The South African Railways Class 8 4-8-0 of 1902 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

[1] While these first Schenectady and ALCO-built 2-8-0 locomotives were being subjected to exhaustive testing on all types of traffic and under varying conditions, some trouble was experienced with the leading two-wheeled pony truck.

They had larger coupled wheels than the CGR 7th Class, bar frames, used saturated steam and had Stephenson valve gear.

In service, it was found that the four-wheeled bogies and the 12 inches (305 millimetres) shorter fixed wheelbase made them steadier and easier riding than their 2-8-0 Consolidation predecessors.

[2][7] When these 23 locomotives were assimilated into the South African Railways (SAR) in 1912, they were renumbered in the range from 1069 to 1091, but they retained their Class 8 classification.

[5][6] Four locomotives were equipped with superheated boilers, 20 inches (508 millimetres) bore cylinders and inside admission piston valves and reclassified to Class 8W.

[5][6] In SAR service, the Class 8 4-8-0 family of locomotives served on every system in the country and in the 1920s became the mainstay of motive power on many branch lines.

In their last decade at Volksrust until mid-1961 they were increasingly used on standby and shunting duties while the 1948 batch of North British-built Class 19D locomotives were phased in.