The NZR G Class was a class of four saddle tank locomotives from

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

builders Black Hawthorn in the early 1870s. Like the similarly sized D class, they were an attempt to produce a passenger version of the already highly successful F class.

Origin and design

The G class was ordered by the Canterbury Provincial Council. They were derived from the F class, replacing the first of the three driving axles with a four-wheel bogie. It was hoped that the reduced rigid wheelbase would allow the locomotive to provide higher speed passenger services. The type suffered from lack of weight on the driving axles, a driver stating that "it took the 'G' all its time to push its front bogie along, let alone pull a load". They were followed by the L Class which were a more successful attempt to produce a faster F Class.

Service

In the early 1890s the locomotives were progressively transferred to the Picton section, where it was felt that they had been relegated to get rid of them from the busy Hurunui-Bluff section. Their maximum load on the 1 in 37 gradient from Picton was six 4-wheel wagons.

Withdrawal and disposal

All of the locomotives were withdrawn between 1915 and 1919 and were sold for further service in industry. One member from the

Castlecliff Branch The Castlecliff Branch is a branch line railway 5.88 km long in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is an extension of the Wanganui Branch from Taupo Quay in central Whanganui and follows the Whanganui River t ...

was subject to a preservation attempt however due to a translation error a Barclay steam locomotive, No. 1749 was sent instead while the G class member was scrapped.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Lloyd, W.G. (2002); ''Register of New Zealand Railways Steam Locomotives 1863-1971'', Otago Railway & Locomotive Society/Triple M Publications * *W.W.Stewart (1970), ''When Steam Was King'', REED * {{NZR Locomotives 4-4-0T locomotives 2′B n2t locomotives

G class G class or Class G may refer to: Railways * NZR G class (1928), a type of steam locomotive used in New Zealand * Tasmanian Government Railways G class, a class of 0-4-2T steam locomotive used in Australia * V/Line G class, a class of diesel-ele ...