NZR E class (1906)

The E class Mallet locomotive that operated in New Zealand was the second locomotive to take that designation, after the E class Double Fairlies of 1872-75. As all members of the first E class had been either withdrawn or passed out of the ownership of the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) by 1906, the E classification was free to be re-used. The second E class consisted of just one engine, E 66, a 2-6-6-0T under the Whyte notation system. It was built by NZR itself in 1906 as a Mallet compound and was used at one point on the Rimutaka Incline. It was one of the few engines not of the H class to operate on the Incline.

This locomotive is often referred to as "Pearson's Dream", and has a somewhat dubious reputation amongst railfans. This is largely due to anecdotes from crew who worked on it after its use on the Rimutaka Incline, who found the locomotive hard to deal with & very hot to work on. It is often regarded as a failure, however it should be noted that E 66 was very successful on the Rimutaka Incline, for which it was designed for.

The locomotive did not survive to be preserved. It had left the service of NZR by 1922, allowing the E designation to be used for a third time on the E class battery electric locomotive.

External links

• Drawing of E 66 from Derek Brown
• History of the Rimutaka Incline that mentions the use of E 66