NZR Q class (1878)

The NZR Q class of 1878 was a pair of 2-4-4T tank engines built by Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works in New Jersey. They resembled the same builder's earlier K class and were bought by the Rakaia and Ashburton Forks Railway Company to work its newly built line from Rakaia to Methven, which later became the Methven Branch as the locomotives Q 51 and Q 17. Q 51 was withdrawn in 1897, while Q 17 lasted until March 1901, when its number was reused for a UB class locomotive. The class is a small footnote in the story of American built locomotives in New Zealand, which began with the Rogers K class.