Rhodesia Railways Diesels and Electrics (FAO Syd!)
 

Bought February 2008 edition of 'Backtrack' yesterday and it has a very interesting article about English Electric Diesel locomotives. There is a mention in the article about a class of 23 2000hp diesel electric locomotives built for the RR in 1955. They were the first diesels on the narrow gauge to exceed 2000hp and used the same engine as the BR Class 40. They used the same wheel arrangement as well.

Did you have any experience of these locos's Syd?

Yes Trev, I did work on them on the R.R. They were classed as DE2's. We also had DE3's DE4 and DE6's. The DE5 Was a railcar. I have some photos of the DE2's at Bulawayo loco shed but they were not very good. T also have a web site where you can see all the others plus some more that came into service after I left Rhodesia. I'm at work at the moment, so I don't have the site address here. I will send it to you when I get home and after I have had a hair cut.

OK Trev Here is that web site I said I would find for you.

http://www.sa-transport.co.za/trains/zim/zim_index.html

Having just had a look through it again I admit I forgot to say that the DE3 loco is also an English Electric Diesel locomotive. The DE4's are Brush and the DE5 Rail-car had been sold and a new type of loco was classed as a DE5. The whole web site is full of interesting Steam, Diesel & Electric locos from Central & Southern Africa Let me know what you think.

Some interesting stuff there Syd, thanks.

I didn't realise that Zimbabwe/Rhodesia had any electric railways though. Do you know anything about the EL1 locomotives? I might be wrong, but they remind me of some Chinese loco's that I saw pics of a while back.

I know almost nothing about the Electric locos apart from they are from China, and that the loco crews rate them quite good. There were also electric locos with overhead wires used on the copper mines in Northern Rhodesia. They were small locos that pulled the slag wagons up the slag heap where they tipped them. A fantastic sight to see molten slag at night and the change of colour as it cools. I will try and find out some more about it

They are? I'm chuffed I guessed right! :D

Seriously though, I've got quite interested in industrial systems in the Commonwealth countries over the last few months (cane sugar systems in Australia anyone?), and you mentioning o/h electrics in the copper mines is fascinating. I'll have a hunt round t'owld internet and see what I can find. I'd be grateful for any more info that you might have. (insert 'begging' smiley here :D )

PS I've changed the title of this thread to reflect the sparky turn that it seems to be taking.