South African Class E38

South African Class E38
38-003 at Sentrarand in September 2009
Type and origin Power type Electric Designer Consortium led by Siemens Builder Union Carriage & Wagon Model Consortium Class E38 Build date 1992 Total produced 3
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B  • Commonwealth Bo-Bo Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge Wheel diameter 1,054 mm (41+1⁄2 in) Wheelbase 11,700 mm (38 ft 4+5⁄8 in) ​  • Bogie 2,600 mm (8 ft 6+3⁄8 in) Pivot centres 9,100 mm (29 ft 10+1⁄4 in) Length: ​  • Over couplers 16,314 mm (53 ft 6+1⁄4 in) Width 2,780 mm (9 ft 1+1⁄2 in) Height: ​  • Pantograph 4,130 mm (13 ft 6+5⁄8 in) Electric system/s 3 kV DC catenary Current pickup(s) Pantograph Traction motors Four AC 6 pole ABB/6FRA5252 ​  • Continuous 378 kW (507 hp) Loco brake Knorr-Bremse air brake Spring applied, air release parking Train brakes Knorr-Bremse W450/150-3 compressor Couplers AAR knuckle
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 km/h (62 mph) Power output: ​  • Continuous 1,500 kW (2,000 hp) continuous Tractive effort: ​  • Starting 260 kN (58,000 lbf) @ 35% adhesion  • Continuous 180 kN (40,000 lbf) @ 30 km/h (19 mph) Factor of adh.: ​  • Starting 35%  • Continuous 25%
Career Operators Amcoal Anglo Coal Class Class E38 Number in class 3 Numbers E38-001 to E38-003 Delivered 1993 First run 1993

The Amcoal Class E38 of 1993 is a South African industrial electric locomotive.

In 1993 Amcoal, now Anglo Coal, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anglo American, placed three Class E38 electric locomotives in service at its Kromdraai Colliery near Witbank, Mpumalanga.^[1]

The 3 kV DC Class E38 electric locomotive is an electric-only version of the Class 38-000 electro-diesel locomotive which was designed for Spoornet by a consortium under the leadership of Siemens. In 1992, three of these locomotives were built for Amcoal by Union Carriage & Wagon (UCW) in Nigel, Transvaal.^[2]

The locomotives were delivered in 1993 and numbered E38-001 to E38-003. UCW did not allocate builder's numbers to the locomotives it built for Anglo Coal, but used the Amcoal unit numbers for their record keeping.^[1]

Prior to the production of the Class E38 for Amcoal Mines, UCW also built fifty Class 38-000 locomotives for Spoornet. The Class 38-000 is a dual mode electro-diesel locomotive, identical in exterior appearance and dimensions to the Class E38 but designed for 3 kV DC electric as well as diesel-electric operation and equipped with a 780 kW (1,050 hp) Caterpillar DITA 3508 diesel prime mover.^[3]

The three Class E38s now serve at the Landau Colliery near Witbank.^[1]

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