This locomotive was built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn in Darlington and delivered to the South African Railways in 1947.
For details of class 19D locomotives go to Class 19D
The locomotive stayed in service until it was acquired by to work at the Sappi Saiccor (South African Industrial Cellulose Corporation) mill at Umkomaas in December 1987. Interestingly the locomotive was acquired in exchange for ex SAR class 8D 1197 built by Neilson Reid (works number 6330) being donated to the SAR so that it could be placed in a museum.
The Sappi Saiccor’s mill at Umkomaas, is located on the Indian Ocean cost of KwaZulu Natal, 50km south of Durban. The mill, which began production in December 1955, is the world’s largest producer of chemical cellulose (dissolvable wood pulp). The company pioneered the production of chemical cellulose from eucalyptus, a development which transformed the economics of the industry. In 1998 the business was bought by Sappi, originally a South African paper company formed in 1936 and now an international conglomerate. The mill has been enlarged over the years and now has the capacity to manufacture 800,000 tons of chemical cellulose per annum. Nearly all the product is exported. Most of the eucalyptus comes from plantations owned by the company throughout eastern KwaZulu Natal. Currently about half of it arrives by rail along with coal and, occasionally, limestone.
The mill is linked by a private line of just over two miles to connect with the Durban/Port Shepstone line just north of Umkomaas station. The railway is used to deliver inbound raw materials – pulp wood from forests north of Durban, coal from Free State mines, limestone from near Port Shepstone and imported sulphur. Finished pulp is shipped by road (due to problems with South African state railways loco and car availability) with much being exported through Durban.
In 1987 there were three ex-SAR 19D class locomotives operating at the mill. No 1 was ex SAR 2697, No2 was ex SAR 2633 and No 3 was 2767. The locomotives are kept in excellent condition and their longevity has been aided by the company’s foresight in buying a large stock of spare parts while they were available, from a complete fourth boiler to much smaller components. As the supply of spare parts dwindled it became necessary to start introducing diesel locomotives in 2015.
The locomotive was promised to the North British Locomotive Preservation Group some time before it was taken out of service in August 2015 having been the last member of the class in service.
In March 2017 it was revealed that agreement had been reached between the North British Locomotive Preservation Group and the Patons Country Railway to move the locomotive from the Sappi Pulp Mill at Umkomaas to Creighton Station for possible restoration. It was transported to Creighton in September 2017 where limited restoration work was undertaken.
In November 2020 it was announced that the locomotive had moved from Creighton in Natal where it had been stored for three years. This follows an agreement being reached between the locomotive owner, the North British Locomotive Preservation Society, and Mpumalanga Rail Company in Pretoria. The Mpumalanga Rail Company will be responsible for restoring the locomotive and will have use of it for ten years when it enters service. The restoration work will be undertaken at Wonder Steam Trains before being moved to the Mpumalanga Rail Company at Middleburg.
By the beginning of April 2021 the locomotive had been stripped down and the a boiler test completed. It was hoped the locomotive would be in steam in 2021 to haul a series of trains from Middelburg to Dullstroom.
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