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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.
Due to an increase in traffic around the turn of the century, NZR obtained 47 4-6-0 locomotives to provide additional capacity. All were used in the South Island. The UC class were the last new 4-6-0's to be delivered, entering service between August and October 1901. [1] They were briefly classified "U". [2] Externally they were similar in appearance to Sharp Stewart's earlier UA class, but with a longer cylinder stroke and considerably higher boiler pressure (200 psi as opposed to 175 psi) they had a significantly higher tractive effort. All of the locomotives began service in the Christchurch area aside from two allocated to the Dunedin - Invercargill section.
With the opening of the Otira Tunnel in 1923 all ten were gradually transferred to the West Coast of the South Island. Due to weight restrictions they were the most powerful mainline locomotives on the West Coast until the 1940s. In the late 1920s and 1930s seven locomotives were fitted with narrow firebox superheated boilers [3] and lever type reverse controls in place of the original wheel and screw type. Other alterations included fitting sand domes and a new type of funnel. The remaining three locomotives were withdrawn by 1937.
The superheated boilers on the UCs provided better performance and from the mid 1930s they saw considerably greater use than the Baldwin built UB class locomotives. [2] They were still being used on passenger services as well as coal trains in the mid 1950s, however the arrival of more A Class locomotives in the 1950s (displaced by dieselisation in the North Island) allowed their withdrawal by 1959. [4] Although none were initially preserved a number were dumped in rivers as erosion prevention measures, and two have been recovered for potential restoration.
In March 2005, the newly formed Midland Rail Heritage Trust in conjunction with a family of private individuals salvaged the remains of UC 369 and UC 370 from the Grey River. The locomotives had fallen into the Grey River in 1997-98 during a period of bad weather; both were recovered with the remains of their tenders and are currently stored at the MRHT's Springfield depot pending completion of a workshop to restore them in. [5]
In 2008, the remains of UC 366 were recovered by then network operator ONTRACK during an exercise to remove as many of the locomotive remains dumped at Oamaru which were at risk of being lost due to deterioration of the dumpsite. The badly deteriorated remains of the UC were passed to the Oamaru Steam and Rail Restoration Society, who have placed it on display at their workshops along with another selection of salvaged locomotive parts. [6]
The NZR T class was a class of steam locomotive used in New Zealand; of the "Consolidation" type, popular in North America, especially with the narrow gauge Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.
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 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 P class was a class of steam locomotives built to haul freight trains on the national rail network of New Zealand. The class consisted of ten individual locomotives ordered from the British company of Nasmyth, Wilson and Company in 1885, but miscommunications about the weight limitations imposed on the locomotives meant they did not start work until 1887. This debacle came at a time when the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) was suffering from a lack of motive power to work on its rapidly expanding network and was part of what prompted a shift towards American and home-grown manufacturers.
The New Zealand E class locomotive comprised a single Mallet steam locomotive operated by New Zealand Railways (NZR) from 1906 until 1917. Classified as E 66 and nicknamed Pearson's Dream after its designer, it was an experimental Mallet locomotive designed to work on the Rimutaka Incline. The "E" classification was previously used by the Double Fairlie E class of 1872-75, but the classification was free as they had all been withdrawn by the time E 66 entered service. After the withdrawal of E 66, "E" was again re-used on the battery-electric E class of 1922. It was the only Mallet locomotive to operate for the NZR
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 G class was a type of Garratt locomotives used in New Zealand, later rebuilt as Pacific type locomotives. They were the only 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. The locomotives lasted longer in rebuilt form as standard Pacific locomotives than they did as Garratts, but their numerous mechanical issues lead to their final withdrawal following a union ban on their use in 1956.
The NZR LA class was a class of 4-4-0T steam locomotives used by the New Zealand Railways Department and the New Zealand Midland Railway Company. They were built by Nasmyth, Wilson and Company in 1887 for New Zealand Midland Railway Company, and were taken over by NZR in 1900, when the government acquired the incomplete Midland line. The designation also applies to the NZR 4-4-0Trebuilds of the Avonside L class of 1875 which were later reclassified LB after being rebuilt as 4-4-2Ts.
The NZR R class was a class of early 0-6-4T single Fairlie steam locomotives operated by New Zealand's Railways Department (NZR) between 1879 and 1936.
The New Zealand V class steam locomotive was used on New Zealand's railway network from 1885 onwards. They were operated by New Zealand Government Railways and the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company.
The NZR D class of 1929 comprised one 0-4-0 tank locomotive that was built for the New Zealand Railways Department by the Clayton Wagons Ltd in Lincoln, England.
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.
Branxholme locomotive dump is a steam locomotive and wagon dump located on the eastern bank of the Ōreti River adjacent and just to the north of Southland's Wairio Branch Line in New Zealand. Locomotives and rolling stock have been dumped here for river protection since the 1920s. In the time since numerous items have been recovered for preservation purposes.
Oamaru locomotive dump was created in New Zealand so that obsolete locomotives and rolling stock could be used to stabilize loose ground where rivers and the coast were eroding the ground where the railway lines were built. This was done at a time when scrap steel was an uneconomic proposition. It was located on the coastline in the North Otago town of Oamaru to stabilise land used by New Zealand Railways for their freight yards. Here the coastline of the Pacific Ocean pounded heavily against the land causing major erosion.
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 WW class was a class of 4-6-4T tank locomotives that operated on the New Zealand national railway network. They were built for New Zealand Railways Department (NZR), and were the final development of the six-coupled tank engine in New Zealand, the penultimate class of tank locomotives to be built for NZR, and the first class of tank locomotives to be built with superheaters.
