NZR WD class

NZR WD class
Power type	Steam
Builder	Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, USA
Serial number	18543 – 18554 19259 – 19264
Build date	1901
Configuration	2-6-4 T
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge
Driver diameter	39.75 in (1.01 m)
Wheelbase	27 ft 7 in (8.41 m)
Length	34 ft 9 in (10.59 m)
Weight on drivers	29.2 long tons (29.7 t)
Locomotive weight	43.7 long tons (44.4 t)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	2.7 long tons (2.7 t)
Water capacity	900 imp gal (4,100 L)
Boiler pressure	200 psi (1,400 kPa)
Firegrate area	17.7 square feet (1.64 m2)
Heating surface: Total	837 square feet (77.8 m2)
Cylinders	Two
Cylinder size	14 in × 20 in (36 cm × 51 cm)
Tractive effort	15,780 lbf (70.2 kN)
Number in class	18
Number	316 – 327 355 – 360
Locale	All of New Zealand
First run	24 May 1901
Last run	March 1936 (for NZR) 1960 (for private companies)
Retired	1933 – 1960
Preserved	Two (WD's 356 & 357)
Current owner	Baldwin Steam Trust, Canterbury Railway Society (1)
Disposition	16 scrapped 2 preserved

The NZR W^D class was a class of tank locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works to operate on New Zealand's national rail network. Essentially a more advanced version of 1898's W^B class, the eighteen members of the W^D class were ordered in 1901 and most entered service that year, though three were not introduced until the start of 1902. Based in locations all around the country, from Auckland in the north to Dunedin in the south, the W^D class were suitable for a variety of trains from freight to suburban passenger services. Withdrawal of the class began with W^D 356 in January 1933, with the final three, 327, 359, and 360, written off in March 1936. A number were not actually scrapped or dumped, but were sold to work on private industrial lines. One such locomotive, W^D 357, survived long enough to be preserved by the Ferrymead Railway and notably still has its original boiler from 1901. Another W^D, 356, has been located and salvaged by the Baldwin Steam Trust from where it was dumped at Konini near Pahiatua. This locomotive is stored at the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust's Maymorn Depot, awaiting restoration.^[1]

References

1. ^ Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust, "Rail Vehicles", accessed 4 November 2007.

External links

• Baldwin Steam Trust's official page
• Weka Pass Railway's article on W^D 357