NZR X class

The New Zealand X class was a pioneering class of eighteen 4-8-2 steam locomotives built for New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) and designed by A. L. Beattie that operated on the national rail network of New Zealand. In 1908, a heavy and powerful locomotive was required to haul traffic on the newly completed mountainous central section of the North Island Main Trunk Railway, and as a logical progression of the 4-6-2 Q class design, the 4-8-2 wheel arrangement was created for the X class.Template:Sfn

Overview

When the first X was completed in 1908 at NZR's Addington Workshops in Christchurch, it was the very first 4-8-2 tender locomotive built in the world. The 4-8-2 design went on to be popular in the United States and was nicknamed the "Mountain" type; one theory suggests this name stems from the mountainous terrain that inspired the X's design,Template:Sfn while another suggests the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway first coined the name in reference to its 4-8-2s of 1911 that were built to operate in the Allegheny Mountains.

The X class were restricted to the Template:Convert Taumarunui to Taihape section for some years, as the track north and south was Template:Cvt rather than Template:Cvt and their trains were restricted to Template:Convert for passengers and Template:Convert for freight. This caused frustration to general manager Hiley who wanted them used over the entire NIMT (they had had to be partially dismantled for their initial journey to Taihape).Template:Sfn

The X class initially operated as the freight counterpart of the passenger A class, but they struggled to reach speeds higher than Template:Convert.Template:Sfn They were built as de Glehn compound locomotives, but during the 1940s most of the class were converted to simple-expansion superheated locomotives.Template:Sfn This increased their power but did not prolong their lives and most were officially withdrawn on 2 March 1957.Template:Sfn However, a few had withdrawn before this and two were sold in 1946 to the Ohai Railway Board (ORB), which operated a private industrial line at the end of the Wairio Branch.

Preservation

When the Ohai Railway Board introduced diesel locomotives introduced diesel locomotives in 1968, X 442 was donated to the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, and it was eventually stored at the Ferrymead Railway in Christchurch.Template:Sfn In 2002, X 442 was relocated to the Feilding and District Steam Rail Society depot in Feilding. Two X class boilers are held by Mainline Steam Heritage Trust.

References

Bibliography

• Template:Palmer & Stewart

External links

• New Zealand Railways Steam Locomotives - Class X
• An X class locomotive ex-Petone Workshops with a new superheated boiler c1928