Otavi Mining and Railway Company
Encyclopedia
The Otavi Mining and Railway Company (Otavi Minen- und Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft or OMEG) was a railway and mining company in German South-West Africa
(today's Namibia
). It was founded on 6 April 1900 in Berlin
with the Disconto-Gesellschaft and the South West Africa Company as major shareholders.
OMEG built the longest gauge railway in the world extending 567 kilometres (352.3 mi) from Swakopmund
on the Atlantic
coast to the mines
of Tsumeb
. Construction began in 1903 and reached Tsumeb three years later. The first 225 kilometres (139.8 mi) of railway required 110 steel bridges to cross deeply eroded gullies through sparsely vegetated arid terrain. Most were deck plate girders. Construction coincided with the Herero and Namaqua Genocide
. Delays resulted from labor shortages and military feldbahn
operations. A 91-kilometer branch was completed in 1908 from Otavi
to mines near Grootfontein
.
The first locomotive
s designed for regular service were fifteen 22-tonne 0-6-2T built by Arn. Jung. Henschel & Sohn built twelve locomotives similar to the Jung design and three 0-6-0T. Twenty 8-wheel auxiliary tenders carrying 8 kiloliters of water and 3.5 tonnes of coal were built to enable these tank locomotives to complete longer runs. Henschel & Sohn built three HD class 2-8-2 in 1911 with separate 8-wheel tenders for long-distance running. These locomotives weighed 59 tonnes (including the 26-tonne tender) and remained in service for 50 years as the 2-8-2 type became standard for the railway. By 1913, train service included 4 express trains, 14 mixed trains, and 29 freight trains each week. Express and mixed trains included a baggage car
, a car for African passengers, and a coach for first and second class passengers. Express trains stopped only at designated stations, but other trains would stop at intermediate points when transport was required. Equipment included 96 low-side ore gondolas
, 55 high-side gondolas
, 20 limestone gondolas
, 20 boxcars, 12 tank car
s, 4 stock cars
, 3 passenger coaches and an executive business car with a kitchen, a bathroom, and an office convertible to a bedroom at night. There was also a self-powered steam rail motor car with a coal bunker, a mail compartment, 2 compartments for Europeans, and 4 for Africans.
A special 7-tonne rail motor coach was built for an anticipated visit of Kronprinz Wilhelm in 1914. A 6-cylinder Daimler-Benz
gasoline engine gave the car a speed of 38 meters per second (137 km/h) and the title of the fastest 2 foot (0.6096 m) gauge rail car. World War I
intervened to prevent Wilhelm's visit, and the car was used as an inspection vehicle after the war. German troops had moved inland by the time South African troops reached Swakopmund in January, 1915. German forces destroyed the railroad as they retreated, and South African forces reconstructed a gauge line over the route to Karabib in 1915.
German troops surrendered following defeat at Otavi in July, 1915; and service was re-established over the remaining 60-centimeter gauge line from the railway shops at Usakos with freight transfer facilities at Karabib. Two Henschel & Sohn 4-6-2 locomotives built in 1914 had disappeared during the war; but Baldwin Locomotive Works
delivered a 4-6-2 in 1916. A coach converted for meal service from 1916 to 1931 is believed to be the only 2 foot (0.6096 m) gauge dining car
ever operated. Six more Henschel & Sohn 2-8-2 were delivered in 1922. These locomotives were designated South African Railways (SAR) NG5 class when the Otavi line was nationalized in 1923.
infestation in 1924 until steam nozzles were installed on locomotives to sweep the insects off the rails before their crushed bodies could reduce traction under the locomotive wheels.
2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt
locomotives were used from 1927 until the Tsumeb mines closed in 1933. Henschel & Sohn delivered three SAR NG15 Class
2-8-2 locomotives in 1931. German rearmament activity reopened the mines from 1936 until the South African government closed the mine as enemy property in 1940. Four sleeping cars were built for the railroad in 1938; when Henschel & Sohn delivered three more 2-8-2 SAR NG15 Class
. Tsumeb mines reopened again in 1946. Fifteen more SAR NG15 Class
2-8-2 locomotives were delivered as three groups of five in 1949, 1952, and 1957. Purchase of additional Garratt locomotives was briefly considered in 1958 before the remainder of the line was regauged to in 1961 and became part of the TransNamib
.
German South-West Africa
German South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
(today's Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
). It was founded on 6 April 1900 in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
with the Disconto-Gesellschaft and the South West Africa Company as major shareholders.
OMEG built the longest gauge railway in the world extending 567 kilometres (352.3 mi) from Swakopmund
Swakopmund
Swakopmund is a city on the coast of northwestern Namibia, west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As a seaside resort, the weather is cooler here in December to January so the territorial administration moves to Swakopmund for these months...
on the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast to the mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
of Tsumeb
Tsumeb
Tsumeb is a city of 15,000 inhabitants and the largest town in Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb is the home of the world-famous Tsumeb mine, and the "gateway to the north" of Namibia. It is the closest town to the Etosha National Park...
. Construction began in 1903 and reached Tsumeb three years later. The first 225 kilometres (139.8 mi) of railway required 110 steel bridges to cross deeply eroded gullies through sparsely vegetated arid terrain. Most were deck plate girders. Construction coincided with the Herero and Namaqua Genocide
Herero and Namaqua Genocide
The Herero and Namaqua Genocide is considered to have been the first genocide of the 20th century. It took place between 1904 and 1907 in German South-West Africa , during the scramble for Africa...
. Delays resulted from labor shortages and military feldbahn
Feldbahn
A Feldbahn is the German term for a narrow gauge railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth and sand...
operations. A 91-kilometer branch was completed in 1908 from Otavi
Otavi
Otavi is a town of 4,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otavi electoral constituency. Most of the area is dolomitic and the district was in the past renowned for its mineral wealth...
to mines near Grootfontein
Grootfontein
Grootfontein is a city of 14,200 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. It is one of the three towns in the Otavi Triangle, situated on the B8 national road that leads from Windhoek to the Caprivi Strip...
.
Overview
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s designed for regular service were fifteen 22-tonne 0-6-2T built by Arn. Jung. Henschel & Sohn built twelve locomotives similar to the Jung design and three 0-6-0T. Twenty 8-wheel auxiliary tenders carrying 8 kiloliters of water and 3.5 tonnes of coal were built to enable these tank locomotives to complete longer runs. Henschel & Sohn built three HD class 2-8-2 in 1911 with separate 8-wheel tenders for long-distance running. These locomotives weighed 59 tonnes (including the 26-tonne tender) and remained in service for 50 years as the 2-8-2 type became standard for the railway. By 1913, train service included 4 express trains, 14 mixed trains, and 29 freight trains each week. Express and mixed trains included a baggage car
Baggage car
A baggage car or luggage van is a type of railway vehicle often forming part of the composition of passenger trains and used to carry passengers' checked baggage, as well as parcels . Being typically coupled at the front of the train behind the locomotive, this type of car is sometimes described...
, a car for African passengers, and a coach for first and second class passengers. Express trains stopped only at designated stations, but other trains would stop at intermediate points when transport was required. Equipment included 96 low-side ore gondolas
Gondola (rail)
In railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-top type of rolling stock that is used for carrying loose bulk materials. Because of its low side walls, gondolas are used to carry either very dense material, such as steel plates or coils, or bulky items such as prefabricated pieces of rail...
, 55 high-side gondolas
Gondola (rail)
In railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-top type of rolling stock that is used for carrying loose bulk materials. Because of its low side walls, gondolas are used to carry either very dense material, such as steel plates or coils, or bulky items such as prefabricated pieces of rail...
, 20 limestone gondolas
Gondola (rail)
In railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-top type of rolling stock that is used for carrying loose bulk materials. Because of its low side walls, gondolas are used to carry either very dense material, such as steel plates or coils, or bulky items such as prefabricated pieces of rail...
, 20 boxcars, 12 tank car
Tank car
A tank car is a type of railroad rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities.-Timeline:...
s, 4 stock cars
Stock car (rail)
In railroad terminology, a stock car or cattle wagon is a type of rolling stock used for carrying livestock to market...
, 3 passenger coaches and an executive business car with a kitchen, a bathroom, and an office convertible to a bedroom at night. There was also a self-powered steam rail motor car with a coal bunker, a mail compartment, 2 compartments for Europeans, and 4 for Africans.
A special 7-tonne rail motor coach was built for an anticipated visit of Kronprinz Wilhelm in 1914. A 6-cylinder Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and internal combustion engines; founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest - which was valid until year 2000 - was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had...
gasoline engine gave the car a speed of 38 meters per second (137 km/h) and the title of the fastest 2 foot (0.6096 m) gauge rail car. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
intervened to prevent Wilhelm's visit, and the car was used as an inspection vehicle after the war. German troops had moved inland by the time South African troops reached Swakopmund in January, 1915. German forces destroyed the railroad as they retreated, and South African forces reconstructed a gauge line over the route to Karabib in 1915.
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
delivered a 4-6-2 in 1916. A coach converted for meal service from 1916 to 1931 is believed to be the only 2 foot (0.6096 m) gauge dining car
Dining car
A dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....
ever operated. Six more Henschel & Sohn 2-8-2 were delivered in 1922. These locomotives were designated South African Railways (SAR) NG5 class when the Otavi line was nationalized in 1923.
Locusts
Train service was interrupted by a locustLocust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
infestation in 1924 until steam nozzles were installed on locomotives to sweep the insects off the rails before their crushed bodies could reduce traction under the locomotive wheels.
Flooding
The worst flooding in forty years caused extensive washouts in 1925. Three SAR NGG 13 ClassSAR NGG 13 Class
In 1927 and 1928 the South African Railways placed twelve Class NG G13 Garratt articulated steam locomotives with a 2-6-2+2-6-2 wheel arrangement in service on the Langkloof and Alfred County Railway narrow gauge lines.-Manufacturer:...
2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt
Garratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
locomotives were used from 1927 until the Tsumeb mines closed in 1933. Henschel & Sohn delivered three SAR NG15 Class
SAR NG15 Class
In 1931 three narrow gauge locomotives with a 2-8-2 Mikado wheel arrangement, similar in design to their existing Class Hd and Class NG5 locomotives, were acquired for the Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa...
2-8-2 locomotives in 1931. German rearmament activity reopened the mines from 1936 until the South African government closed the mine as enemy property in 1940. Four sleeping cars were built for the railroad in 1938; when Henschel & Sohn delivered three more 2-8-2 SAR NG15 Class
SAR NG15 Class
In 1931 three narrow gauge locomotives with a 2-8-2 Mikado wheel arrangement, similar in design to their existing Class Hd and Class NG5 locomotives, were acquired for the Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa...
. Tsumeb mines reopened again in 1946. Fifteen more SAR NG15 Class
SAR NG15 Class
In 1931 three narrow gauge locomotives with a 2-8-2 Mikado wheel arrangement, similar in design to their existing Class Hd and Class NG5 locomotives, were acquired for the Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa...
2-8-2 locomotives were delivered as three groups of five in 1949, 1952, and 1957. Purchase of additional Garratt locomotives was briefly considered in 1958 before the remainder of the line was regauged to in 1961 and became part of the TransNamib
TransNamib
TransNamib is the railway parastatal of Namibia. Organised as a holding company, it provides freight by rail and road as well as passenger services. Its administration is located in Windhoek.-History:...
.
See also
- Slippery railSlippery railSlippery rail is a condition of railways caused by fallen moist leaves that lie on and cling to the top surface of the rails of railway tracks. The condition results in significant loss of friction between train wheels and rails, and in extreme cases can render the track temporarily unusable...
- South African Class NG 15 2-8-2
- Two foot gauge railways in South AfricaTwo foot gauge railways in South AfricaAt the beginning of the twentieth century, two foot narrow gauge railway lines started playing a significant role in transporting various agricultural and mineral produce from locations hardly accessible by road...