In 2000, Spoornet began a project to rebuild Series 2 to 11 Class 6E1 locomotives to Class 18E, Series 1 and Series 2 at the Transnet Rail Engineering (TRE) workshops at Koedoespoort.
In the process, the cab at the no.
1 end was stripped of all controls and the driver's front and side windows were blanked off to have a toilet installed, thereby forfeiting the locomotive's bi-directional ability.

Since the driving cab's noise level had to be below 85 decibels, cab 2 was selected as the Class 18E driving cab primarily based on its lower noise level compared to cab 1, which is closer and more exposed to the compressor's noise and vibration.
Another factor was the closer proximity of cab 2 to the low voltage switch panel.
The fact that the handbrake was located in cab 2 was not a deciding factor, but was considered an additional benefit.

Most of the Class 6E1, Series 7 units which were used in this project were rebuilt to Class 18E, Series 1 locomotives.
The known numbers and renumbering details are listed in the table.
In 2000, Spoornet began a project to rebuild Series 2 to 11 Class 6E1 locomotives to Class 18E, Series 1 and Series 2 at the Transnet Rail Engineering (TRE) workshops at Koedoespoort. In the process, the cab at the no. 1 end was stripped of all controls and the driver's front and side windows were blanked off to have a toilet installed, thereby forfeiting the locomotive's bi-directional ability.
Since the driving cab's noise level had to be below 85 decibels, cab 2 was selected as the Class 18E driving cab primarily based on its lower noise level compared to cab 1, which is closer and more exposed to the compressor's noise and vibration. Another factor was the closer proximity of cab 2 to the low voltage switch panel. The fact that the handbrake was located in cab 2 was not a deciding factor, but was considered an additional benefit.
Most of the Class 6E1, Series 7 units which were used in this project were rebuilt to Class 18E, Series 1 locomotives. The known numbers and renumbering details are listed in the table.
South African Class 6E1, Series 7