Between October 1966 and May 1967 the South African Railways placed twenty Class 33-200 General Motors Electro-Motive Division type GL26MC diesel-electric locomotives in service.

[1] The Class 33-200 locomotives spent their entire SAR working lives operating out of East London.

[2][3] Between 1991 and 1992, the remaining Spoornet locomotives were similarly modified and placed in shunting service around East London.

[2] Of the original twenty locomotives, eleven were still in service with Sheltam by 2010, two having first served at Douglas Colliery as numbers D8 and D9.

33-212 on 8 January 1970 with its original high short hood and in the SAR Gulf Red livery, leading General Electric-built Class 33-000 no.