Namaqualand 0-4-2ST Pioneer

Namaqualand 0-4-2ST Pioneer

Namaqua Copper Company 0-4-2ST Pioneer, c. 1905

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Designer	Dick, Kerr & Company
Builder	Dick, Kerr & Company
Build date	1901
Rebuilder	Dick, Kerr & Company Namaqua Copper Company
Rebuild date	1901
Number rebuilt	1 from 0-4-0ST wood-burning to 0-4-2ST oil-burning

Specifications
Configuration	0-4-2ST (Olomana)
Driver	2nd coupled axle
Gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm) Namaqualand
Loco weight	7 LT (7,112 kg)
Fuel type	Oil
Firebox type	Round-top
Cylinders	Two
Couplers	Buffers-and-chain

Career
Operators	Namaqua Copper Company
Number in class	1
Official name	Pioneer
Delivered	1901
First run	1901

The Namaqua Copper Company 0-4-2ST Pioneer of 1901 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

In 1901, the Namaqua Copper Company acquired its first locomotive, a 0-4-2ST saddle-tank shunting engine named Pioneer, for use on its tramway line between its main mine at Tweefontein and Flat Mine at Concordia.^[1]

Namaqua Copper Company

The Namaqua United Copper Company was formed to take over the Namaqua Copper Company from 1 January 1888 and, on 14 May 1888, it was reconstructed as the Namaqua Copper Company. In 1889, the mine built a 7 ¹⁄₂-mile long (12.1-kilometre) branch line from Braakpits Junction, near O'okiep, to Flat Mine where the Company's ore crusher was located. The line was opened to traffic on 23 April 1889. Braakpits Junction was on the Namaqualand Railway of the Cape Copper Company, which ran from Port Nolloth on the West Coast to the copper mines around O'okiep.^[1]

A tramway line was also constructed from Flat Mine to the Company's most important mine at Tweefontein, as well as branch lines to the Company stores at Concordia and the copper floor at Flat Mine. At the Port Nolloth end of the Namaqualand Railway, a short line was also built to serve the Company store at Port Nolloth. Trains were mule-hauled from the beginning.^[1]

Copper ore from the Namaqua Copper Company's mines and other Company traffic made use of the Cape Copper Company line between Braakpits Junction and Porth Nolloth. Until the Namaqua Copper Company acquired its own 8 ton capacity mainline trucks, goods and ore had to be transshipped at Braakpits Junction. By 1906, the company had a fleet of thirty trucks.^[1]

The Company survived the post-First World War depression in spite of a prolonged stoppage of mining from May 1918, but towards the end of the 1920s its copper reserves were running out and the collapse in the copper price led to final closure in July 1931. The assets of the Namaqua Copper Company were sold in 1932 and 1933 and the properties were taken over by the O'okiep Copper Company in 1939.^[1]

The locomotive Pioneer

Pioneer, as built in 0-4-0ST configuration, c. 1901

The Namaqua Copper Company acquired its first steam locomotive from Dick, Kerr & Company in 1901. It was named Pioneer and was constructed as a wood-burning 0-4-0 saddle-tank engine with a balloon chimney which contained a spark arrester. The locomotive had a fuel rack mounted on top of the tank, ahead of the cab.^[1]

In service, photographs show the locomotive as a 0-4-2ST oil-burning engine with the spark arrester removed from the chimney, with oil tanks mounted underneath the running boards below the cab and with a trailing axle added below the cab to carry the additional weight of the tanks at the rear end. Whether these modifications were carried out pre-delivery by Dick, Kerr or post-delivery by the mining company is not known.^[1]

In all, the Namaqua Copper Company had five locomotives by 1907, the 7-ton engine Pioneer being the first and the smallest. A 9-ton locomotive named Volunteer (or Engineer) followed in 1902. Three 12-ton locomotives named Muleteer, Buccaneer (Nuccaneer according to one source) and Reindeer were delivered in 1903, May 1905 and February 1907 respectively. These locomotives replaced the mules on the Namaqua Copper Company mainline to Braakpits Junction.^[1]

Service

The locomotive Pioneer was too light for work on the Company's mainline to Braakpits Junction and was placed in service on the tramway to Tweefontein. It gained its place in history during the Second Boer War, when it was commandeered by Boer forces.^[1]

Towards the end of the Second Boer War, the Cape of Good Hope was invaded by Boer commandos and, on 4 April 1902, the town Concordia surrendered to Boer forces.^[1] From 8 April to 3 May, the neighbouring town O'okiep was besieged by the Boer forces under General J.C. Smuts,^[2] whose strategy was to capture the rich copper fields and thus force the British to send troops from Cape Town to O'okiep, which would leave Cape Town vulnerable to attack.^[3]

Pioneer derailed outside O'okiep after the Boer commando attack on the town

The garrison of O'okiep consisted of some 900 men, mostly employees of the Cape Copper Company, three-quarters of whom were coloured. A chain of blockhouses and other defensive positions had been prepared and early in the siege, the garrison succeeded in repulsing several determined attacks by the commando. However, when the departure of Smuts with a British safe-conduct to the deliberations at Vereeniging heralded the end of the war, the siege became little more than a good-humoured blockade.^[2]

On 1 May 1902, the commandos launched an attack on O'okiep, using the commandeered locomotive Pioneer to propel a mobile bomb in the form of a truck-load of dynamite into the besieged town. The protective defences at O'okiep consisted of a barbed wire fence which was erected across the railway line at Braakpits Junction, just north of the town. The points at the junction were rigged to the fence, with the result that, when the dynamite-laden truck breached the fence, it derailed at the points and spilled its load of dynamite on the ground, where it burned out harmlessly without exploding.^[1]

Cape Copper Company Medal for the Defence of O'okiep

According to Smuts, the railway between the two towns was still intact, but since there were women and children in O'okiep town, all the commando was allowed to do was to give O'okiep a tremendous fright with a harmless explosion. Boer General Ben Bouwer had inspected the trainload before it was sent hurtling into the besieged town, to make sure that there were no caps in the dynamite.^[2]

The Second Boer War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in Pretoria on 31 May 1902. When it later transpired that the coloured members of the O'okiep garrison were excluded from receiving the Queen's South Africa Medal, the Cape Copper Company struck a medal of its own and presented it to all the defenders, regardless of race. The obverse of the Cape Copper Company Medal for the Defence of O'okiep depicts a miner with a spade, standing next to an ore truck.^[2]

The locomotive Pioneer was eventually retrieved from O'okiep on 29 July 1902, repaired and placed back in service. By 1906, the locomotive was described as being "past much work" and was only occasionally used for light work.^[1]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Namaqualand 0-4-2ST Pioneer.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Bagshawe, Peter (2012). Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and Copper Mines (1st ed.). Stenvalls. pp. 35–39. ISBN 978-91-7266-179-0.
1 2 3 4 South African History Online : O'okiep
↑ Namaqualand.com : A history of Okiep

Locomotives of the Cape of Good Hope

7' ¼" gauge	East London 0-4-0VB Table Bay 0-4-0ST Table Bay 0-4-0T Table Bay 0-4-0WT

4' 8½" gauge	Cape 0-4-0T Cape 0-4-2 Cape 2-4-0T CGR 0-4-0ST Aid

3' 6" gauge	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 2-6-0 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 2-6-0ST CGR 1st Class 4-4-0 CGR 1st Class 4-4-0T CGR 1st Class 4-4-0TT CGR 2nd Class 2-6-2TT CGR 2nd Class 4-4-0T CGR 3rd Class 2-6-0T 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 1890 CGR 5th Class 1891 CGR 6th Class 1893 CGR 6th Class 1896 CGR 6th Class 1897 CGR 6th Class 1898 CGR 6th Class 1900 CGR 6th Class 1901 Baldwin CGR 6th Class 1901 Schenectady CGR 6th Class 1901 Neilson's CGR 6th Class 1902 CGR 6th Class 1904 CGR 6th Class 2-6-2 CGR 6th Class 2-6-4 CGR 7th Class 1892 CGR 7th Class 1896 CGR 7th Class 1902 CGR 8th Class 1901 CGR 8th Class 1902 CGR 8th Class 2-8-0 1903 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1903 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1903 Exp CGR 8th Class 2-8-0 1904 CGR 8th Class 4-8-0 1904 CGR 9th Class 1903 CGR 9th Class 1906 CGR 10th Class CGR Fairlie CGR Karoo 1903 CGR Karoo 1904 CGR Karoo Compound CGR Kitson-Meyer CGR Mountain 4-8-2 CGR Railmotor CGR Tandem Compound 1902 CGR Tandem Compound 1903 Kowie Railway 0-6-0T Kowie Railway 4-4-0T Metropolitan & Suburban 4-6-2T NCCR 7th Class 1899 NCCR 7th Class 1913 Port Elizabeth 0-4-0ST

2' 6" gauge	Cape Copper 0-6-0T Cape Copper Britannia Cape Copper Caledonia Cape Copper Clara Cape Copper Condenser Cape Copper Scotia Namaqua Copper Pioneer Walvis Bay Hope

2' gauge	CGR Baldwin 2-6-0 CGR NG 0-4-0T CGR NG 0-6-0T CGR NG 4-6-2T CGR Type A CGR Type B CGR Type C

List of South African locomotive classes South African locomotive history

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

4' 8½" 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

3' 6" 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

3' 6" 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

3' 6" 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

3' 6" 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

2' gauge Diesel-electric	SAR Class 91-000

3' 6" gauge Diesel-hydraulic	SAR Class 61-000

3' 6" gauge Electro-diesel	Spoornet Class 38-000

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