NZR WJ class

NZR WJ class
The former WMR second No. 3 locomotive as NZR 466, WJ class. Godber Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library. [1]
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 23596 Build date 1904
Specifications Configuration: ​  •  Whyte 2-8-4T Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Wheel diameter 43 in (1.092 m) Adhesive weight 38.0 long tons (38.6 t; 42.6 short tons) Loco weight 53.6 long tons (54.5 t; 60.0 short tons) Fuel type Coal Firebox: ​  • Grate area 16.7 sq ft (1.55 m2) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1,379 kPa) Heating surface 1,080 sq ft (100 m2) Cylinders 2 Cylinder size 17 in × 20 in (432 mm × 508 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 21,510 lbf (95.7 kN)
Career Operators Wellington and Manawatu Railway, New Zealand Government Railways Number in class 1 Numbers WMR 3 (1904), NZR 466 Locale Wellington - Johnsonville section Retired 31 March 1928 Disposition Withdrawn

The NZR W^J class was a lone steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works for service on New Zealand's private Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR). It acquired the W^J classification when the publicly owned New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) purchased the WMR and its locomotive fleet in 1908. ^[2]

Introduction

The locomotive entered service in July 1904 with WMR road No. 3 (reused). It was the first WMR locomotive to have piston valves. ^[3]

A large 2-8-4T tank engine nicknamed Jumbo, it was based at Wellington for all its life. It was used as a banker out of Wellington up the Ngaio bank to Johnsonville, which had long grades of 1 in 40 up to Crofton (Ngaio) and Khandallah and tunnels No 1 to 5. ^[4]

It ran 67,907 mi (109,286 km) by 29 February 1908. ^[5] Jumbo was allegedly hated by both drivers and firemen, but all agreed that it was extremely strong and durable. Like all Baldwin locomotives, it had cast bar frames; in this case, they gave considerable trouble, for they persistently broke immediately behind the smokebox saddle. ^[2]

When taken into the NZR fleet in 1908, it was allocated its own class and NZR No. 466. With a tendency for breaking its frames on the heavy banking duty, Jumbo saw little service after 1920.

Withdrawal

The locomotive was withdrawn in 1927 and written off on 31 March 1928. ^[6] The boiler was sent to the Taumarunui locomotive depot for use as a washout boiler. ^[7]

References

Citations

1. "The former WMR second No. 3 locomotive as NZR 466, W^J class". National Library of New Zealand . Retrieved 21 March 2019.
2. Palmer & Stewart 1965, p. 97.
3. Hoy 1972, p. 69.
4. Cassells 1994, pp. 110, 155, 166.
5. Cassells 1994, p. 155.
6. Lloyd 1974, p. 45.
7. Palmer & Stewart 1965, p. 96.

Bibliography

• Cassells, Ken (1994). Uncommon Carrier: The History of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, 1882-1908. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. ISBN   0-908573-63-4.
• Hoy, Douglas (1972). West of the Tararuas: An Illustrated History of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Co. Dunedin: Southern Press.
• Lloyd, W. G. (1974). Register of New Zealand Railways Steam Locomotives 1863-1971 (2nd ed.). Otago Railway and Locomotive Society & Triple M Publications. ISBN   0-9582072-1-6.
• McGavin, T. A. The Manawatu Line (Wellington NZRLS, 1958, 2nd edn 1982) ISBN   0-908573-35-9
• Palmer, A. N.; Stewart, W. W. (1965). Cavalcade of New Zealand Locomotives. Wellington: A H. & A W. Reed. ISBN   978-0-207-94500-7.
• Stewart, W. W. (1974). When Steam was King. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN   978-0-589-00382-1.

External links

• Writing off, 1927