The first locomotive in the Cape Government Railways (CGR) 2-8-0 Consolidation type 8th Class, later to be designated the South African Railways (SAR) Class 8X, was designed by H.M. Beatty, the CGR’s Chief Locomotive Superintendent from 1896 to 1910.
This second batch of four engines was ordered in 1903 from Kitson and Company of Hunslet in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
All four were allocated to the CGR’s Western System and numbered in the range from 817 to 820.

They were very similar to the earlier CGR Schenectady- and ALCO-built Consolidations, but with the boiler centre line raised by 2 inches (51 millimetres).
Coupled with a shallow firebox, this enabled the firegrate to be extended out sideways over the fourth set of coupled wheels, which resulted in a grate area of 30.9 square feet (2.87 square metres), compared to the 20 square feet (1.9 square metres) of the previous model.
These engines also used saturated steam and cylinders with overhead slide valves, actuated by inside Stephenson valve gear.
The first locomotive in the Cape Government Railways (CGR) 2-8-0 Consolidation type 8th Class, later to be designated the South African Railways (SAR) Class 8X, was designed by H.M. Beatty, the CGR’s Chief Locomotive Superintendent from 1896 to 1910. This second batch of four engines was ordered in 1903 from Kitson and Company of Hunslet in Leeds, West Yorkshire. All four were allocated to the CGR’s Western System and numbered in the range from 817 to 820.
They were very similar to the earlier CGR Schenectady- and ALCO-built Consolidations, but with the boiler centre line raised by 2 inches (51 millimetres). Coupled with a shallow firebox, this enabled the firegrate to be extended out sideways over the fourth set of coupled wheels, which resulted in a grate area of 30.9 square feet (2.87 square metres), compared to the 20 square feet (1.9 square metres) of the previous model. These engines also used saturated steam and cylinders with overhead slide valves, actuated by inside Stephenson valve gear.
South African Class 8Y 2-8-0