The NZR NA class was a class of two
steam locomotives that operated on the privately owned
Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) and then the publicly owned
New Zealand Railways (NZR). Ordered by the WMR to operate on its line up the west coast of the
North Island north of
Wellington, the first was built in 1894 by the
Baldwin Locomotive Works and entered service that year as WMR No. 14. In 1896, a second locomotive that was slightly more powerful was ordered from Baldwin, and it entered service in October 1897. The engines were similar to the two members of the
N class ordered in 1891, except they were heavier and more powerful. They were
Vauclaincompound locomotives.[1]
In 1908, the WMR was incorporated into the national network and the government's Railways Department reclassified the engines as the sole members of the NA class: No. 14 became NA 459 and No. 15 became NA 460. They operated for roughly another two decades; NA 459 spent its final days working in
Frankton near
Hamilton and was withdrawn from service in March 1929, while NA 460's last depot was
Cross Creek at the
Wairarapa end of the
Rimutaka Incline and it was withdrawn in July 1929.
The NZR NA class was a class of two
steam locomotives that operated on the privately owned
Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) and then the publicly owned
New Zealand Railways (NZR). Ordered by the WMR to operate on its line up the west coast of the
North Island north of
Wellington, the first was built in 1894 by the
Baldwin Locomotive Works and entered service that year as WMR No. 14. In 1896, a second locomotive that was slightly more powerful was ordered from Baldwin, and it entered service in October 1897. The engines were similar to the two members of the
N class ordered in 1891, except they were heavier and more powerful. They were
Vauclaincompound locomotives.[1]
In 1908, the WMR was incorporated into the national network and the government's Railways Department reclassified the engines as the sole members of the NA class: No. 14 became NA 459 and No. 15 became NA 460. They operated for roughly another two decades; NA 459 spent its final days working in
Frankton near
Hamilton and was withdrawn from service in March 1929, while NA 460's last depot was
Cross Creek at the
Wairarapa end of the
Rimutaka Incline and it was withdrawn in July 1929.