New Zealand TR class locomotive

Drewry Car Co., UK

The original batch of six 0-4-0 TRs, 13-18, supplied in 1936 by the Drewry Car Co., was supplemented by TR 20-22 and 30-36 in 1939-40. These were powered by Parsons petrol engines. In 1939-40 seven 0-6-0 TRs (the only ones of this type), 23-29, were supplied and were fitted with Leyland 10-litre (610 cu in) petrol engines Wairarapa railcars. Finally, in 1950 five 0-4-0 TRs, 60-64, with diesel engines were introduced. The locomotives were built at various UK works including Vulcan Foundry and Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns. Practically all Drewry TRs are out of service today.

W. G. Bagnall, UK

W. G. Bagnall built seven TRs in 1956-57. The first five were supplied with McLaren M6 engines, the last two with Gardner 6L3 engines, all with a Self-Changing Gears 4-speed gearbox. The McLaren engines were unsuccessful, so from 1973 TR 150-154 were re-engined with the Gardner 6LX with Twin Disc torque converters. These TRs were the heaviest and one of the more powerful types.

A & G Price, NZ

The long established NZ engineering firm A & G Price of Thames supplied a total of 39 TRs, making them the largest single builder. Four different models were supplied: the Model 3 (TR 100-109), with Gardner 6LW engine and Self Changing Gears 4-speed gearbox; the Model 9 (TR 110-118), powered by a Gardner 6LW engine and Twin Disc torque converter; the Model 4 (TR 157-161), McLaren M6 engine and SCG 4-speed gearbox; and the Model 6 (TR 162-176), engine Gardner 6L3, also SCG 4-speed gearbox. The McLaren engined TRs were re-powered from 1975 with Gardner 6LX engines and the gearbox was replaced with a Twin Disc torque converter.

Hitachi, Japan

Hitachi received an order for six TRs, 177-182, at a time when NZR was turning away from traditional English suppliers and purchasing an increased number of vehicles from Asia. The locomotives were equipped with a Cummins 6-cylinder engine developing 138 kW (185 hp) and Niigata torque converter, making them the most powerful TRs.

NZR Hillside workshops

The last TRs were manufactured by NZR at their Hillside workshops. Up to two were completed each year between 1973 and 1978 (TR 183-191). The design is an unusual (for a TR) centre-cab style with a single Gardner 6LX engine and Rolls Royce torque converter. Standard parts such as DSC class windows were utilised in these TRs.

Operation

The typical role of a TR was at small stations where a normal shunting locomotive was not needed due to light traffic. NZR's operating rules allowed TRs to be driven by staff who were not members of the locomotive branch, saving on wages. Other roles have included railway workshops and depots, and most of the remaining locomotives can still be found at these locations. There are very few stations where they are still in use owing to rationalisations of freight terminals, the trend towards containerisation of traffic, and roving shunting services. A number of locomotives have been leased to industrial operators for private siding use.

The last TR was built in 1978, TR 191. The greatly reduced needs of NZR and its successors for this type of locomotive, and industrial requirements being able to be handled by other ex-NZR classes or locos obtained from elsewhere, has meant no TRs have been added since then. However four locomotives have been reclassified from other types.

The TR classification has been applied to two former industrial locomotives. One of these is TR 81, which was purchased from the Ohai Railway Board in 1955. Built by the Drewry Car Co in the 1930s, it is similar to the first generation 0-4-0 Drewry TRs, but was originally fitted with the Gardner 6LW diesel engine. The other is A&G Price no. 222 which was acquired from Pacific Metal Industries in the early 2000s. It was built in 1968 with a 307 hp (229 kW) diesel engine and is of the 0-6-0 wheel arrangement. Originally reclassified DSA 222 it now carries the number TR 1026 and is leased for industrial use.

In the 1990s, EB 26 at Napier was reclassified as TR 1003 and used in the area for shunting work. The EB class were formerly workshops shunting locomotives. The Plains Vintage Railway & Historical Museum of Ashburton, a heritage railway, also reclassified two former industrial locomotive as T^R. Although A & G Price built similar locomotives for NZR, plus a J & F Howard's former Public Works Department shunter no. 936. These locomotives were never owned by New Zealand Railways Department or their successors and thus their T^R classification and numbers are historically fictitious.

Liveries

All TRs were introduced in the Midland Red livery, except the 6 Hitachi built locomotives. In the 1970s all of them had back and yellow "Chevron Safety Stripes" painted on their headstocks. In the 1980s all of them were repainted into the "International Orange" livery (orange hoods, yellow ends and grey on the cab). TRs 603 and 920 were repainted in Flying Tomato (long and short hoods and cab red and yellow at each end); six were repainted into the Cato Blue (blue body, grey cab and yellow ends) including 943 that received a "one off" being repainted with a blue short and long hoods, blue at each end and grey on the roof of the cab and on top of the hoods; T^R 109 was repainted with back and yellow "Chevron Safety Stripes" on the headstocks and along the running boards with yellow that cover most of the long hood with red covering the top quarter; TR 626 was repainted white with yellow headstocks and has the "New Zealand Rail" logo on the front and 718 was also repainted white but this time with red headstocks for the Westland Dairy Company. TRs 56 and 92 were repainted fully yellow with white numbers on each side of their cabs. In 1994 TR 943 was repainted at Hillside Workshops and was repainted in dark blue with back and yellow "Chevron Safety Stripes" on its headstocks. It also had "Transtec Engineering Dunedin" on the side of the long hood.