During the 19th Century locomotive design was that of the individual private and state run companies. There was no effort at standardization at the time. Locomotives were manufactured and imported from the U.K. via the Cape of Good Hope. This was a period of experimentation and each company came up with their unique designs. The first effort at standardization when the British Engineering Standards Association, in the early years of the 20th Century set up a subcommittee to develop standards. Their first report cameout in 1903. The new standard designs came to be known as BESA Standard Designs for Passenger and Goods Locomotives.
This section depicts some of the Pre-BESA Non-Standard Designs. The Pre-BESA Locomotives continued in operation for several years even after the BESA standards were published. (Photographs in the section are courtesy National Railway Museum Photo Archives and Eastern Railway Photo Archives)
