The rebuilding took place at the Salt River Works in Cape Town and was based on the principles developed by Argentinian mechanical engineer L.D.

[3][4] The rebuilding project suffered from the outset from, at best, half-hearted support on the side of the SAR management who had by then already decided to replace all steam traction with electric and diesel-electric power.

[5] As a trial run, Wardale was allowed to carry out extensive modifications on a Krupp-built Class 19D 4-8-2 Mountain type branchline locomotive, no.

A GPCS and tandem dual Lempor exhausts were installed along with some other small improvements which included high mounted smoke deflectors.

3450 hauled its first three-coach train filled with various railway officials, staff and media representatives to Dal Josafat, about 66 kilometres (41 miles) from Cape Town.

However, the drawbar outputs were measured with less accuracy owing to the malfunctioning of the dynamometer car, which gave generally inconsistent results throughout the various tests made.

The equivalent drawbar outputs were unacceptably low relative to the indicated ones and gave an unrealistically high locomotive rolling resistance.

On its first working run from Pretoria to Witbank in Transvaal, a signal stop on a 1 in 50 (2%) gradient resulted in great struggles to restart, eventually causing about 20 minutes of delay.

[4] In a sense, the outstanding success achieved with the South African Class 26 can be considered as the final spasms of a dying breed.

[13][14] Following Wardale's departure from the SAR, the Beaconsfield shops carried out a minimal modification on an NBL-built ex Class 25 condenser, no.

[4] Modifications on this locomotive consisted mainly of equipping it with a dual Lempor exhaust system and extending its smoke deflectors upwards and curved around the smokebox.

Results, as reported by locomotive crews and shed staff, were noticeable savings in coal and water consumption when compared to a standard Class 25NC, although the amounts were never quantified.

Similar projects such as the Ross Rowland's ACE 3000 in the United States in 1985 and later in China also failed to revive official interest in steam traction.

[2][15] In South Africa, two Class NG G16 narrow gauge Garratt locomotives of the Alfred County Railway were rebuilt in 1989 and 1990, using technology similar to that used by Wardale in the creation of the Red Devil.

In the process the Red Devil was significantly changed to be more conventional by caretakers who did not fully agree with the basis of the recent conversion.

[5] The Red Devil last ran on a steam excursion on 23 September 2003 and was later mothballed, being cared for by private enthusiasts on behalf of the Transnet Heritage Foundation (THF) at Monument Station in Cape Town.

As of November 2015, the locomotive had become the subject of contractual negotiations between the THF and the newly formed Ceres Rail Company, who wanted to put the locomotive back into service to haul weekend excursions between Cape Town and Robertson, Western Cape as part of its now reopened Ceres branch line project.