South African Class 6C 4-6-0

The South African Railways Class 6C 4-6-0 of 1896 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Orange Free State. Between 1895 and 1898 the Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen placed 24 new Cape 6th Class locomotives in service, designated 6th Class L2. They were built by three firms: six by Sharp, Stewart and Company numbered 70 to 75, nine by Dubs and nine by Neilson, all with Type YC six-wheeled tenders. The Imperial Military Railways took them over in the Second Boer War, and the Central South African Railways designated them Class 6-L2. Ten were rebuilt by P. A. Hyde with larger boilers and Belpaire fireboxes, which raised hauling capacity by about 12 percent. In 1912 the 23 remaining engines became Class 6C.