#0317
NZR B class
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by Avonside Engine Company· from 1874· class of 2 New Zealand 0-4-4-0T double Fairlie locomotives
._ATLIB_257541_(cropped).jpg)
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Snake, a double Fairlie, B class steam locomotive B 238 (0-4-4-0T). ATLIB 257541 (cropped): Godber, Albert Percy, 1875-1949· Public domain
what is it?
The NZR B class of 1874 was the first of two steam locomotive classes to be designated as B by the Railways Department that then oversaw New Zealand's national rail network (the second B class was introduced in 1899). Ordered from the Avonside Engine Company in 1874, the locomotives were of the Double Fairlie type and were the first British-built locomotives to feature Walschaerts valve gear. They were not the first Double Fairlies to operate in New Zealand, as the first two members of the E class had commenced operations in 1872.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 152 years ago, in 1874.
- Weighs about as much as 5 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 9.5 m long: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 22 years (1874–1896).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1874
- in service from
- 1874
- retired
- 1896
- status
- retired
- number built
- 2
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- Avonside Engine Company
- operators
- New Zealand Railways Department
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 0-4-4-0
- length
- 9.5 m
- weight
- 28.4 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q6956184, Wikipedia: NZR B class (1874) (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.