NZR B class (1874)

NZR B class (1874)
Snake, a 0-4-4-0T Double Fairlie, B class steam locomotive "B" 238
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Avonside Engine Co., UK Build date 1874 Total produced 2
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-4-4-0T (Double Fairlie) Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Driver dia. 3 ft 3 in (0.991 m) Length 31 ft 2 in (9.50 m) Loco weight 28 long tons 0 cwt (62,700 lb or 28.4 t) 28 long tons 0 hundredweight (28.4 t; 31.4 short tons) Fuel capacity 1 long ton 14 cwt (3,800 lb or 1.7 t) 1 long ton 14 hundredweight (1.7 t; 1.9 short tons) Water cap. 750 imp gal (3,400 L; 900 US gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 15.0 sq ft (1.39 m2) Boiler pressure 130 lbf/in2 (900 kPa) Heating surface 770 sq ft (72 m2) Cylinders 4 Cylinder size 9 in × 16 in (229 mm × 406 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 6,912 lbf (30.75 kN)
Career Operators NZGR Numbers 10, 27 First run 1874-1875 Withdrawn 1890–1896 Disposition Both scrapped

The NZR B class of 1874 was the first of two steam locomotive classes to be designated as B by the Railways Department that then oversaw New Zealand's national rail network (the second B class was introduced in 1899).^[1] Ordered from the Avonside Engine Company in 1874, the locomotives were of the Double Fairlie type and were the first British-built locomotives to feature Walschaerts valve gear. They were not the first Double Fairlies to operate in New Zealand, as the first two members of the E class had commenced operations in 1872.