Zimbabwe Railways DE2 Diesel Electric

ex NRZ number 1207 English Electric 2238/1955

Updated - 15th May 2006

The only foreign and diesel main line locomotive in the collection, number 1207 was one of a batch supplied to dieselise the Salisbury (Harare) to Umtali (Mutare) main line. The locomotives were built to a design brief whereby they could haul the same tonnage as a Rhodesia Railways 16th class Garratt and on 60lb rail. English Electric (EE) met this brief and the locomotives were built at the EE Dick Kerr works in Preston, England. The locomotives were delivered by sea to Beira and commissioned in Mutare where they were based during their working lives on this line. In 1974 when the new diesel depot was opened in Bulawayo, the DE2 class also took up duties on the line through to Mafeking in South Africa.

The DE2 class has an EE V16 twin turbocharged diesel engine producing 1710hp driving three axles of each four axle bogie through EE traction motors.

Throughout their lives they carried a number of liveries with the final yellow livery, as carried by number 1207 today, being applied from 1982.

After the mid 80s very few survived although number 1207, having already covered over 2,5 million miles, was allocated to Bulawayo Workshops in September 1992 as works pilot and carried plant number 3517 as well as its original running number.

By December 1995 1207 was set aside and sold by tender for scrap in Mutare in October 1997. Sandstone had expressed interest in obtaining a DE2 for preservation as one of the first main line diesels in Southern Africa, as well as being of English origin rather than American. A suitable deal was done with the scrap metal merchant and 1207 duly arrived in South Africa in May 1998. Remarkably it still carried its 1207 running plates and 3517 plant number plates.

The locomotive is stored at Sandstone's Ficksburg facility. An ex Rhodesia Railways diesel fitter has examined it and the engine is in excellent condition, although much of the brake control gear and some of the electrical accessories are missing. It is planned to return 1207 to working order in the not too distant future.
No. 1207 weighs nearly 115 tons and is 18,1 m in length.