Power type Steam Build date 1894 Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | Serial number 13908 Configuration 2-8-0 | |
Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works | ||
The OA class is a solitary steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) in New Zealand. Ordered in 1894, it entered service in August of that year as No. 13 and was the first narrow gauge Vauclain compound 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 that it warranted separate classification. Accordingly, the designation of OA was created and it was numbered OA 457. It operated for another two decades until it was withdrawn in December 1929 in Auckland. The locomotive was known to Manawatu men as The Lady.
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 OC class.