NZR Oa class

NZR OA class
In service	1, originally owned by the WMR
Numbers	457 (ex-WMR No. 13)
Builder	Baldwin Locomotive Works
Built	1894
Wheel arrangement	2-8-0
Weight	57.4 t
Height
Width
Length	51 ft 8 in (15.7 m)
Maximum speed
Boiler pressure	180 lbf/in² (1.2 MPa)
Max. tractive effort
Cont. tractive effort
Engine type

The O^A class, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) in New Zealand, consisted of a solitary steam locomotive. Ordered in 1894, it entered service in August of that year as No. 13 and was the first narrow gauge Vauclain compound locomotive in the world. In 1908, the WMR and its locomotive fleet were purchased by New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) and incorporated into the national rail network, and, although No. 13 bore a likeness to members of the O class, it was sufficiently different to warrant separate classification. Accordingly, the designation of O^A was created and it was numbered O^A 457. It operated for another two decades until it was withdrawn in December 1929 in Auckland.

In 1896 a locomotive similar in appearance was ordered by the WMR, No. 16. Its technical specifications were such that when it was acquired by NZR it was classified separately and became the sole member of the O^C class.

See also

Locomotives of New Zealand

External links

• Baldwin Steam Trust's page of Baldwin locomotives built for the WMR - includes O^A class
• Drawing of an O^A/O^C class locomotive from Derek Brown