NZR V class

NZR V class
A NZR V class locomotive (WMR No. 7)
Power type	Steam
Builder	Nasmyth, Wilson and Company, Manchester,  United Kingdom
Build date	1885
Total produced	15
Configuration	2-6-2
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Wheel diameter	49 in (WMR)
Fuel type	Coal
Boiler pressure	140 psi (WMR)
Firegrate area	15.5 sq ft (WMR)
Cylinders	Two
Top speed	88 kph (55 mph)
Locomotive brakes	Steam
Number in class	13
Locale	Wellington and Manawatu Railway, Main South Line, Marton – New Plymouth Line.
Disposition	One recovered from river, under restoration as money permits. Now at Feilding Steam Rail depot

The NZR V class steam locomotive was used on New Zealand's railway network from 1885 onwards.

Introduction

The heavy increase in traffic by the early 1880s necessitated a design for a new class of passenger locomotive. The V class was conceived as an enlarged version of the 2-4-2 NZR K class of 1877. Instead of the K class four coupled wheels, six coupled wheels were used. The order was placed with Nasmyth, Wilson and Company of Manchester. It took seven years for delivery to be made and then it was found that the engines were 5 and a half tons overweight without their tender.

As a result the NZGR refused to accept the locomotives until the weight was pared down to an acceptable level. However by the time they were modified, the engines had been superseded by the American built NZR N class of similar dimensions.

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company also ordered three of these locomotives, numbers 6, 7, and 8; at a cost of about £6000 (each). They were fitted with an ornate Rogers-styled wooden cab with Gothic windows, and an extended smokebox crowned with a copper-capped fulnnel. They could be fired with any light fuel including wood, and were very slightly heavier than the NZR version. They had inside frames and journals on both pony trucks. When the WMR was taken over by the NZR in 1908, they were included in the V class.

Withdrawal

The first V class was withdrawn in 1925 and it was dumped into the a river. WMR No. 7 was withdrawn and was replaced by the NZR K class (1932). No. 8 was withdrawn in 1937 and is now owned by Waitara Railway Preservation Society.

External links

• NZR Steam locomotives - V class

References

• Heath, Eric, and Stott, Bob; Classic Steam Locomotives Of New Zealand, Grantham House, 1993
• Cassells, K.R. Uncommon Carrier: The History of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, 1882-1908 (Wellington, NZRLS, 1994, ISBN 0-908573-63-4 ) pp. 156,169