NZR O class

The NZR O class consisted of six steam locomotives that operated on New Zealand's national rail network. Ordered from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Pennsylvania in 1885, three arrived in time to begin work in December 1885, while two more were placed in service in January 1886 and the sixth in February 1886. After almost four decades of service, all six were withdrawn in May 1922. None survived to be preserved, although two engine frames and 5 tenders from O class locomotives are known to exist near Summit on the former Rimutaka Incline.[1]

NZR O class
O Class 2-8-0 steam locomotive NZR number 99
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number7565–7569, 7572
(not in engine number order)
Build date1885
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-0
Gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Driver dia.36.25 in (0.921 m)
Length46 ft 3 in (14.10 m)
Adhesive weight25.2 long tons (25.6 tonnes; 28.2 short tons)
Total weight45.5 long tons (46.2 t; 51.0 short tons)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		15.2 sq ft (1.41 m2)
Boiler pressure130 lbf/in2 (896 kPa)
Heating surface908 sq ft (84.4 m2)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size15 in × 18 in (381 mm × 457 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort10,055 lbf (44.73 kN)
Career
OperatorsNew Zealand Government Railways
Number in class6
Numbers31, 54, 59, 98-100
RetiredMay 1922

The Baldwin and Rogers locomotives reflected the styling adopted in the 1870s by American builders with elements from the Renaissance Revival and Neo Baroque architectural styles, and with Islamic e.g. Moorish (from Alhambra) influences. Bold colours and painted decorations were used. Many Baldwin locomotives were in Olive Green ground colour, although the Baldwin N and O classes of the 1880s had Tuscan Red ground colour. [2]

Notes
  1. Palmer & Stewart 1965, p. 56.
  2. New Zealand's Early American Locomotives: The Design, Art and Architecture of the K, T and O Class Locomotives Part 2 by David Fletcher: "New Zealand Railfan", March 2015 pages 33-49: Volume 21 No 2

References
  • Millar, Sean (2011). The NZR Steam Locomotive. Wellington: New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. ISBN 978-0-908573-89-9.
  • 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.


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