NZR J class (1874)

Not to be confused with NZR J class (1939).

The New Zealand J class were steam locomotives with the wheel arrangement of 2-6-0 that were built in 1874 to operate on the railway network of New Zealand. The J class was the first class of locomotive in New Zealand to have a tender; all previous classes were tank engines.

Operation

The first batch built consisted of six locomotives built by the Avonside Engine Company and they entered service in 1874 in Canterbury. Ten more were built in 1879, with a dozen more from Vulcan Foundry in 1883. However, one was lost at sea while being delivered, and a replacement was built the following year. They spread beyond Canterbury and could also be found working in Auckland, Waikato, and Hawke's Bay. The J class worked well whether it was pulling a long goods train or operating important passenger services in the early days of the Main South Line, but as traffic increased, it was superseded by more powerful locomotives and in 1917-18, four members of the class were converted to 2-6-2 tank engines to perform shunting duties in yards. By 1935, all 32 original J class locomotives had reached the end of their usefulness and were discarded, and none survived to be preserved.

Surviving relics

Although none were preserved, relics of J class locomotives can still be seen to this day at sites where the New Zealand Railways Department dumped withdrawn equipment. A locomotive dump at Oamaru had five J class engines dumped there, Js 15, 82, 83, 116, and 117, although these locomotives have since been sucked out to sea, destroyed by the waves or removed from the seawall py protection works carried out by ONTRACK 2008—2009. This dump was also the location of W^A 120, which was one of the J's rebuilt as tank engines. Elsewhere, J 61 was dumped cylinderless at Branxholme; two J class boilers and tenders still exist at the Omoto Locomotive Dump site; and a J class locomotive is known to have been dumped along the Midland Line between Cass and Arthur's Pass, and the remains of which are believed to have been located scattered in a number of locations along the line. Currently the remnants of the Oamaru foreshore J's are stored at Oamaru Steam & Rail, with some parts having been disseminated elsewhere. It is also possible for another J to be recovered and restored to full working order, and although there have long been hopes for this to occur amongst the railfan community, so far no-one has undertaken such an endeavour. Until recently a chassis and cylinders and boiler was recovered by Tony Bacherlor and donated to Feilding steam rail for restoration.

Class Roster

Key:	In service	On lease	Out of service	Preserved	Overhaul/Repair	Scrapped

Road number	Builder	Builders number	In service	Written off	Comments
14	Vulcan Foundry	1076	August 17, 1885	August 21, 1933
15	Vulcan Foundry	1000	December 3, 1883	March 1935	Dumped at the Oamaru locomotive dump.
26	Vulcan Foundry	999	December 4, 1883	January 24, 1930
59	Vulcan Foundry	1002	January 11, 1884	October 1933
61	Vulcan Foundry	1004	January 10, 1884	June 6, 1927	Dumped at the Branxholme locomotive dump on 5 June 1927.
70	Vulcan Foundry	1007	February 29, 1884	January 15, 1929
81	Avonside Engine Co.	1038	May 31, 1875	August 22, 1933
82	Avonside Engine Co.	1040	August 31, 1875	March 9, 1929	Dumped at the Oamaru locomotive dump.
83	Avonside Engine Co.	1039	June 6, 1875	January 1935	Dumped at the Oamaru locomotive dump.
84	Avonside Engine Co.	1042	March 2, 1876	March 11, 1931
85	Avonside Engine Co.	1041	March 6, 1876	March 18, 1930
86	Avonside Engine Co.	1043	March 1, 1876	March 3, 1927
115	Neilson and Co.	2460	October 8, 1880	December 14, 1932
116	Neilson and Co.	2461	July 29, 1880	April 1934	Dumped at the Oamaru locomotive dump.
117	Neilson and Co.	2462	July 2, 1880	July 1934	Dumped at the Oamaru locomotive dump.
118	Neilson and Co.	2643	July 26, 1880	November 24, 1932
119	Neilson and Co.	2464	June 23, 1880	October 1935
120	Robert Stephenson and Co.	2367	June 28, 1880	October 1935	Converted to an WA 120 in September 1917 at Hillside Workshops. Dumped at the Oamaru locomotive dump.
121	Robert Stephenson and Co.	2368	June 28, 1880	October 1935	Dumped at the Oamaru locomotive dump.
122	Robert Stephenson and Co.	2369	June 14, 1880	March 1934
123	Robert Stephenson and Co.	2370	August 18, 1880	September 1935
124	Robert Stephenson and Co.	2371	August 10, 1880	November 24, 1932	Converted to an WA 124 in November 1918 at Newmarket Workshops.
234	Dubs and Co.	1212	September 18, 1879	November 21, 1933	Converted to an WA 234 in November 1918 at Petone Workshops.

References

• Heath, Eric, and Stott, Bob; Classic Steam Locomotives Of New Zealand, Grantham House, 1993