Last of the South African class 7E's Part Two: a closer look at the loco 

Thank you JawTooth... yes, I just had to find a way to get closer to these beauties, because they won't be with us for long...

Not all sections to Cape Town catered for the 7E being a 25kv unit, hence the low down on perception of this once magnificent unit. Majority of the line to Cape Town is 3kv.

Only part of the truth. They are also standing as the overheads have been stolen and it remains pointless replacing the OHTE because tomorrow morning it will be gone. Demotivated staff sitting idle in Potties and Bela-Bela depots.

Thank you so much! Love your videos too... will only get a chance to be active again next weekend... hope to catch up then! ;)

Thank you!

Hey. Thank you for your comment and for watching :). The 7E's have a transformer that steps the voltage down by a factor of about 10, (and therefore current multiplied by 10) because it would be an engineering challenge to make 25 KV motors :). But the 7E's had no way of running under 3KV, as the input feed is rated for between 17.5 KV and 30 KV, therefore the 25 KV line. Thanks again for watching :)

@@reeselourens1459 Greetings I was a driver on the 7E and as you say they could not run under 3KV As for being slow as commented they were damn powerful and could lift their legs when needed Nice video

Greetings 😁 No not the 7E's. When the 6E1's were rebuilt to 18E's, one side of the 'dead' cab was allocated to a toilet. The newer locomotives all have one.

Hi Matthew. These are all Cape Gauge, 1067 mm

@@reeselourens1459 thx for that i wasnt sure

@@matthewmassarotti2596 Yeah. It's easier to maintain, better for mountain passes and the locomotives have limited power output due to motor size... but the 7E and other six-axle locomotives are quite powerful

Not all of them.

I agree that it is quite difficult to keep them in good shape though... imagine if they had induction traction motors... no brushes to be replaced ever.