The NZR W class consisted of two

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s built at the Addington Railway Workshops in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

by the

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining Rail transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's railway infrastruc ...

(NZR). They were the first locomotives to be built by NZR. Almost all subsequent

tank locomotive A tank locomotive is a steam locomotive which carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender (rail), tender. Most tank engines also have Fuel bunker, bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a #Tender ...

classes built by NZR were classified as sub-classes of the W class, e.g. W^A, W^AB, W^B. The only exception was the Y class.

Introduction

The class originated from proposals to build tank locomotives from parts imported for the original J class. The design evolved into a completely New Zealand built locomotives.

Preserved locomotives

After withdrawal W 192 was stored at

Hillside Workshops Hillside Engineering Group is a trading division of the rail operator KiwiRail in Dunedin, New Zealand. Most of its work is related to KiwiRail, but it also does work for the marine industry in Dunedin. On 19 April 2012 KiwiRail announced it was ...

until 1962 when the

used it for promotions. In 1964 it was placed in storage in

Arthurs Pass Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explori ...

. In 1973 it was restored as a static display for the NZR. But in 1979 it was restored to operational condition and used in places with F 163 including shuttle trains in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. In 1988 it was used hauling trains from

Rangiora Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury Region, Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the ...

for a week for the Ferrymead 125 celebrations. One of the days it was taken out of service for repairs to her firebox and was replaced by C 864, but returned to service the following day. In 1992 W 192 was leased to the Ashburton Railway & Preservation Society for uses on their former Mount Somers Branchline at

The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum is a heritage railway and recreated historic village in the Tinwald Domain, Tinwald, New Zealand, Tinwald, New Zealand. The railway (operating as The Plains Railway) runs on approximately three kilo ...

. In 1993 the NZR sold 192 to the Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand. On 16 and 17 September 1995 the W took part at the 1995 Waipara Vintage Festival held by the

Weka Pass Railway The Weka Pass Railway is a List of New Zealand railway museums and heritage lines, New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury. It is operated on a 12.8 km length of the former Waiau Branch rail ...

. After the festival, it was returned to The Plains Railway. It was sent again to

Waipara Waipara is a wine and tourism district in Canterbury, New Zealand, on the banks of the Waipara River (Canterbury), Waipara River. Its name translates to "muddy water", ''wai'' meaning water and ''para'' meaning mud. It is at the junction of Ne ...

for the 1997 festival then repeated again in 1999. During the 1999 festival it developed minor boiler issues and only ran one trip to

Waikari Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Its Anglican parish church is the Church of Ascension, 79 Princes Street, Waikari, where William Orange was vicar in the 1920s. The New Zealand Ministry for Cult ...

from Glenmark, but only ran in more minor roles. In 2001 it was transported to the Linwood Locomotive Depot from The Plains and placed into storage. On 7 October 2003 it was announced by the

Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand The Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand is a charitable trust established in October 1991. At the time the New Zealand Railways Corporation New Zealand Railways Corporation (NZRC) is the state-owned enterprise that owns the land beneath KiwiRai ...

it would be on long-term loan to the

Canterbury Railway Society 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. Beginnings The Cante ...

for uses at the

Ferrymead Heritage Park Ferrymead Heritage Park is an outdoor museum in Christchurch, New Zealand. First known as the ''Museum of Science and Technology'' and later ''Ferrymead Historic Park'', it was founded in 1964 by a collection of local heritage enthusiast group ...

. It arrived during the same month just in time for the 140th Railway celebrations at

Ferrymead Ferrymead is a suburb south-east of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the main thoroughfare for reaching the eastern sea suburbs such as Sumner, as well as home to a number of cliff-top residences and businesses along the estuary front. After ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links