The F class was the first important class of steam locomotive built to operate on New Zealand's railway network after the national gauge of 1067 millimetres (3 feet 6 inches) was adopted. The first locomotives built for the new 1067 mm railways were two E class double Fairlies for the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway. The F class was the first class ordered by the government, and between 1872 and 1888, a grand total of eighty-eight members of the class were constructed. It was a tank locomotive with a wheel arrangement of 0-6-0, and it proved popular with all involved with the class. It operated essentially everywhere on New Zealand's railway network doing a variety of jobs - it could haul light passenger trains at speeds up to 70 km/h (40 mph) or pull up to 800 tonnes of freight on flat trackage, and the final F class locomotives in regular service worked as shunters into the 1960s. Other members of the class survived into the 1950s after being sold to industries to operate private lines.
Preserved locomotives
Numerous examples of the class have been preserved, including some in full running order.
- F 12 - Ferrymead Railway, unrestored, used for spare parts.
- F 13 - Ferrymead Railway, from the original batch of five built in 1872; under restoration.[1]
- F 111 - Ocean Beach Railway, awaiting restoration.
- F 150 - Plains Vintage Railway, unrestored.
- F 163 - Feilding and District Steam Rail Society, operational.
- F 180 - Museum of Transport and Technology, under restoration
- F 185 - Bush Tramway Club, operational.
- F 230 - Hamilton Lake Park, static display.
- F 233 - Glenbrook Vintage Railway, awaiting restoration.
External links
References
- ^ Canterbury Railway Society, "Rolling Stock List", accessed 13 October 2007.
- Heath, Eric, and Stott, Bob; Classic Steam Locomotives Of New Zealand, Grantham House, 1993
