#2600
NZR ED class
🇬🇧 United Kingdom ·built by English Electric· from 1938· class of 10 New Zealand electric locomotives
what is it?
The NZR ED class locomotive is a type of electric locomotive used in Wellington, New Zealand. They were built by English Electric and the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between 1938 and 1940, and hauled mainly passenger trains on the Wellington region's 1500 V DC electrification, and banked freight trains on the steep section between Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay. The locomotives featured a unique wheel arrangement, 1-Do-2 under the UIC classification system, and incorporated a quill drive (the only type of locomotive to do so in New Zealand) to the driving wheels.
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 88 years ago, in 1938.
- 925 kW is about 11 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- 14.1 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 43 years (1938–1981).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1938
- in service from
- 1938
- retired
- 1981
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 10
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- builders
- English Electric, New Zealand Railways Department, Addington Railway Workshops, Hutt Workshops
- operators
- New Zealand Railways Department
- top speed
- 88 km/h
- power
- 925 kW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- electric system
- 1,500 V DC overhead lines
- wheel arrangement
- 1-Do-2 locomotives
- length
- 14.1 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q6956201, Wikipedia: NZR ED class (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.