The Steam Locomotives

Much lighter than the K’s, the J’s were introduced in 1939. They were very successful on the lighter secondary lines and were very popular with their crews. The 40 original J’s were built by the North British company in Glasgow to New Zealand specifications with later Ja versions being built in New Zealand. While many were converted to oil firing, some preserved examples are still coal fired. One streamlined version, 1211, has been preserved and examples of Ja’s can be seen at Glenbrook Vintage Railway, Mainline Steam and Steam Incorporated. The very last steam locomotive built for New Zealand Railways was Ja 1274 and it can be seen at Dunedin’s Otago Settlers Museum.

New Zealand gave the world the first “Pacific” class of locomotives and the Ab’s are probably the most ubiquitous and handsome New Zealand example of a Pacific. Another mixed traffic class, 141 examples were built from 1915 onwards and they could be seen at work in every corner of New Zealand. In the North Island examples can be seen at Mainline Steam, MOTAT and Steam Incorprated while in the South Island examples are regularly in steam at Weka Pass, Pleasant Point and at Kingston hauling the Kingston Flyer.

The only Wab certified for mainline use is 794. It was built at Dunedin in 1927. The Wab is a derivation of the Ab, but was built as a tank locomotive with an extra wheel on the trailing bogie. Placing the water tanks above the driving wheels meant that greater adhesion and so faster acceleration was achieved. This made them ideal for the constant stopping and starting required on the Auckland and Wellington suburban services, where they spent much of their working lives. 794 is owned by the NZ Railway and Locomotive Society but was restored by the Feilding Steam Rail Group and is based there.  

The only Wab certified for mainline use is 794. It was built at Dunedin in 1927. The Wab is a derivation of the Ab, but was built as a tank locomotive with an extra wheel on the trailing bogie. Placing the water tanks above the driving wheels meant that greater adhesion and so faster acceleration was achieved. This made them ideal for the constant stopping and starting required on the Auckland and Wellington suburban services, where they spent much of their working lives. 794 is owned by the NZ Railway and Locomotive Society but was restored by the Feilding Steam Rail Group and is based there.  

Steam Incorporated has restored a complete set of historic red train carriages to go with their locomotives. This includes original wooden bodied carriages with their open-ended balconies and the original interior woodwork. Where possible we use these carriages for our Great NZ Steam Journeys. Please note that these are historical carriages and have been beautifully restored to their original condition, which means they are not equipped with some modern conveniences such as air conditioning.

For other journeys we may be using either the blue Tranz Scenic carriages or the Brown and Ochre Taieri Gorge carriages which are usually air conditioned and often have specially fitted scenic windows.