Talk:CGR 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot
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Additional information supplied by John Middleton
editThe contents of an email received from John Middleton regarding the Coffee Pot:
From: John Nicholas Middleton
To: Andre H Kritzinger
Sent: 13 September 2013 10:23 PM
Subject: Re: The Coffee Pot
Andre
This needs a bit of correcting as research has shown that Holland's version was missing some nuances
These locomotives were built new for a short lived 3’6” gauge line (Teague’s tramway) at Kimberley mine. This isolated line (the first in Kimberley) was about one mile long and was used for waste removal. It operated from May 1881-July 1883 and was built by Teague & Co who were contractors for many of the companies operating at the Kimberley Mine. The RP locomotives (Nos. 3 and 4) were supplied through agents Sinclaire Hamilton and Company, who also supplied 150 four wheel tip wagons built by Brown Marshall & Company. Contemporary reports state that on 25/4/81 the first engine was running with three more expected shortly from Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth). The other two locomotives (Nos 1 and 2) were built by Andrews Barr of Kilmarnock (a very obscure company that only built a few locos). However, the line was not economic and Teague & Co pulled out in October 1881 with the line taken over by the Kimberley Mining Board which itself went bankrupt in March 1883. The tramway did not operate after July 1883 and in March 1885 the equipment was offered for sale. Locos 1,2 and 4 were still stored in Pniel Road shed on 4/2/1886. This seems to indicate that No. 3 was the one sold to CGR for construction work probably around March 1885 and No. 4 to De Beers.
A pervading mystery is the fate of Nos 1 and 2 which were substantial 0-4-0 side tanks, possibly they also got taken over by CGR but there is no further reference anywhere after February 1886. Oscar Sabatini has a photo of one.
After closure of Teague's tramway, the next 3'6" gauge siding was one that served De Beers Mine (which was to the east of the CGR main line and linked to it by a short spur, it is thought that this was shunted by CGR until the mine closed in 1908. In 1891 another siding, about one mile long was built to the Kimberley Mine (to the west of the CGR) from the west side of the Kimberley Station yard. It is thought that for this line DBCM acquired the RP loco and if this locomotive was unavailable, a Cape Government Railway locomotive was hired. However, this means that No. 4 was stored for some 6 years - possibly it was previously used on the De Beers mine siding.