| NZR EC class | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sole preserved member of the class, EC 7 stands at Moorhouse Station on the Ferrymead Railway during the Easter 2008 railfan event | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
The NZR EC class was a class of electric locomotive used in Christchurch, New Zealand. They replaced steam locomotives on trains through the Lyttelton rail tunnel between Lyttelton and Christchurch. [1]
Since its opening in 1867, the Christchurch to Lyttelton line had become extremely busy with both suburban and goods trains passing through the 2.6 km (1.6 mi) Lyttelton Tunnel, which had been opened in 1867. Smoke accumulating in the tunnel from each successive train became a nuisance for train crews and passengers travelling through the tunnel. Although trials were conducted in 1909 using steam locomotive WF 436 which had been converted to oil firing, the cost of oil alone meant that no further work was done.
In 1925, the English consultancy of Merz & McLellan was commissioned by then Minister of Railways, Gordon Coates, to report on electrifying the suburban networks in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. The report, released in August 1925, recommended that of the Christchurch system, only the 10 km (6.2 mi) Lyttelton line warranted electrification due to the volume of traffic and the Lyttelton tunnel. To operate the line, Merz & McLellan recommended purchasing five electric locomotives to haul all trains on this line, and that electric multiple units would not be necessary. [2] The new electrification should be the same 1.5 kV DC as used at Otira and later in Wellington.
Accordingly, six EC class electric locomotives were purchased from English Electric exclusively for this work in 1928. They were similar in many respects to the earlier 1923 EO class as delivered by EE, but had longer bogies, higher gearing for a higher top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph), and more powerful motors. Initially classified in the E class, the later 'C' designation indicated these locomotives were to be allocated to Christchurch, as opposed to the EO class which was allocated to Otira.
The EC class handled all duties from Christchurch to Lyttelton. They were capable of handling 600-long-ton (610 t; 670-short-ton) freight trains and the Boat Train, which regularly loaded up to 400 long tons (410 t; 450 short tons). [1] Early problems with motor flashover and armature shaft fractures during the transition from series to parallel meant that the parallel connections were removed, halving the voltage to the motors and reducing the running speed to 42 km/h. [3]
By 1967, the EC class was reaching the end of its economic working life. Due to the locomotive changeover for such a short section being costly, and with drainage work going on in the vicinity of the Woolston sub-station, it was decided to reduce the losses made on this section and at the same time make it easier for the drainage work to proceed by withdrawing the electric locomotives. Diesel locomotives would be able to handle all trains through the tunnel.
The first of the class, EC 11, was the first to be withdrawn. The last locomotive of the class in service was EC 9, which hauled the last electric train over this line on 18 September 1970. [4] Five of the locomotives were then scrapped while one was put aside for the Ferrymead-based Tramway Historical Society.
Class leader EC 7 along with EO 3 was donated to the Tramway Historical Society upon withdrawal. Stored in the Linwood locomotive depot, the locomotive was transported to Ferrymead by road in 1972, where it nearly ran away during the unloading operation. The two electric locomotives were stored by the tramway section until 1977 when the THS handed the two locomotives over to the Ferrymead Railway-based Electric Traction Group. Both locomotives were shifted onto the railway tracks using electrical leads off the 600 V DC tramway overhead and several tracksets, which were moved with the locomotives to the railway. In 1978, part of the Ferrymead line at Moorhouse station was fitted with overhead catenary and in 1980, some test runs were done with EC 7 at 600 V using the tramway power supply. This led to the acquisition of three mercury-arc rectifiers to power the railway, as well as the trams and trolley-buses.
With construction of a substation able to supply the railway, tramway and trolley-buses was subsequently commenced and in November 1988, it was officially opened with trains hauled by EC 7 on the electrified section of the Railway. EC 7 is periodically operated at the Park, usually double-heading with EO 3. This is due to the lack of electrification on the Moorhouse station loop, which does not allow one locomotive to head the train on its own.
The Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the track formation of New Zealand's first public railway, from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened on 1 December 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1867, the Ferrymead Railway became the Ferrymead Branch and was closed shortly thereafter. In 1964, rail enthusiasts began relaying track on the historic formation and the new 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge. Ferrymead Railway officially reopened in 1977. It now operates steam, diesel and electric trains regularly and is recognised as one of the most significant rail preservation sites in New Zealand.
Railway preservation in New Zealand is the preservation of historically significant facets of New Zealand's rail transport history. The earliest recorded preservation attempt took place in 1925, although the movement itself did not start properly until 1960. New Zealand appears to have a higher proportion of organized railway enthusiasts per 1,000 of population than any other part of the world.
The Canterbury Railway Society is an organisation of railway enthusiasts based in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island, best known for their operation of The Ferrymead Railway at the Ferrymead Heritage Park.
Rail transport in New Zealand is an integral part of New Zealand's transport network, with a nationwide network of 4,375.5 km (2,718.8 mi) of track linking most major cities in the North and South Islands, connected by inter-island rail and road ferries. Rail transport in New Zealand has a particular focus on bulk freight exports and imports, with 19 million net tonnes moved by rail annually, with 99.5% of New Zealand's exports and imports being transported through the country's seaports.
The New Zealand F class was the first important class of steam locomotive built to operate on New Zealand's railway network after the national gauge of 3 ft 6 in was adopted. The first locomotives built for the new gauge railways were two E class double Fairlies for the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Company. The F class was the first class ordered by the central government, and between 1872 and 1888, a total of eighty-eight members of the class were constructed.
Locomotives of New Zealand is a complete list of all locomotive classes that operate or have operated in New Zealand's railway network. It does not include locomotives used on bush tramways.
The New Zealand E class battery-electric locomotive represented the third unique type of locomotive class to be given the E classification in New Zealand. The first was the E class of nine Double Fairlie steam locomotives of 1872-75; the second E class consisted of a Mallet compound made in 1906; and as both were no longer operated by the New Zealand Railways in 1923, the classification was free to be used for a third time when the small battery-electric locomotive was delivered. This is the only time a classification has been used three times in New Zealand, though re-use happened a number of other times, arguably most notably when the A class of 1906 took the designation originally used by the A class of 1873.
The NZR RM class Edison battery-electric railcar was a railcar that ran in Canterbury, New Zealand for eight years. It was built for New Zealand Railways (NZR) as a prototype for battery-electric railcars. While the railcar, classified "RM 6", was considered the first successful railcar in New Zealand, it was later destroyed in a fire, and battery-electric traction for railcars was not developed further in New Zealand. Two other classes of battery-electric locomotives were introduced about the same time as RM 6, the E class of 1922 and the EB class of 1925.
The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
This is a list of jargon commonly used by railfans and railway employees in New Zealand.
The New Zealand EW class locomotive was a type of electric locomotive used in Wellington, New Zealand. The classification "EW" was due to their being electric locomotives allocated to Wellington. For two decades until the advent of the DX class they were the most powerful locomotives in New Zealand.
The Midland line is a 212 km section of railway between Rolleston and Greymouth in the South Island of New Zealand. The line features five major bridges, five viaducts and 17 tunnels, the longest of which is the Otira tunnel. It is the route of the popular TranzAlpine passenger train.
The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand, between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira – a length of over 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi). The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over 250 m (820 ft) lower than the Arthur's Pass end.
The NZR EO class of 1923 were electric locomotives used on the steep Otira to Arthurs Pass section of the Midland Line in New Zealand. They were primarily needed for pulling trains through the 1 in 33 grade 8.5 km (5.3 mi) Otira Tunnel which was too long and steep to allow steam locomotives to be used.
The New Zealand DX class locomotive is a type of 49 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives that currently operate on New Zealand's national railway network. All locomotives are owned by KiwiRail.
The New Zealand EA class of electric locomotives were used on the New Zealand rail network between 1968 and 1997 on the Otira – Arthur's Pass section of the Midland line in the South Island, through the Otira Tunnel. Following reconditioning, three were used by KiwiRail's Tranz Metro in Wellington from 2008 to 2011 to top and tail Metlink suburban passenger trains as an interim measure before new rolling stock arrived. Four of the five locomotives were scrapped in 2013 with one being set aside for preservation.
The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel, initially called the Moorhouse Tunnel, links the city of Christchurch with the port of Lyttelton in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is the country's oldest operational rail tunnel, and is on the Lyttelton Line, one of the first railways built by Canterbury Provincial Railways.
Rail transport in Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealand's South Island, consists of two main trunk railway lines intersecting in the suburb of Addington, carrying mainly long-haul freight traffic but also two long distance tourist-oriented passenger trains. The two lines are the Main North Line and Main South Line, collectively but unofficially known as the South Island Main Trunk Railway. There is a heritage line at the Ferrymead Historic Park that is operated with steam, electric, and diesel motive power hauling tourist-oriented services.
Lyttelton Line is a name sometimes used to refer to the section of the Main South Line in New Zealand's South Island between Lyttelton and Christchurch, and can also be used to refer to the operations on this section. As it has always been part of the Main South Line, this name has never been officially used to refer to the track itself.
Railway electrification in New Zealand consists of three separate electric systems, all in the North Island. Electrification was initially adopted by the New Zealand Railways for long tunnels; the Otira Tunnel, the Lyttelton Rail Tunnel and the two Tawa Tunnels of the Tawa Flat Deviation. Electrification of Wellington suburban services started with the Johnsonville Line and Kapiti Line out of Wellington from the 1930s. Auckland suburban services were electrified in 2014–2015. Electrification of long-distance services on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) dates from 1986. New long tunnels, for example the Rimutaka Tunnel and the Kaimai Tunnel, were operated by diesels, and the Otira and Lyttelton Tunnels have converted to diesel operation.
Rail vehicles of New Zealand  | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel locomotives | |||||||
| Diesel Multiple Units | |||||||
| Electric locomotives |
| ||||||
| Electric Multiple Units |
| ||||||
| Railcars | |||||||
| Steam locomotives |
| ||||||
| Locomotive hauled carriages | |||||||