Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The 4-6-2 locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading truck or bogie, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. In North America and in some other countries the type was usually known as the Twelve-wheeler.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Prairie.
The NZR K class of 1877 was the first example of American-built locomotives to be used on New Zealand's rail network. Their success coloured locomotive development in New Zealand until the end of steam.
The NZR A class were a class of steam locomotives built in 1906 with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement for the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). The class should not be confused with the older and more obscure A class of 1873. They were designed by the NZR's Chief Mechanical Engineer, A. L. Beattie and his Chief Draughtsman, G. A. Pearson to replace less powerful locomotives struggling with increasing loads on the South Island Main Trunk Railway, and in anticipation of the traffic volumes that would be created upon the completion of the North Island Main Trunk railway.
The NZR AB class was a class of 4-6-2 Pacific tender steam locomotive that operated on New Zealand's national railway system for New Zealand Railways (NZR). Originally an improvement on the 1906 A class, 141 were built between 1915 and 1927 by NZR's Addington Workshops, A & G Price of Thames, New Zealand, and North British Locomotive Company, making the AB class the largest class of steam locomotives ever to run in New Zealand. An additional eleven were rebuilt from the tank version of the AB – the WAB class – between 1947 and 1957. Two North British-made locomotives were lost in the wreck of the SS Wiltshire in May 1922.
The NZR WD class was a class of tank locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works to operate on New Zealand's national rail network.
The NZR AA class consisted of ten steam locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1914 to an order by Chief Mechanical Engineer, H. H. Jackson for operation on New Zealand's national rail network.
The NZR B class of 1899 was a class of steam locomotives that operated on New Zealand's national rail network. An earlier B class of Double Fairlies had entered service in 1874, but as they had departed from the ownership of the New Zealand Railways (NZR) by the end of 1896, the B classification was free to be re-used. Despite early difficulties, they were amongst NZR's most influential designs.
The BA class was a class of steam locomotive built by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) for use on New Zealand's national rail network. The first BA entered service in November 1911, with the last of the 11 class members introduced on 14 May 1913.
The NZR BB class of steam locomotives comprised 30 engines operated by the New Zealand Railways (NZR) in the North Island of New Zealand. Ordered to replace smaller locomotives of several classes in the North Island, they were similar in design and appearance to the preceding B and BA classes. The first BB class locomotive entered service in February 1915, with the last to commence operations doing so on 8 March 1917. All were built by A & G Price Ltd of Thames, New Zealand, and as their cylinders had a larger diameter than the B and BA locomotives they were capable of generating more power to haul heavier trains. The most visible difference however was the roundtop firebox in place of the preceding classes Belpaire design. The BB class could haul up to 700 long tons of freight on a level railway line, though they were limited to a top speed of around 40 mph (64 km/h).
The NZR WAB class locomotives were steam locomotives designed, built and used by New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). Their wheel arrangement is described by the Whyte notation 4-6-4T. The locomotives were designed by NZR chief draughtsman S.H. Jenkinson as tank versions of the AB class 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive. Initially, the locomotives were separated into two classes, designated WAB for mainline work and WS for suburban work.
The NZR K class of 1932 was a class of mixed traffic 4-8-4 steam locomotives built by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) that operated on New Zealand's railway network. The locomotives were developed following the failure of the G class Garratts. The class should not be confused with the much earlier K class of 1877-78, the first American-built engines to arrive in New Zealand.
The NZR G class was a type of Garratt steam locomotive used in New Zealand, the only such Garratt type steam locomotives ever used by the New Zealand Railways (NZR). They were ordered to deal with traffic growth over the heavy gradients of the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) and to do away with the use of banking engines on steep grades. They were one of the few Garratt designs to employ six cylinders. A mechanical stoker was used to feed coal into the locomotive.
Alfred Luther Beattie, typically referred to as A. L. Beattie, was a pioneering locomotive engineer. Born in Yorkshire, England, he gained fame as the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between 1900 and 1913. During this time, Beattie designed the Q class, the first 4-6-2 steam locomotive class in the world, and he was also one of the earliest people to use other wheel arrangements.
The NZR FA class was a class of tank steam locomotives that was built as a larger version of the NZR F class 0-6-0T. The requirements were for larger water and coal capacity on a locomotive that could handle grades better than the F class. Due to costs involved in producing new machines, NZR chose to rebuild existing machines with larger coal and water capacity, larger boiler and firebox, higher boiler pressure and larger diameter pistons. Seven F class engines were rebuilt between 1892 and 1897. Another seven were built new, one at Newmarket Workshops in 1896 and six at Addington Workshops in 1902–03.
The NZR U class, the first tender locomotives built in New Zealand, were a class of 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler locomotive designed to the requirements of Mr T. F. Rotherham and built at NZR Addington between 1894 and 1903. They were amongst NZRs' longest lived tender engines.
The NZR UA class were a class of 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler locomotive built by the Scottish firm of Sharp Stewart and Company to ease a motive power shortage. They lived relatively short lives amongst NZR ten wheelers, mostly at the southern end of the country where they were seldom photographed.
The NZR UB class were a series of Ten Wheelers built by American manufacturers for New Zealand Railways (NZR) around the start of the twentieth century. Two batches were built by Baldwin in 1898 and 1901. The earlier engines had slide valves and inside Stephenson motion, the later had piston valves and Walschaerts valve gear, as well as a higher boiler pressure.
The NZR UC class were a group of ten 4-6-0 steam locomotives obtained from Scottish builders Sharp, Stewart and Company for New Zealand Railways (NZR). Essentially they were developments of the firm's previous batch of 4-6-0s' for NZR.
