Locomotives of New Zealand

Locomotives of New Zealand is a complete list of all locomotive classes that operate or have operated in New Zealand's railway network. It does not include locomotives used on bush tramways.
All New Zealand's main-line locomotives run on a narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in.

Early locomotives

The first locomotive in New Zealand was built by Slaughter & Co in Bristol, arrived at Ferrymead in May 1863 to work on Canterbury Provincial Railways' 5 ft 3 in gauge. It was withdrawn in 1876. Lady Barkly, in use on Invercargill's jetty in August 1863 during construction of the Bluff branch, was another early example of a steam locomotive operating in New Zealand.
The first steam engines built in New Zealand were produced in 1872. Fraser and Tinne built an 0-4-0 in Auckland in 1872, but it was based on a Hornsby traction engine. Similarly, a steam crane was converted during construction of the Port Chalmers railway, though it could only haul about 10 tons. The first locomotive entirely built in the country was a engine for the Foxton Tramway contractor, Ashworth Crawshaw, by R. S. Sparrow & Co in Dunedin, also in 1872. It was named Palmerston. Horses had replaced Palmerston by 1874, but, in 1875, after iron had replaced wooden rails, the same branch had an A class steam locomotive built in Wellington by E.W. Mills' Lion Foundry.

Classification details

Steam locomotives were originally categorised with just a single letter, such as the "[NZR NZR F class|F class|F class]". When a new class was built as an enhancement of an old class, the old class's letter was re-used, followed by a superscript upper-case letter. For example, the 1906 A class was followed by the A^A and A^B classes.
Diesel-electric and electric locomotive classifications originally consisted of an upper-case D or E respectively followed by a second and sometimes a third letter. The second and third letters are sometimes represented as smaller-sized upper case.
New classes were not always given the classification that alphabetically followed that of the previous class that had most recently been acquired. For example, the DJ class was followed by the DX class followed by the DF class. If an entire class had been withdrawn from service and the classification no longer in use, it was sometimes re-used; for example, two A classes exist, one from 1873 and one from 1906.

Traffic Monitoring System

Following the introduction of the computer-based Traffic Monitoring System (TMS) and consequent renumbering, classes were identified by the two upper-case letters with the first letter remaining D or E respectively and sub-classes being indicated by a third upper-case letter, such as DAA, DAR, DFT, DXR and so on. Most diesel shunting locomotives have a three-letter classification with DS as the first two letters, following on from the original diesel-hydraulic shunting class that was known simply as the DS class.
For electric locomotives the second letter generally referred to where the locomotive was based, such as EC in Christchurch, EO in Otira and EW in Wellington. The EM class in Wellington stands for Electric Motor and the ET stands for Electric Trailer. The DM class units were an exception to this.
Most railcars were classified RM, and individual classes were known by alternate names such as the Vulcan railcars of the South Island and the Wairarapa railcars that ran over the Rimutaka Incline.

List of locomotive classes

Electric multiple units

Wellington electric multiple units operate on 1500 V DC overhead. Auckland's electric multiple units run on 25 kV AC overhead.

Image	Class	Number in class	Location	In service	Formation	Passenger capacity	Notes
	DM/D	49	Wellington	1938–2012	D – DM D – DM – D	132 204	6 sets preserved in museum or private use.
	EM/ET	44	Wellington	1982–2016	EM – ET	148	One refurbished set preserved at Canterbury Railway Society; one Tranz Metro Blue set preserved by Wellington Heritage Multiple Unit Trust
	FP/FT	83	Wellington	2010–present	FP – FT	147	Named Matangi, after the Māori word for "wind".
	AM	72	Auckland	2014–present	AMP – AMT – AMA	230

Railcars

Livery: The first railcars were painted "carnation red" with a white or yellow stripe. The Silver Fern railcars appeared in stainless steel.
All railcars, unless otherwise stated, are designated RM class. Here, they are classified under their common names.

Image	Class	Number in class	In service	Power type	Passenger capacity	Notes
	88-seater	35	1955–1978	Diesel-mechanical	88	Alternatively known as Fiats, Eighty-Eights, or Twinset railcars. After withdrawal, 14 were converted to locomotive-hauled AC class articulated carriages known as "Grassgrubs" due to their green colour.
	Silver Fern	3	1972–2019	Diesel-electric	96	Auckland – Wellington service, 1972–1991. Geyserland Express, Kaimai Express and Waikato Connection 1991–2001; used for excursions until 2019. Now withdrawn.
	Standard	6	1938–1972	Diesel-mechanical	48–52	Preserved examples exist at Silver Stream Railway, Glenbrook Vintage Railway and Pahiatua Railcar Society.
	Vulcan	9	1940–1978	Diesel-mechanical	48–50	Examples are preserved at Ferrymead Railway, Christchurch and Plains Railway, Ashburton.
	Wairarapa	7	1936–1956	Diesel-mechanical	25–49	The remaining example is currently being restored by Pahiatua Railcar Society.

Experimental railcars included the following:

Image	Class	Number in class	In service	Power type	Passenger capacity	Notes
	MccEwan-Pratt petrol railcar	1	1912–1913	Petrol	12	Never in revenue service. Not preserved.
	Clayton steam railcar	1	1926–1937	Coal		Originally worked the Kurow branch, and later in Otago and Southland. Not preserved.
	Edison battery-electric railcar	1	1926–1934	Electric	60 seated, 70 total.	Used on Little River branch. Destroyed by fire.
	Sentinel-Cammell steam railcar	1	1925–1931	Coal	48	Used on Melling and then Thames branches. Not preserved.
	Leyland experimental petrol railcar	1	1925	Petrol		Never entered revenue service.
	Model T Ford railcar	2	1925–1931	Petrol	11 plus driver	Operated on Greytown branch and in Southland. A replica operates on the Pleasant Point Railway, near Timaru.
	Leyland diesel railbus	2	1936–1942	Diesel	19 or 8 plus 1 ton of newspapers.	Served on Midland Line and the west coast. None preserved.

Steam locomotives

Livery: New Zealand steam locomotives after the late 1920s were mainly completely black with red buffer beams at each end. Earlier steam locomotives were more varied in colour with polished brasswork and a contrasting lining on the cab sides and side tanks, for example the green of the F class Peveril.

Image	Class	Numbers	Number in class	Year introduced	Year withdrawn	Whyte notation	Notes
	A of 1873		14	1873	1905
	A of 1906		58	1906	1969		Includes 30 locomotives reclassified from A^D
	A^A		10	1914	1957		Improved Q Class design
	A^B		141	1915	1969		New Zealand's most prolific steam locomotive; ten were rebuilt from W^AB class. Preserved examples at Pleasant Point Railway, Steam Incorporated Paekakariki, Mainline Steam Heritage trust, Kingston Flyer, Glenbrook/Motat.
	A^D		30	1910	1916		Reclassified A in 1916.
	B of 1874		2	1874	1890	Double Fairlie
	B of 1899		10	1899	1967		Three rebuilt as W^E class
	B^A		10	1911	1969
	B^B		30	1915	1968
	B^C		1	1902	1927		Originally from the Wellington and Manawatu Railway, which was nationalised in 1908.
	C of 1873		16	1873	1920	original rebuild
	C of 1930		24	1930	1968		Built for heavy shunting at major yards, one preserved at Silverstream Railway and one at Ferrymead Railway.
	D of 1874		35	1874	1927		A low powered locomotive, with many finding a second life as industrial locomotives or with the Public Works dept. Seven have survived, with operational examples at the Pleasant Point Railway and Ferrymead. Static examples are at Silverstream Railway and Ocean Beach Railway.
	E of 1872		8	1872	1906	Double Fairlie	A double fairlie, originally used only in the South Island, but one was used by the Public Works Dept. in the North Island. An static example of the E Class is preserved at the Otago Settlers Museum, Dunedin.
	E of 1906		1	1906	1917	Mallet
	F		88	1872	1964		Ubiquitous and long-serving, nine examples of this class are preserved. Used in all roles, including mainline use and shunting.
	F^A		13	1892	1943
	F^B		13	1897	1943
	G of 1874		4	1874	1918
	G of 1928		3	1928	1937	Garratt	The only Garrett-type locomotive in NZ, they were not a success. All rebuilt as Pacifics, and became the G class of 1937. None preserved.
	G of 1937		6	1937	1956		Rebuilt from the unsuccessful Garrett G class of 1928. None preserved.
	[NZR NZR H class\|H class\|H]	199–204	6	1878	1955	Fell	Built to work the Rimutaka Incline, H 199 is the only remaining Fell locomotive in the world and is preserved in the Fell Locomotive Museum at Featherston, just north of Wellington.
	J of 1874		32	1874	1935		First locomotive class in NZ with a tender.
	J of 1939	1200–1239	40	1939	1971		A powerful, yet lighter locomotive than the K class. Coal burning and initially streamlined, 12 members of the class were rebuilt as J^B class, being oil burners. Two operating examples remain, one at Mainline Steam and the other at Steam Incorporated.
	J^A	1240–1290	51	1946–1956	1964 – 1971		1240 to 1274 were used exclusively in the South Island, and were coal burners. The second batch of 16 were oil burners, built by North British Locomotive Works. These were numbered 1275 to 1290 and were used in the North Island. The class includes J^A 1274 – the last NZR steam locomotive built. Seven preserved, including at Mainline Steam, Plains railway, Steam Incorporated, Glenbrook Vintage Railway and a static exhibit in Dunedin.
	J^B		12				12 locomotives were rebuilt from the 1939 J class as oil burners.
	K of 1877		8	1877	1927		Originally used solely in the South Island, including on the famous Kingston Flyer, they later received minor use in the North Island.
	K of 1932	900–929	30	1932	1967
	K^A	930–964	35	1939–1950	1964 – 1967		A modified version of the K class, with roller bearings and ACFI feedwater heaters.
	K^B	965–970	6	1939	1968		A coal burning locomotive that was a K^A class fitted with trailing-wheel boosters. Used solely in the South Island, almost exclusively on the Midland Line between Springfield and Arthur's Pass. A non-operating example is preserved at Mainline Steam, Christchurch.
	L		10	1877	1901–1939
	L^A		5	1887–1892	1920 – 1928		Originally from the New Zealand Midland Railway, which was nationalised in 1900.
	M		4	1875	1919–1928		-
	[NZR NZR N class\|N class\|N]		12	1885	1934		Two originally from the Wellington and Manawatu Railway.
	N^A		2	1894	1929		Originally from Wellington and Manawatu Railway.
	N^C		2	1902	1931		Originally from Wellington and Manawatu Railway.
	O		6	1885	1922
	O^A		1	1894	1929	2-8-0	Originally from Wellington & Manawatu Railway.
	O^B		2	1888	1931		Originally from Wellington and Manawatu Railway.
	O^C		1	1896	1930		Originally from Wellington and Manawatu Railway.
	P of 1876		2	1876	1885
	P of 1885		10	1885	1930
	Q of 1878		2	1878	1898		-
	Q of 1901		13	1901	1957		The world's first class of 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive.
	R		18	1878	1936	Single Fairlie	A Single Fairlie locomotive, designed for the tight curves and steep grades characteristic of rail in NZ at that time. Used in all roles from mainline passenger down to shunting and Public Works, private industrial and tramway use. A static example has been preserved at Reefton, on the west coast of the South Island.
	S		7	1880	1927	Single Fairlie
	T		6	1879	1928
	U		9	1894	1959
	U^A		6	1899	1937
	U^B		22	1901	1957
	U^C		10	1901	1959
	U^D		2	1904	1931		Originally from the Wellington & Manawatu Railway, which was nationalised in 1908.
	[NZR NZR V class\|V class\|V]		13	1885	1937		Three originally from the Wellington and Manawatu Railway
	W	192, 238	2	1889	1959		Tank locomotive, W 192, which was the first NZR locomotive built in New Zealand, is preserved and operational at Ferrymead Railway, Christchurch.
	W^A		11	1892	1962		Tank locomotive, 11 built new; four rebuilt from J class 1874. W^A165 is believed to be the only locomotive of this class still existing. It is owned and operated by the .
	W^AB		30	1918–1927	1947 – 1969		14 rebuilt from W^S class; 10 rebuilt as A^B class
	W^B		12	1898	1957
	W^D		18	1901	1936
	W^E		3	1902	1969		Rebuilt from B of 1899; equipped with Fell centre rail braking for use on the Rimutaka Incline and Rewanui Incline.
	W^F		41	1904	1969
	W^G		20	1910	1964		14 later rebuilt as W^W class.
	W^H		3	1884	1927		Originally from Wellington and Manawatu Railway
	W^J		1	1904	1928		Originally from Wellington and Manawatu Railway
	W^S		14	1917	1936		All rebuilt as W^AB class
	W^W		51	1913	1969		14 rebuilt from W^G class
	X		18	1909	1957		The world's first 4-8-2 Mountain locomotive
	Y		3	1923	1958

Steam locomotive notes:

Two other types of locomotives built in the 1870s were included in the A class. All three had a wheel arrangement of, but were technically and aesthetically quite different. The other A types are often known as the Shanks A and the Mills A, after their respective builders.
A completely different type of locomotive was nominally classified as being the solitary member of the S class in 1877, but it was typically known as Robina.

Industrial locomotives

A number of industrial locomotives were used by various operators connecting to the national rail network:

0-6-0 shunting locomotives

Similar to the NZR DS class:Drewry 2248/1947 was built for the Ohai Railway Board as their N^O 1. The railway was operated by the State Mines, and in 1968, Drewry 2248 was dispatched with its sister, N^O 2, to the State Mines railway between Stirling and Kaitangata in Otago. In 1974, both locomotives moved to Rotowaro in the North Island, where they both finished working. In 1986, the locomotive was withdrawn and sold to the Bush Tramway Club at Pukemiro Junction on the former Glen Afton Branch. On 21 October 2014, Drewry 2248 arrived at the Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trusts Maymorn site after being purchased for restoration. Currently, Drewry 2248 is wearing a dark green livery in place of its original red.Drewry 2585/1957 shares a similar operating history to Drewry 2248. Built for the ORB as their N^O 2, it ended up at Rotowaro in 1986, and was purchased by the Bush Tramway Club. However, in 2005 it was purchased by the Wallis family to start the 'Waikato Railway Heritage Trust', and moved to nearby Ngauruwahia. In April 2008 it moved again to Ngongotahā, and is now owned by the Rotorua-Ngongotaha Railway Trust. It is currently being overhauled, and is painted in State Mines yellow instead of its original red.Whakatane Board Mills 103 was built for use over the WBM Matahina Tramway, bringing logs back from the Matahina area over the Tramway to the mill via the NZR Taneatua Branch. It was later joined by Whakatane Board Mills 104 ; together, the two diesels displaced ex-NZR 0-6-2T tank locomotives F^A 41 and F^A 250. In later years, the two locomotives were limited to the short length of line between the mill and the NZR connection at Awakeri and were repainted from the original black with yellow trim into a white with orange band scheme.
In 1999, Tranz Rail purchased the line between Awakeri and the mill and took over shunting operations with DBR and DSC class diesel locomotives. The two Drewrys were then onsold to Forest Loaders, a subcontractor working for Tranz Rail in the Portland area, loading log wagons at Portland. Both locomotives were renumbered by Forest Loaders as FL 106 and FL 107 respectively. Both are now preserved by the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway.
Similar to the NZR DSA class:

W. G. Bagnall – builder's number 3079, introduced and withdrawn, formerly used by Tasman Forestry.
W. G. Bagnall – builder's number 3132, introduced and withdrawn, formerly used by Portland Cement as PC 10. Preserved, Whangārei Steam and Model Railway Club.
W. G. Bagnall – builder's number 3144, introduced and withdrawn, formerly used by Portland Cement as PC 11. Preserved, Waitara Railway Preservation Society.

Similar to the NZR DSB class:
; Road numbers ORBs 1 and 2
; Maker's N^os 1475 and 1476
Two 0-6-0 locomotives were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for industrial service for the Ohai Railway Board in 1967.ORB 1 was withdrawn in 1989 due to heavier trains and was replaced by DJ3303. In 1990 the New Zealand Railways Corporation took over the Ohai Railway Board's section of the Wairio Branchline. It was then stored in Wairio until being sold to the Ohai Railway Board Heritage Trust for preservation.ORB 2 shares a similar operating history to ORB 1, but was withdrawn in 1990. Stored in Wairio until 1992 when it was purchased by Reid McNaught for Steam Incorporated and now numbered Dsb #2. It was then sold to Russell Gibbard in the early 2000s and is still in service for shunting by Steam Inc.
; Road numbers 3079, WPC 10–11
; Maker's N^O's 3079, 3132, 3144
A further three 0-6-0DM locomotives were built by WG Bagnall for industrial service in New Zealand. The first, Bagnall 3079 of 1954, was delivered to Tasman Pulp & Paper for use at their Kinleith paper plant in the Bay of Plenty. The other two, maker's nos. 3132 and 3144 of 1958, were delivered to Wilsons Portland Cement for use on their private quarry railway at Portland, just south of Whangarei. All three were exactly the same as the ten NZR locomotives which were built to the same pattern as Bagnall 3079. They were initially equipped with National M4AA6 diesel engines producing.
All three were later re-powered by A&G Price at its Thames workshops; Bagnall 3079 with a Caterpillar D343T diesel engine and Twin Disc torque converter, while the two Portland locomotives, numbered WPC 10 and WPC 11 received Gardner 8L3 diesel engines which were used in the D^S and Drewry D^SA class locomotives. Bagnall 3079 was also later fitted with extra ballast weight to increase its power outputBagnall 3079 was withdrawn in 1989 due to the increased shunting being beyond its capabilities. Replaced by chop-nosed DA 512, it was provisionally sold to the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway who planned to have it towed by rail to their Kawakawa depot. Unfortunately NZ Rail Ltd was concerned that the tyres needed reprofiling and wanted the locomotive to be road transported to Westfield depot in Auckland for this work to be carried before it could be moved by rail. Unable to meet the cost of transporting the locomotive and reprofiling the tyres, the BoIVR were unable to move the locomotive and it was later scrapped at Kinleith in 1990.WPC 10 and 11 were retired in 1990 when the Portland quarry railway closed. Both were sold to Kamo Engineering and were moved to their yard where the Gardner 8L3 engines were removed and fitted in a ship. After being stored in the yard for 15 years both were sold in 2005:

WPC 10 was purchased by the Whangarei Steam and Model Railway Club and moved to their short line at the Whangarei Museum, Kamo in 2005. It has been cosmetically overhauled pending the arrival of a replacement Gardner 8L3 or similar low-revolution diesel engine. Its current livery is that of Wilsons Portland Cement Ltd, but with a darker shade of blue used in place of the original.
WPC 11 moved to the Waitara Railway Preservation Society depot at Waitara Road in 2005. It stayed here for five years before moving to the Taranaki Flyer Trust's depot in the former Stratford goods shed. Since the trust folded this has returned to Waitara. Bagnall 3144 has not been restored and retains its original Portland Blue livery, albeit heavily faded and rust-streaked. A Gardner 8L3 engine has been acquired for this locomotive when restoration commences.