Old Locomotive “Emil Kessler”, Johannesburg

It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 6 April 1936. (Note the National Monuments plaque on the side of the loco.) The engine weighs 12,7 tonnes and was manufactured by Emil Kessler of Esslingen in Germany. It was brought from the coast by ox-wagons and was unloaded piece by piece in the open veld at Elandsfontein (Germiston) where it was assembled in 1889 by A.W.Fohren and two mechanics. Kessler was born in Baden-Baden, attended school there and later studied constructional and mechanical engineering in Karlsruhe. In 1837 he founded an engineering works with Theodor Martiensen in Karlsruhe, where tools, small machines and railway equipment were manufactured. In 1840/1841 the Royal Württemberg Railway Commission tendered for railway construction and the production of rolling stock to pave the way for the Royal Württemberg State Railways (Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen). Kessler's bid was successful and in 1841 he built his first steam locomotive, the Badenia for the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway (Großherzoglich Badische Staatsbahn). From 1842 Kessler was the sole owner of the new firm Kesslers Maschinenfabrik ('Kessler's Engineering Works'). In 1848 it was converted into a public limited company, but liquidated on 30 October 1851 and acquired in 1852 by the Baden government. One year later he founded a new company under the name of Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe ('Karlsruhe Engineering Works'), that again took up locomotive building and delivered its first engine in 1854. Because Württemberg also wanted to have its own production facility for the emerging railways, Emil Kessler founded the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen that delivered its first engine in 1847. Emil Kessler died on 16 March 1867 in Esslingen am Neckar from a heart attack.  The ZASM 14 tonner Emil Kessler 'Randtram' locomotive was taken out of service in 1903 after having done about 181 000 km of service.