[1][2] A pair of Stephenson's Patent back-to-back Mogul type 2-6-0 side-tank locomotives were delivered to the Cape Government Railways (CGR) from Kitson and Company in 1876.

A similar pair of 0-6-0T back-to-back locomotives, built by Robert Stephenson and Company, was delivered to the Eastern System in East London in that same year.

[3][4] Their feedwater pumps, attached to the right hand side of their spectacle plates, were actuated from the piston crossheads.

[5] Tyre wear was reduced by supplying jets of water, fed from 1⁄2 inch (13 millimetres) diameter pipes, to the leading wheels while negotiating curves.

Since they were considered obsolete, the locomotives were designated Class 01 and renumbered by having the numeral 0 prefixed to their existing numbers.