| Small Class Number 7 Jack Tar |
| Built: Manning Wardle Builders number: 1159 of 1889 Received: 1899 To Museum: 1972 Previously preserved at Umtali Transport Museum |
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Jack Tar is one of the best known and liked steam locomotives to have
worked in Rhodesia. Calling Jack ‘she’, as is common with
locomotives, seems singularly inappropriate for such a masculine
name, so tradition must change, and Jack will remain a ‘he’.
Built in 1889 as a Manning Wardle standard design, Jack Tar was
purchased new by Mr J P Edwards of Chapel en le Frith, Derbyshire, a
contractor employed on the Midland Railway route between Dore and
Chinley. Built as a 3 foot gauge locomotive, she was ex-works on 14
November 1889.
The locomotive is a flat sided 0-6-0 saddle tank with a 19’1”
wheelbase and a 22’10” overall length.
Interestingly, the locomotive presently displays a Manning Wardle
builders plate dated 1899. It is not known why this is, but possibly the
plate is a replica. The name ‘Jack Tar’ has been on the locomotive for
a long time, but I do not know of any definitive reason for it, or when it
was applied.
In 1896 Jack Tar was altered to 3’6” gauge and was sold to Pauling &
Co for £1372. The loco worked as a contractors engine for Paulings,
who were at that time involved in the widening of the Beira to Umtali
railway.
Around 1904 and 1905 he worked as a ballast train locomotive on the
construction of the line into Zambia from Victoria Falls. He was the first
locomotive to cross the Victoria Falls Bridge (and hit a leopard on that
first trip). Prior to this he was dismantled and carried across the
Victoria Falls gorge via the ‘Blondin Cable’ before the bridge was
completed. The boiler was the largest single load carried on the
Blondin, and it caused some anxious moments as the cable sagged to
an extent that prevented the truck from climbing up the cable until extra
counterweights were added to the cable end and the safety valve was
adjusted to give more steam pressure.
In 1929 Jack Tar was replaced at Beira by a pair of Hudswell Clarke 0-
6-0 tank locos and was sent to Bulawayo to work as a workshop
shunter. This was again a useful duty as he could fit on the traverser
with a 65 foot coach, whereas all other locomotives were too long.
In 1935 he was nominally sold to the Bulawayo Workshops of the
Rhodesia Railways. He was re-boilered, and largely rebuilt in the
workshops. The cab was covered in, and a false dome was fitted. By
this time, an anchor as embellishment had appeared on the handrail
in front of the chimney.
The loco worked in the Bulawayo workshops until 1942, when it was
transferred to the Umtali Workshops. After many years as works
shunter, Jack Tar was stored prior to being displayed at the Umtali
Transport Museum. He was transferred to the Bulawayo Railway
Museum in time for the opening in 1972.
worked in Rhodesia. Calling Jack ‘she’, as is common with
locomotives, seems singularly inappropriate for such a masculine
name, so tradition must change, and Jack will remain a ‘he’.
Built in 1889 as a Manning Wardle standard design, Jack Tar was
purchased new by Mr J P Edwards of Chapel en le Frith, Derbyshire, a
contractor employed on the Midland Railway route between Dore and
Chinley. Built as a 3 foot gauge locomotive, she was ex-works on 14
November 1889.
The locomotive is a flat sided 0-6-0 saddle tank with a 19’1”
wheelbase and a 22’10” overall length.
Interestingly, the locomotive presently displays a Manning Wardle
builders plate dated 1899. It is not known why this is, but possibly the
plate is a replica. The name ‘Jack Tar’ has been on the locomotive for
a long time, but I do not know of any definitive reason for it, or when it
was applied.
In 1896 Jack Tar was altered to 3’6” gauge and was sold to Pauling &
Co for £1372. The loco worked as a contractors engine for Paulings,
who were at that time involved in the widening of the Beira to Umtali
railway.
Around 1904 and 1905 he worked as a ballast train locomotive on the
construction of the line into Zambia from Victoria Falls. He was the first
locomotive to cross the Victoria Falls Bridge (and hit a leopard on that
first trip). Prior to this he was dismantled and carried across the
Victoria Falls gorge via the ‘Blondin Cable’ before the bridge was
completed. The boiler was the largest single load carried on the
Blondin, and it caused some anxious moments as the cable sagged to
an extent that prevented the truck from climbing up the cable until extra
counterweights were added to the cable end and the safety valve was
adjusted to give more steam pressure.
In 1929 Jack Tar was replaced at Beira by a pair of Hudswell Clarke 0-
6-0 tank locos and was sent to Bulawayo to work as a workshop
shunter. This was again a useful duty as he could fit on the traverser
with a 65 foot coach, whereas all other locomotives were too long.
In 1935 he was nominally sold to the Bulawayo Workshops of the
Rhodesia Railways. He was re-boilered, and largely rebuilt in the
workshops. The cab was covered in, and a false dome was fitted. By
this time, an anchor as embellishment had appeared on the handrail
in front of the chimney.
The loco worked in the Bulawayo workshops until 1942, when it was
transferred to the Umtali Workshops. After many years as works
shunter, Jack Tar was stored prior to being displayed at the Umtali
Transport Museum. He was transferred to the Bulawayo Railway
Museum in time for the opening in 1972.
| Jack Tar at Beira Station. Copied from 1903 Rhodesia Railways Timetable. |
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| A postcard showing Jack Tar during the Victoria Falls Bridge costruction. |
| Jack Tar prior to rebuilding in 1935. Photo. NRZ Museum |
| Jack Tar arriving at the museum from Umtali on 22 October 1972. Photo. Geoff Cooke |
| Jack Tar in the main exhibition hall. Photo. Geoff Cooke |
| Maramba |
Pauling and Co obtained a second Manning Wardle 0-6-0T of similar
design to Jack Tar. Named Maramba (the name of a small river that
joins the Zambezi just above Victoria Falls), she was used on the
construction of the railway to Kalomo and Broken Hill.
Maramba would appear to have worked further north and most likely
arrived in Katanga around 1909 / 1910, when work on the CFK
commenced, and was reputed to have been the first locomotive in
Katanga.
By 1972 Maramba was stored at Lubumbashi Workshops in Katanga
and by 1988 she had been seen plinthed outside Lubumbashi Station.
design to Jack Tar. Named Maramba (the name of a small river that
joins the Zambezi just above Victoria Falls), she was used on the
construction of the railway to Kalomo and Broken Hill.
Maramba would appear to have worked further north and most likely
arrived in Katanga around 1909 / 1910, when work on the CFK
commenced, and was reputed to have been the first locomotive in
Katanga.
By 1972 Maramba was stored at Lubumbashi Workshops in Katanga
and by 1988 she had been seen plinthed outside Lubumbashi Station.
| Maramba with an unidentified 7th Class refulling with logs. Photo probably taken at Livingstone in 1906. National Archives of Zimbabwe photo |
| Recent photograph of Maramba plinthed outside the station in Lubumbashi Photo: Unknown Belgian Enthusiast |
| Maramba stored at Lubumbashi Workshops in 1972. Photo: Peter Bagshawe |
