PRASA: New loco unveiled in CPT

[Steve Appleton]

The next three years will see an influx of new long-haul passenger locomotives enter service in South Africa after the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) unveiled Africa’s first Vossloh 4000-series diesel locomotive (numbered AFR 04001) at Cape Town Station on Monday (01 December 2014).
Full story at Engineering News here:
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/articl ... 2014-12-01

[Steve Appleton]

I was a bit perplexed at the loco number, but now I realise that this seems to be a number assigned by the builder, Vossloh. The type is designated by Vossloh as the Euro 4000 series. This is the first of the "African" variation, hence the number AFR 04001. I must assume that PRASA will eventually renumber the loco into a local class series.

[Steve Appleton]

Brief video of the unveiling here:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... =2&theater

[Malcolm Wilton-Jones]

Brief video of the unveiling here:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... =2&theater

This link does not work for me, do you have a public link?
Wonder when they corrected the number, it was originally AFRI4001 when first applied back in October. By the way it is AFRO4001, not AFR04001 as mentioned in some places, there is a slight difference between the O and the 0.
I don't think the number was allocated by Vossloh, their number for it is 2781, the plate being on the underframe below the left side of each cab. All the transfers would have been based on instructions from Prasa. The numbers on all the ones for France, regardless of specific customers are also in the 4000 series starting at 4001, this number also being incorporated as the last four digits of the UIC number before the check digit. Portuguese units are numbered in the 6000 series and Spanish units as the 335 class starting at 335 001, again with these numbers being the last digits of the UIC number before the check digit. Perhaps these Prasa locos would have been, or maybe will be, class 44? Prasa may well want their own number series and just drop the first 4.

[Oliver Krapp]

Here's a public link, don't know if it's the same video though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YohKk0PZME

[Steve Appleton]

Not the same video. The one posted to facebook was clearly an amateur cellphone video which was taken from in front. It is better because it contains some typical colourful African character with a stirring rendition of the song "Shosholoza" and much ululating.

BTW, the video link does work for me maybe because it was posted in a facebook group of which I am a member. Perhaps it will be posted elsewhere soon.

[Steve Appleton]

Malcolm, looking again and more critically at the pic in Engineering news, you are right; it is AFRO4001. I still do not understand the the use of the AFRO prefix in this context, beyond that it refers to Africa. I believe that in some contexts, Afro when used as a prefix may have a racist connotation and could possibly be regarded as belittling or demeaning.

[John Ashworth]

BTW, the video link does work for me maybe because it was posted in a facebook group of which I am a member. Perhaps it will be posted elsewhere soon.

Those of us who are not members of Facebook are not able to access any Facebook links as far as I can tell, whether videos or photos.

[Malcolm Wilton-Jones]

BTW, the video link does work for me maybe because it was posted in a facebook group of which I am a member. Perhaps it will be posted elsewhere soon.

Those of us who are not members of Facebook are not able to access any Facebook links as far as I can tell, whether videos or photos.

As a facebook member, I can tell you that it is possible to view all facebook pictures provided the owner has given you the correct link, even though you are not a member. All pictures have 2 links, one public and one private, and they also have a privacy settings panel. If the setting is public everyone can see it with either link. If the setting is private only the owner and those with the private link can see it. If the setting is anywhere in between those covered by the option (friends, family, group, etc) plus the owner and those with the private link can see it. Only the owner can access the private link to copy it and pass along. Facebook often change the way the privacy settings work and each time they do this the privacy links get changed I don't know how it works with videos but probably the same and the user has it set to "friends" or similar and the link was public. After the last change I can only find the private link for albums, not individual photographs as the settings icon does not appear in the usual place! Perhaps they have just moved it, it usually appears with a mouse hover in the right place.

[John Ashworth]

NEW PRASA LOCOS ARRIVE

[John Ashworth]

PRASA unveils first new long-haul passenger locomotive