NZR K class (1877)

The NZR K class of 1877 was a group of eight 2-4-2 tender locomotives ordered from the Rogers Locomotive Works of New Jersey for the New Zealand Railways, the first American built locomotives to run on New Zealand's rail network. The first two, K 87 Lincoln and K 88 Washington, were ordered in 1877 through the American engineer Walton Evans, and six more followed. Their bar frames, Gothic style wooden cabs and bright liveries looked very different from British engines of the day, and they gained a reputation as fast, free running machines with mild coal consumption. They were withdrawn in the 1920s, and three have since been recovered for preservation, including K 88, which was restored to working order by The Plains Railway.