NZR J class (1939)

NZR J class

J 1211 being serviced before departure from Napier. Photo by Joseph Christianson

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder North British Locomotive Works, Glasgow, Scotland Build date 1939

Specifications Configuration 4-8-2 Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Wheel diameter 54 in (1.372 m) Wheelbase 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m) Length 66 ft 11 in (20.40 m) Adhesive weight 44.45 long tons (45.16 t; 49.78 short tons) Loco weight 68.55 long tons (69.65 t; 76.78 short tons) Tender weight 40.35 long tons (41.00 t; 45.19 short tons) Loco & tender weight 108.9 long tons (110.6 t; 122.0 short tons) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 6.0 long tons (6.1 t; 6.7 short tons) Water cap 4,000 imp gal (18,000 L; 4,800 US gal) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1,400 kPa) Feedwater heater ACFI Firegrate area 39.0 square feet (3.6 m2) Heating surface 1,469 square feet (136.5 m2) Superheater:  • Heating area 283 square feet (26.3 m2) Cylinders 2 Cylinder size 18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Baker

Performance figures Tractive effort 24,960 lbf (111.0 kN)

Career Number in class 40 Numbers 1200 - 1239 Locale All of New Zealand First run 1939 - 1940 Last run 1964 - 1967 Retired 1964 - 1971 Scrapped 1969 - 1971 Current owner Ian Welch, Steam Incorporated Disposition Three preserved, twelve rebuilt as JB, remainder scrapped

The NZR J class steam locomotives were a class of locomotive used in New Zealand. Following the success of the K class on NZR main lines, there was an urgent need for a modern, powerful locomotive capable of running over secondary lines laid with lighter rails. Thus a new "Mountain" 4-8-2 type locomotive was designed and classified by NZGR as the new class J. The 40 locomotives were all built by North British Locomotive Works, Scotland. They should not be confused with the members of 1874's J class, the first tender locomotives to operate in New Zealand. 30 Js were initially allocated to the North Island, the other 10 to the hilly Dunedin-Oamaru section in the South Island where with Wab tank banker engines they provided extra power for wartime freight and passenger loads. By 1950 with a large number of Hillside JA in service the South Island allocation of J and Wab tanks had been returned to Auckland.

The class had a notable appearance with the boiler being partly streamlined after the style of the New Haven Railroad's J400 class, and was also similar to the Norfolk and Western Railway class J and the NSWGR 38 class. The J class incorporated all the latest ideas of the K^A class but a noteworthy departure was the use of the Baker valve gear. The tender was of the Vanderbilt type.

Twelve J class locomotives were converted to oil burning and reclassified as J^B class, and the bullet nose streamlining was gradually removed. In 1962 ten J were transferred back to the South Island to replace the A class on the steep Greymouth-Otira section and another 6 Js were transferred in the mid 1960s to the SIMT. Some J class locomotives were reboilered with boilers transferred from the first North Island JA withdrawals in 1964-66 and others from the remainder of 12 JA boilers supplied by North British in 1954 for the construction of the last ten Hillside JA. The first reboilered J was used on the Otira route while the rest were reboilered in 1967. The three J engines that were used with the JA class on the South Island Limited in its last years in 1969-70 and later preserved were effectively a new 'JC' class with JA boilers and North Island JA tenders, reconstructed for coal rather than oil supply and had North Island JA trailing trucks, under the cab. The original J had been mainly freight and banking engines on the NIMT and had only powered a few provincial passenger trains, the Opua Express, the Auckland- New Plymouth night express and the Tanetua express. J 1211 and J1234 with JA 1267 were the usual engines on the fast South Island Limited on the Christchurch-Oamaru section, in its last year, their 'JC' conversion having made them NZRs final mainline steam flyers.

Preserved Locomotive List

• J 1211 - Mainline Steam.
• J 1234 - Steam Incorporated - (leased to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway).
• J^B 1236 (converted from J class to J^B class) - Mainline Steam.

Class register

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

Number	Builder	Entered service	Withdrawn	Notes
1200	North British	October 1939	July 1964	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1200.
1201	North British	October 1939	July 1969
1202	North British	October 1939	April 1966
1203	North British	November 1939	October 1964	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1203. Tender held by Steam Incorporated.
1204	North British	November 1939	January 1966
1205	North British	November 1939	October 1967	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1205.
1206	North British	November 1939	May 1965	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1206.
1207	North British	November 1939	April 1966
1208	North British	November 1939	July 1969
1209	North British	November 1939	July 1969
1210	North British	December 1939	March 1969
1211	North British	December 1939	November 16, 1971	Preserved, Mainline Steam. Converted to an oil burner, 1995.
1212	North British	December 1939	July 1969
1213	North British	December 1939	December 1967	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1213.
1214	North British	December 1939	January 1965
1215	North British	January 1940	January 1965
1216	North British	January 1940	July 1969
1217	North British	January 1940	March 1969
1218	North British	January 1940	April 1967	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1218.
1219	North British	January 1940	April 1966
1220	North British	February 1940	January 1966
1221	North British	February 1940	May 1966
1222	North British	February 1940	January 1965
1223	North British	February 1940	January 1966
1224	North British	February 1940	August 1967	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1224.
1225	North British	February 1940	January 1966
1226	North British	February 1940	July 1969
1227	North British	February 1940	March 1969
1228	North British	March 1940	March 1968	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1228.
1229	North British	March 1940	January 1965	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1229.
1230	North British	March 1940	October 1964	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1230.
1231	North British	March 1940	July 1969
1232	North British	March 1940	July 1969
1233	North British	March 1940	December 1967	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1233.
1234	North British	March 1940	November 16, 1971	Preserved, Steam Incorporated. J 1234 was on loan to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway, 1998. Returned to Steam Incorporated over the weekend of 6–7 June 2015.
1235	North British	March 1940	September 1967
1236	North British	March 1940	November 16, 1971	Preserved, Mainline Steam . Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1236, 2001.
1237	North British	March 1940	March 1969
1238	North British	March 1940	February 1967
1239	North British	March 1940	March 1968	Converted to an oil burner and reclassified as JB 1239.

External links

• NZR Steam locomotives - J class (4-8-2)