NZR B class (1899)
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| Type and origin | |
|---|---|
| Power type | Steam |
| Builder | NZR Addington Workshops (6); Sharp, Stewart & Co. (4) |
| Build date | 1899 (5), 1901 (1), 1902 (2), 1903 (2) |
| Total produced | 10 |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Configuration | 4-8-0 |
| Gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
| Driver dia. | 42.5 in (1.080 m) |
| Length | 52 ft 1 1⁄2 in (15.89 m) |
| Adhesive weight | 31 long tons 14 cwt (71,000 lb or 32.2 t) 31 long tons 14 hundredweight (32.2 t; 35.5 short tons) |
| Tender weight | 25 long tons 10 cwt (57,100 lb or 25.9 t) 25 long tons 10 hundredweight (25.9 t; 28.6 short tons) |
| Total weight | 68 long tons 10 cwt (153,400 lb or 69.6 t) 68 long tons 10 hundredweight (69.6 t; 76.7 short tons) |
| Fuel type | Coal |
| Fuel capacity | 4 long tons 0 cwt (9,000 lb or 4.1 t) 4 long tons 0 hundredweight (4.1 t; 4.5 short tons) |
| Water cap | 1,700 imperial gallons (7,700 l; 2,000 US gal) |
| Firebox: • Firegrate area |
17.3 sq ft (1.61 m2) 26.4 sq ft (2.45 m2) Rebuilt |
| Boiler pressure | 175 lbf/in2 (1.21 MPa) 200 lbf/in2 (1.38 MPa) Rebuilt |
| Heating surface | 1,037 sq ft (96.3 m2) 768 sq ft (71.3 m2) Rebuilt |
| Cylinders | Two, outside |
| Cylinder size | 16 in × 22 in (406 mm × 559 mm) |
| Performance figures | |
|---|---|
| Tractive effort | 18,550 lbf (82.5 kN) 21,200 lbf (94 kN) Rebuilt |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Operators | NZGR |
| Number in class | 10 |
| Numbers | 178, 198, 302-309 |
| Withdrawn | 1960–1967 |
| Disposition | All scrapped |
The B class of 1899 was a class of steam locomotives that operated on New Zealand's national rail network. An earlier B class of Double Fairlies had entered service in 1874, but as they had departed from the ownership of the New Zealand Railways (NZR) by the end of 1896, the B classification was free to be re-used. Despite early difficulties they were amongst NZRs' most influential designs.
The B class was designed as a larger, more powerful locomotive to handle mainline freight trains that were becoming too heavy for locomotives of the O, P, and T classes. The first was built in NZR's own Addington Workshops in Christchurch and entered service on 4 May 1899, and an order was placed with Sharp, Stewart and Company of Glasgow, Scotland to supply four more. The first engine from Scotland entered service on 20 December 1899, followed by the other three within the next month.
Over the course of 1901–1903, five more Bs were built in Addington Workshops, with the last entering service in May 1903. The locomotives were advanced for their time, featuring a new piston valve design and a modified form of Walschaerts valve gear, and they were designed to haul 600-long-ton (610 t; 670-short-ton) freight trains on flat lines and 220 long tons (224 t; 246 short tons) on the hilly section of the Main South Line between Oamaru and Dunedin. For the time, these were quite significant figures. The Addington engines were unusual in the fact that they employed a screw reverse configuration, instead of the standard reversing lever. They also had fold down seats for both driver and fireman.
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