no. 73 B & A, c. 1899
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Krauss & Company Henschel and Son L. Schwartzkopff Egestorf Maschinenbau Anstalt Humboldt Arnold Jung Model Zwillinge Build date 1899–1905 Total produced 182 pairs
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0T  • UIC Cn2t Driver 3rd coupled axle Gauge 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) narrow Coupled dia. 580 mm (22.8 in) Wheelbase 1,300 mm (4 ft 3.2 in) ​  • Coupled 1,300 mm (4 ft 3.2 in) Length: ​  • Over couplers 8,200 mm (26 ft 10.8 in) pair  • Over beams 3,510 mm (11 ft 6.2 in) unit 7,200 mm (23 ft 7.5 in) pair Width 1,600 mm (5 ft 3.0 in) Height 2,700 mm (8 ft 10.3 in) Frame type Plate Adhesive weight 16,500 lb (7,500 kg) Loco weight 8,500 kg (18,700 lb) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 250 kg (550 lb) Water cap. 830 L (180 imp gal) Firebox: ​  • Type Round-top  • Grate area 0.3 m (3.2 sq ft) Boiler pressure 220 psi (1,517 kPa) Heating surface: ​  • Tubes 14.29 m (153.8 sq ft) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 180 mm (7.1 in) bore 240 mm (9.4 in) stroke Valve gear Stephenson Valve type Murdoch's D slide Couplers Buffers-and-chain
Performance figures Maximum speed 20 km/h (12 mph) Power output 60 hp (45 kW) Tractive effort 12.2 kN (2,700 lbf) @ 60%
Career Operators Swakopmund-Windhuk Staatsbahn South African Railways Number in class 50+ pairs Nicknames Zwillinge or Illinge Delivered 1898–1905 First run 1898
1. Data for single engine unless indicated otherwise. 2. The total production of 182 pairs includes those built for use in other parts of the world.

The South West African Zwillinge 0-6-0T of 1898 was a narrow gauge steam locomotive from the German South West Africa era.

Between 1898 and 1905, more than fifty pairs of Zwillinge twin 0-6-0T steam locomotives were delivered to the Swakopmund-Windhuk Staatsbahn (Swakopmund-Windhoek State Railway) in German South West Africa. By 1922, only two of these locomotives remained to be taken onto the roster of the South African Railways.

Swakopmund-Windhuk Staatsbahn

The first troops of the German Feldbahn-Baukommando (field railway construction commando) arrived in Swakopmund in German South West Africa (GSWA) on 11 September 1897. They were tasked to build a narrow gauge railway across the Namib Desert from Swakopmund to Windhoek, via Jakkalswater and Karibib. The 382-kilometre long (237-mile) Swakopmund-Windhuk Staatsbahn, later named the Northern State Railway or Nordbahn, was officially opened to traffic nearly five years later, on 1 July 1902.

The railway was initially intended for temporary military purposes only, to be worked by means of animal power such as Argentine mules or Cape donkeys, but steam traction was soon adopted. The track was laid on steel sleepers with 19 pounds per yard (9 kilograms per metre) rail and had very severe curves and gradients. Climbing out of the Khan River gorge, the gradient was 1 in 19 (5¼%) with curves of 180-foot radius (55-metre).

In 1905, a 14-kilometre long (9-mile) branch line was constructed from Karibib on the Nordbahn to Onguati near Usakos, where it connected with the new Otavi line from Swakopmund to Tsumeb. This created an alternative line from Windhoek to the Atlantic Ocean at times when the section through the Khan River gorge suffered from the occasional flooding. The Nordbahn section between Swakopmund and Karibib was later abandoned and, between 1911 and 1913, the 119-mile long (192-kilometre) section between Karibib and Windhoek was regauged to Cape gauge.

Manufacturers

Zwillinge locomotives, the first engines to enter service on the Nordbahn, were a class of small 600 millimetres (23.6 inches) narrow gauge paired 0-6-0T steam locomotives. They were built in Germany in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century for military railways in Germany and the German Empire. The first large consignment of Zwillinge locomotives arrived in Swakopmund between 1898 and 1899. Eventually, by 1905, more than fifty new or used pairs had been delivered to the Swakopmund-Windhuk Staatsbahn.

They were built by six manufacturers, Krauss and Company, Henschel and Son, L. Schwartzkopff, Egestorf, Machinenbau Anstalt and Arnold Jung. These so-called Feldbahn locomotives, built for the military, were also used in other German colonies and several came to GSWA second-hand.

The final batch of four pairs of Zwillinge for the Swakopmund-Windhuk Staatsbahn were built by Krauss in 1903 with works numbers 4875 to 4878 and engine numbers 179 to 182 A and B.

Characteristics

As indicated by their name Zwillinge (twins), they were actually two separate locomotives which were designed to be semi-permanently coupled back-to-back at the cabs, allowing a single footplate crew to fire and control both engines. The pairs of locomotives shared a common manufacturer's works number and engine number, with the separate units being designated as A and B. The A locomotives had higher cabin roofs than the B locomotives so that the roofs could overlap while they were coupled to provide better protection for the crew. They were designed so that they could also be used separately and each had a complete set of controls. When they were run in single mode, they were commonly referred to as Illinge.

The principle of using two tank locomotives which are semi-perma­nently coupled at their cab ends was patented in 1855 by the English loco­motive builders Robert Stephenson and Company.

The Zwillinge could negotiate curves of 66-foot radius (20-metre) and could haul loads of 32 long tons (32.5 tonnes) up a 1 in 25 (4%) gradient. They had balloon-type spark arresters in their chimneys and were coal-fired, the coal being imported from Germany. The steam regulator was arranged outside the high steam dome and, on some, two sandboxes were arranged on top of the boiler, fore and aft of the dome, while others had two small cylindrical sandboxes attached to the smokebox. They had flat Murdoch's D slide valves which were actuated by Stephenson valve gear, arranged outside the 5⁄8-inch thick (16-millimetre) plate frames.

By the outbreak of the First World War, a total of 182 Zwillinge pairs had been produced for employment in several German territories. Production of new Zwillinge was terminated a few years after the adoption of the larger 0-8-0T Brigadelok as the new standard German military locomotive in 1901. At least twelve of these new Brigadeloks were also delivered to the Swakopmund-Windhuk Staatsbahn between 1901 and 1904, built by Krauss and numbered in the range from 101 to 112.

Service

Shortly after the first Zwillinge locomotives were placed in service, it was found that the tank engine's fuel and water capacities were insufficient for the distances which had to be covered in the German colonies in Africa, especially in the harsh conditions presented by the Namib Desert which had to be crossed between Swakopmund and Windhoek. To solve this, a four-axle water tender was attached to the twin engines. It served the dual purpose of also providing seating for armed escorts. The bench atop the water tender as well as the water pipe between the locomotives and tender is visible in the picture alongside.

When the German government began to regauge the line between Windhoek and Swakopmund, most of the Zwillinge were withdrawn from GSWA. Most of them were sold to Japan and a few were purchased by the Otavi Railway for use as construction engines.

In 1922, the South African Railways (SAR) took control of all railway operations in South West Africa (SWA), but the SWA locomotives were never reclassified or renumbered and retained their former German identities until they were withdrawn from service. Illinge numbers 154A and 169B were the only known survivors of the Zwillinge fleet to be taken onto the SAR roster.

No. 154A was employed in Windhoek as a non-revenue departmental locomotive and was finally withdrawn from service in 1939, after logging a total mileage of about 371,000 miles (597,000 kilometres).

No. 169B, built in 1904 by Maschinenbau-Anstalt Humboldt, was shipped to Cape Town after the First World War and placed in non-revenue service at the Bellville quarry into the side of the Tygerberg.

Preservation

The sole surviving Zwillinge locomotive, no. 154A, is now plinthed under a shelter outside Windhoek Station. This particular locomotive was half of a pair which was built by Henschel in 1900, works no. 5376. The engine arrived in GSWA second-hand in 1904, being shown in the Henschel works lists as originally built new for the Deutsche Feldbahnen in 1900 as one half of seven locomotive pairs with engine numbers 148A&B to 154A&B and works numbers 5364 to 5377. It is not known where it was first placed in service.

It was originally plinthed at the Railway College at Esselen Park in Kaalfontein, near Kempton Park in Transvaal. During the late 1950s, it was returned to SWA and plinthed in its present location in front of the station building in Windhoek.

Commemoration

A postage stamp depicting the Zwillinge was one of a set of four SWA commemorative stamps which was issued on 2 August 1985 to commemorate the narrow gauge locomotives which pioneered railways in the territory. The stamp design was by the noted stamp designer and artist Koos van Ellinckhuijzen.

The particular locomotives depicted were the second GSWA pair, numbered 2A and 2B. The name of the station on the name board on the stamp, written in Fraktur script, is Otjimukoka. In 1903, this station was renamed to Johann Albrechtshöhe in honour of Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg, and again changed later to the shortened Albrechts. A head-on outline of an Illinge was used by the SWA postal authorities as a commemorative cancellation for Swakopmund on the date of issue. The stamp, the postmark and another painting of the Zwillinge appeared on the first day cover which marked the release of the four stamps.

Other locomotive types

Other locomotive types also served on the Nordbahn, but information about them is sketchy. Apart from the twelve Brigadeloks, the first of another type of small twin locomotives known as Pugs by the enginemen and probably employed on shunting duties, were delivered in 1901 from Machinenbau Anstalt of Breslau, with boilers supplied by Krauss and Company.

The Pug twins shared a water tank which was arranged between their engine frames and had chimneys with balloon-type spark arresters. The wheel arrangement of the individual engines is not known, but the boiler pressure was set at 176 pounds per square inch (1,213 kilopascals), the total heating surface of the boiler was 154 square feet (14.3 square metres), the firegrate area was 3.65 square feet (0.339 square metres) and the tractive effort at 50% of boiler pressure was 2,150 pounds-force (9.6 kilonewtons). The boiler pitch was 3 feet 7+5⁄16 inches (1,100 millimetres) and the engine weight in working order was 7 long tons 0 hundredweight 3 quarters (7,150 kilograms).

A second pair of such twins was delivered by Machinenbau Anstalt, also in 1901, but with larger boilers and without the balloon type spark arresters.

Illustration

• Zwillinge 0-6-0T no. 167 B & A, c. 1920
• No. 154A plinthed at Windhoek Station, 2006
• Plaque on no. 154A, 2013
• Rear end of no. 154A, 2013

References

1. ^ Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 117, 121. ISBN 0869772112.
2. ^ Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1947). The Locomotive in South Africa – A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VII – South African Railways (Continued). South West Africa. South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, August 1947. pp. 667–668.
3. ^ Philatelic Bulletin 44, issued by Philatelic Services and INTERSAPA, 1985
4. Dulez, Jean A. (2012). Railways of Southern Africa 150 Years (Commemorating One Hundred and Fifty Years of Railways on the Sub-Continent – Complete Motive Power Classifications and Famous Trains – 1860–2011) (1st ed.). Garden View, Johannesburg, South Africa: Vidrail Productions. pp. 379–382. ISBN 9 780620 512282.
5. ^ Schmeiser, Bernard (1977). Krauss-Lokomotiven. Verlag Josef Otto Slezak, Wien. ISBN 3-900134-36-7.
6. ^ Klaus Dierks. Namibias Schmalspureisenbahnen erschließen Afrikas letzte Wildnis – Namibias Schienenverkehr zwischen Aufbau und Rückgang.
7. ^ "The Heeresfeldbahn pages: Zwilling". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
8. Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1943). The Locomotive in South Africa – A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter II – The Adoption of the 3 ft. 6 in. Gauge on the Cape Government Railways (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, August 1943. pp. 592–594.
9. Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 25–28. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
10. ^ Middleton, John N. (2002). Railways of Southern Africa Locomotive Guide - 2002 (as amended by Combined Amendment List 4, January 2009) (2nd, Dec 2002 ed.). Herts, England: Beyer-Garratt Publications. p. 67.
11. Henschel-Lieferliste (Henschel & Son works list), compiled by Dietmar Stresow
12. De Jager, Okkie and Steenkamp, Riaan – The Art of J.J. (Koos) van Ellinckhuijzen
13. The Art of Koos van Ellinckhuijzen: Historical Namibian Railways, on North-West University South Africa website
14. ^ Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1947). The Locomotive in South Africa – A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter VII – South African Railways (Continued). South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, October 1947. p. 859.

v t e Steam Locomotives of South West Africa
600 mm gauge (Narrow gauge)	Class Ha Class Hb Class Hc Class Hd Jung Zwillinge
3' 6" gauge (Cape gauge)	6-Coupled Tank 8-Coupled Tank 8-Coupled Tender 10-Coupled Tender
List of South African locomotive classes South African locomotive history

v t e 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 SAR Class ES SAR Class ES1 SAR Class Exp-AC SAR Class 1E SAR Class 2E SAR Class 3E SAR Class 4E SAR Class 5E s1 SAR Class 5E s2 SAR Class 5E s3 SAR Class 5E1 s1 SAR Class 5E1 s2 SAR Class 5E1 s3 SAR Class 5E1 s4 SAR Class 5E1 s5 SAR Class 6E SAR Class 6E1 s1 SAR Class 6E1 s2 SAR Class 6E1 s3 SAR Class 6E1 s4 SAR Class 6E1 s5 SAR Class 6E1 s6 SAR Class 6E1 s7 SAR Class 6E1 s8 SAR Class 6E1 s9 SAR Class 6E1 s10 SAR Class 6E1 s11 SAR Class 7E SAR Class 7E1 SAR Class 7E2 s1 SAR Class 7E2 s2 SAR Class 7E3 s1 SAR Class 7E3 s2 Spoornet Class 7E4 SAR Class 8E SAR Class 9E s1 SAR Class 9E s2 SAR Class 10E SAR Class 10E1 s1 Spoornet Class 10E1 s2 SAR Class 10E2 SAR Class 11E SAR Class 12E Spoornet Class 14E Spoornet Class 14E1 TFR Class 15E Spoornet Class 16E Spoornet Class 17E Spoornet Class 18E s1 TFR Class 18E s2 TFR Class 19E TFR Class 20E TFR Class 21E TFR Class 22E TFR Class 23E
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
List of South African locomotive classes South African locomotive numbering and classification

• SWA locomotives
• 0-6-0 locomotives
• C locomotives
• 0-6-0T locomotives
• Arnold Jung locomotives
• Breslau locomotives
• Egestorf locomotives
• Henschel locomotives
• Krauss locomotives
• Berliner locomotives
• 600 mm gauge railway locomotives
• Military locomotives of Germany
• Railway locomotives introduced in 1898
• 1922 in South Africa