Data from John Garner's comprehensive site at [] ... (October 2002; last accessed 19 June 2025.) (Thanks to George Ferguson for his 12 July email correcting the builder's ID.)
When the New Zealand railways took delivery of 10 2-4-0Ts from Avonside in 1877 (Locobase , they were pleased enough with their performance. But by the 1890s the small amount of bunkerage was seen as enough reason to enlarge the design to take a bogie instead of the leading truck. Three 4-4-0Ts were converted at Newmarket as La class engines.
Still the bunkerage cramped operational styles, so a trailing axle was added to create the 4-4-2T seen here. Of the original 10, 3 were simply sold off to the PWD in 1901-1903 and the others all became Atlantic tanks. Three new engines were added in July-September 1903; these received the same road numbers as earlier Ls as indicated by the "(2)" after their road numbers. NZR Petone works numbers were 50-52 in 1903.
, bringing the class up to 10 locomotives. At that point, they were all redesignated L.
(Garner's figure for engine wheelbase repeats that of the 2-4-0T and cannot be correct.)
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | L |
| Locobase ID | 5176 |
| Railroad | New Zealand Railways |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Whyte | 4-4-2T |
| Number in Class | 7 |
| Road Numbers | 91, 205-206, 207 (2)-208 (2), 219, 264-267 |
| Gauge | 3'6" |
| Number Built | 10 |
| Builder | NZGR |
| Year | 1895 |
| Valve Gear | Stephenson |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 7 / 2.13 |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 38,080 / 17,273 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 70,560 / 32,006 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 32 / 16 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 42.50 / 1080 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 160 / 1100 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 12" x 18" / 305x457 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 8294 / 3762.10 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.59 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 10.60 / 0.99 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 587 / 54.55 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 587 / 54.55 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 249.13 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 1696 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 1696 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | |
| Power L1 | |
| Power MT | |