During the Second Boer War, the British troops urgently needed powerful tank locomotives. Since the Natal Government Railways had already procured a ten-coupled tank locomotive from British production, the Reid Tenwheeler, they used this design and ordered 35 units as well. The order was divided between Dübs and Neilson, Reid in order to achieve a larger number in a short time. A visible difference to the NGR locomotives was the weatherboard on the coal bunker, which also offered protection from the elements when reversing. The military locomotives also attracted attention due to the brass parts on the boiler which were always polished to a high gloss.