Last of the South African class 6E1's Part One 

Actually the blower sound...these are still DC motors!!! Very very old-school.

Reese Lourens I love the old school stuff. When I was little, the old school stuff was common. Lol. I might be getting old. haha

Thanks! That is what most mainline passenger trains here look like. The rest are purple (the Premier Classe) and the Rovos Rail (one of the worlds most luxurious trains) has restored maroon and white wooden coaches, and metrorail...not My favourite metallic dome or plastic coaches.

Velen dank vanuit Zuid-Afrika! Ik vind het Europese rijtuigen en locomotieven ook zeer leuk! :)

PMB ?

No, in the Midlands. Small town

Cool man. Ja nothing beats the sound of a 6e's blower spooling up.

Thank you sir! I'm currently busy with My academics...videos will be ready in December. I already have some clips, but I want to put effort into it, like how the locomotives start up, a cab tour, how they couple up, switching voltages etc.. I am going to upload a steam slideshow and probably some more metrorail or diesel videos. Kind regards, from South Africa.

Isn't much of the fan noise caused by the need to cool the controlling resistances until the motors are able to receive full voltage, albeit I expect they work on a 'series-parallel' system, so therefore the resistances will be switched out with the motors in full series @ 1500 volts.

Colby James Sorry for a very late reply. Transnet no longer use 6E1 locomotives, therefore no 6E's on Blue Train service. Class 18E's are used in their place, together with other locomotives. The Blue Train is owned by Transnet, and now uses two class 20E's (20 031 and 20 032) that are also painted in the Blue Train livery. When these are off for service or for any other reason, other class 20E's or sometimes 18E's will take over. :) Regards, from South Africa.

Hi there. The Green Mambas were the older SAS class 4E locomotives. And yes, those were kids trainspotting. I believe they could have been tourists. Regards, from SA.

Thanks for the information.

Hi, I would say....anywhere. In Cape Town (3000 volt DC) you'll find 6E1's, 18E's, some classic metrorail EMU's, class 35GE and 36GE/GM diesel-electrics, even steam locomotives like the 19D's operated by private companies focused on attracting tourists and preserving steam. Beyond Beaufort West (about 450km from Cape Town inwards, the railway town where the 3000 volt line ends) you'll find 35GE's, powerful vintage class 34GE's, 7E electrics and their subclasses (25 000 volt 6-axle beasts) up into Klerksdorp. Thereafter it's 3000 volts again with 18E's but with class 10E and 10E1 locomotives as well and some diesels. The new class 20E's can be found just about anywhere in SA. 22E's near and around Ermelo. 23E's...well...we'll find out soon. New modern class 43GE diesels, on the Sishen-Saldanha OREX line together with mighty 15E's running under 50 000 volt AC! These pull and push the longest production trains in the world, carrying iron ore. There are also many branch lines across the whole country operating diesels. The list goes on... hope it helps. Regards, from Cape Town.

Ahh no! I know the feeling! Was filming a 7E as it departed with a heavy freight train...that sound! Beautiful! Thank you for that clip though...It makes the pictures in the video tell a story...

Reese Lourens where is the best place to see these locos 6E1 on passenger trains and when will they finish?

Between Beaufort West and Cape Town. Quite a long stretch of track. Rumors said they will run till early January, but Transnet already ran a test train for PRASA with 22E loco's, so it could be sooner...

Thanks. Not worth booking a trip in January to South Africa then.

Hi, sorry for late reply...just found out that they MAY run till later...probably mid-february, because of locomotive customizing problems. Think this has to do with the air brakes of the 22E but passenger coaches use vacuum brakes. Hope you'll catch these beauties before it's too late!

Dankie Kiekie!

+Kobus Premier Classe word aanbeveel. Die res klink nie so goed nie.

Dankie, sal kyk of ons 'n trippie kan doen op ons volgende bezoek in SA. Groete

+Kobus Oohhh U is van Nederland? Ik begrijp Nederlands zeer goed. Ja de Premier lopen slechts eenmaal per week vanaf Kaapstad naar Johannesburg.

Nee :) jammer ons is SA'ners. Ons bly net nie meer in SA nie.