Red Devil

1981 · South African Class 26 · Work 37 of 1,871

Red Devil, 1981, South African Class 26

The South African Class 26 Red Devil, the most advanced steam locomotive ever built, gas producer firebox and enlarged exhaust, standing on the Karoo plateau.

What it was used for
Coal traffic in South Africa, produced in 1981 by rebuilding a machine of 1953.
What was new
David Wardale fitted the gas-producer combustion system: the coal gasifies on the grate and burns above it. Consumption fell markedly, and the machine appeared in 1981 — when steam was held to be a closed subject. The last serious development of the steam locomotive came when nobody was watching.

Connections

Every connection names its kind. “Forerunner” on its own would be a claim.

  1. Follows fromPacific Chapelon1940The Lempor exhaust David Wardale fitted to the Class 26 in 1981 is, in the words of the Coalition for Sustainable Rail, a direct outgrowth of the Kylchap that Chapelon developed between 1926 and 1929 and that the 231E shown here carries. L. D. Porta passed it on.Source: Wolfgang A. Fengler / Davidson A. Ward: The Development of Modern Steam 1 - André Chapelon and his Steam Locomotives, Coalition for Sustainable Rail, 2013 · Advanced Steam Traction (AST Group): The Red Devil