South African type HT tender

The South African type HT tender was a steam locomotive tender.

Two Type HT tenders entered service in 1927 and 1928 as tenders to the two Class 18 2-10-2 Santa Fe type steam locomotives which were acquired by the South African Railways in those years.

Manufacturer
The Type HT tenders were built in 1927 by Henschel and Son of Kassel in Germany.

The South African Railways (SAR) placed two Class 18 Santa Fe type locomotives in service in 1927 and 1928. The locomotives and tenders were built to the design of Col F.R. Collins DSO, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the SAR, and were placed in service on the line between Witbank and Germiston where increasingly heavy coal trains were overtaxing the hauling capacity of the non-articulated locomotive fleet. The Type HT entered service as tenders to these locomotives.

Characteristics
The Type HT tender was arranged with a Duplex D.4 type mechanical stoker, operated by a four-cylinder steam engine. It had a coal capacity of 14 lt, a water capacity of 6000 impgal and a maximum axle load of 19 lt.

Locomotive
Only the two Class 18 locomotives were delivered new with Type HT tenders, which were numbered 1360 and 1361 for their engines. An oval number plate, bearing the engine number and possibly also the tender type, was attached to the rear end of the tender.

Classification letters
Since many tender types were interchangeable between different locomotive classes and types, a tender classification system was adopted by the SAR. The first letter of the tender type indicated the classes of engines to which it could be coupled. The "H_" tenders could only be used with the two Class 18 locomotives with which they were delivered.

The second letter indicated the tender's water capacity. The "_T" tenders had a capacity of between 5587 and 6000 impgal.

Modification to Type KT
After their locomotives were withdrawn from service in the early 1950s, the two Type HT tenders had their mechanical stokers removed and their drawgear modified for use with Class 15CA locomotives. They were then redesignated Type KT. The "K_" tenders could be used with the locomotive classes as shown.
 * Class 15CB.
 * Class 15CA.
 * Class 16D.
 * Class 16DA of 1928 and 1930.