Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust

WMR No.9

No. 9 at Paekakariki, c. 1900.

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Build date 1891

Specifications Configuration 2-6-2 Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Wheel diameter 4 ft 1 in (1 m) Loco weight 50.8 t (50.0 long tons; 56.0 short tons) Fuel type Coal Boiler pressure 140 lbf/in2 (970 kPa) Cylinder size 15 in × 20 in (381 mm × 508 mm) diameter × stroke

Performance figures Maximum speed 103.6 km/h (64.4 mph) Power output 437 hp (326 kW) Tractive effort 10,260 lbf (45.6 kN)

Career Operators Wellington and Manawatu Railway, New Zealand Government Railways Numbers WMR No.9 later NZR N 453 Retired 13 November 1926 Current owner Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust Disposition Under Restoration

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust is a charitable trust based in Wellington, New Zealand, and is actively restoring former Wellington and Manawatu Railway locomotive No.9 (later N 453 under government ownership), to full working order.

The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Trust was formed to recover and restore former Wellington and Manawatu Railway locomotive No. 9, a Baldwin 2-6-2 from 1891. The Trust has so far managed to recover the locomotive and is in the process of restoring the locomotive. While the Trust's primary focus is No.9, it is also interested in the welfare of remaining Wellington and Manawatu Railway relics which have managed to survive into the modern day. The trust also owns a former Wellington and Manawatu Railway 4-wheel wagon, which is presently stored at the Silver Stream Railway, Upper Hutt. No.9 is the only known surviving Wellington and Manawatu Railway locomotive.

Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia in 1891, Maker's No. 12104, Baldwin ID 10 24 1/4 D9 was one of two 2-6-2 wheel arrangement locomotives constructed for the Wellington and Manawatu Railway, and was given the road number 9. No.9 and sister No.10 were constructed to a virtually identical design as the NZR N class of 1885, with notable differences including lengthened smokeboxes, spoked carrying wheels and no air brakes. They were based at the WMR's Paekakariki depot, and were used primarily to haul mixed passenger and freight trains over the relatively easily graded Paekakariki - Longburn section of the company's line. In 1892, No.10 set a World Speed Record for the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge of 64.4 mph (103.6 km/h), underlining the type's pedigree.