South African type XM tender

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The South African Type XM tender was a steam locomotive tender used with the Class 4A Mountain locomotives bought by the South African Railways in 1913. Ten Type XM tenders were built by the North British Locomotive Company in 1913 to accompany these engines, designed by H. M. Beatty of the Cape Government Railways. They entered service in 1913–1914.

Key details:
- Gauge and size: Cape gauge (3 ft 6 in / 1,067 mm); about 25 ft 1 in long (7,645 mm). Driving wheels were 33.5 in (851 mm) originally, later 34 in (864 mm) after retyring. Wheelbase about 16 ft 1 in (4,902 mm). Bogies about 4 ft 7 in (1,397 mm).
- Weights and capacity: Empty weight about 47,920 lb (21,740 kg); weight without fuel about 47 LT 5 cwt (48,010 kg). Coal capacity 8 LT (8.1 t); water capacity 4,000 imperial gallons (18,200 L).
- Service and operation: Stoking was manual. Original couplers were Drawbar & Johnston link-and-pin; in the 1930s they were updated to AAR knuckle couplers.
- Ownership and numbers: Operated by the South African Railways as numbers 1551–1560.
- Classification and changes: The X in XM indicates the tender could be used with certain locomotive classes; the M denotes a coal capacity of 4,000 gallons. Some tenders were later modified with built-up coal-bunker sides to increase coal capacity; early versions used a slatted open-top cage, later replaced by sheet metal.

These ten XM tenders were issued with the Class 4A locomotives and remained in SAR service for many years.