Invention and Engineering

East London Harbour 0-4-0VB

The East London Harbour 0-4-0VB of 1873 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope. In 1847, the government of the Cape of Good Hope established harbour boards at its three major ports, Table Bay, Port Elizabeth and East London. While railway lines were laid at all these harbours, trains were for the most part initially hauled by oxen or mules. The first steam locomotive to see service at East London Harbour was a 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) Brunel gauge engine which was obtained for work on breakwater construction in 1873 and placed in service in 1874. It was a 0-4-0VB engine, similar in general appearance to the American Grasshopper type. Four of them were acquired between 1873 and 1880.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Diesel locomotive
• ▸Choiseul pigeon
• ▸Half-track

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.