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In 1891 the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company ordered two Prairie type (2-6-2) tender locomotives from the Baldwin locomotive works, Philadelphia, U.S.A. to cope with increasing traffic on the Companys 84 mile line between Wellington and Longburn. The locomotives were intended to work the easily graded (ruling grade 1 in 100) section of line north of Paekakariki where the Baldwin consolidations (2-8-0) that brought the trains down from Wellington would hand their load to the Prairie's for the fifty-seven mile run across the Manawatu plains to Longburn. Up until then this section was run by three 2-6-2's built by Naysmyth, Wilson and Company of England in 1885. The two Baldwins were unloaded in Wellington later in 1891, and both were in service before the end of the year, being given road numbers 9 and 10.
Number 10s builders photo
The two new engines were classed 'V' on arrival, the same as the English engines of 1885, the two types of engine being referred to as the 'English V' and 'American V'. However, the two American engines were soon reclassified 'N', in line with the similar Baldwin locomotives built for the Government in 1885. These Government engines were a new design for Baldwin, being the first of the 10-24 1/4D series and due to this may have been the first Prairies built in America. The N's soon proved to be favourites, not only were they more powerful than their English sisters, but they rode better and could run faster, indeed it was their speed that ultimately made them legendary.
On the 20th July, 1892, No 10 headed out of Wellington ahead of a special speed trial train, consisting of the locomotive, a passenger car and a van. Aboard No 10 was Driver Fryer, Fireman Taylor, traffic manager J.E. Fulton, Fulton's assistant Mr. Marchbanks, and Charles Rous-Marten, the editor of The Evening Post. Rous-Marten had with him two stop-watches, which he used to time the run, and in 1901 used to time the City of Truro's record run on the Great Western Railway, Britain. After negotiating the hilly Wellington - Paekakariki section, No 10 rapidly picked up the pace as she rolled onto the Manawatu Plains. The loco ran freely at speeds of 50-55 m.p.h. hitting 61 m.p.h. when descending the 1 in 100 Koputaroa bank. Accelerating away from Koputaroa, the N was in her element as she crossed the Makerua swamp, where she ran fifteen miles in fifteen minutes, hitting a top speed of 64.4 m.p.h. and thus setting the world speed record for the 3'6" gauge
Number 10 after the record run
With their fame secured, the Manawatu N's ran out their company days serving their masters well. Indeed, No 9 clocked up the third highest mileage of any company loco, the highest of the Baldwins, only being surpassed by two locos that had been with the company from the beginning. They received Westinghouse air brakes during the early twentieth century, but remained essentially unchanged from how they were originally delivered. Their wooden cabs, polished Russian iron boiler jackets, copper funnel caps and smart black paint stayed with them until the end of the company. This day came at the end of 1908, when the Company's line was bought by the government to become the southern section of the newly completed North Island Main Trunk Railway. The company's locomotives were transferred to the railways department, and No's 9 and 10 became N's 453 and 454 respectively.
The N's were now a series of locomotives, not just a class, with five different types of 2-6-2's in government ownership, broken up into three classes. These were: The original 6 N's of 1885, the two Manawatu engines of 1891, four piston valve N's built in 1901 for work around Auckland, and four Vauclain compounds taken over from the Manawatu Company, (No's 14, 15, 5 & 18), the first two becoming the Na class and the final two the Nc's. The Na's were a slightly heavier and more powerful version of the N's, while the Nc's had wide fireboxes and bore little resemblance to the original 2-6-2's. As a further variation of the N series one of the 1885 batch, No 27, was converted to a Vauclain Compound as an attempt to match the efficiencies of the Manawatu locos, but with little success.
The two N's continued to work the Paekakariki - Longburn line until the start of the First World War, when they were transferred to the West Coast, 454 heading south in 1914, and 453 following in 1916. Here the N's took charge of the mail trains between Greymouth and Otira, where their speed made them ideal for the purpose. Their graceful wooden cabs were replaced with steel, and acetylene headlamps took the place of the original kerosene ones. On the 4th of April 1924, N 453 was hauling train 756, the 7 am mixed train bound for Otira, when her injector filters blocked and the train was brought to a halt near Jacksons. It turns out that water taken on at Moana was full of sawdust, which had blocked the pipes. The problem was rectified, but early the following year No 453 was towed to Addington workshops where her boiler was condemned. Surprisingly, the old engine was not finished, as a new boiler was built and fitted, and she returned to the west coast to work out her days. However during 1926 N 453 suffered some sort of engine failure, and was returned to Addington where she was withdrawn from service and dismantled, on the 13th of November, 1926. Her new boiler was removed and fitted to Wb 300, while the rest of her was loaded aboard two flat wagons and consigned to Arthur's Pass for use in protection works.
NZR N at Otira
N 454 was fitted with a tender-cab and became the Otira shunter, venturing out onto the main line to bank trains into town. In 1927 her boiler was to be condemned, but a 12 month reprieve was given to work the engine down, at a reduced boiler pressure of 130 psi. By the end of that year, her crews were so sick of her worn out state that they had the Engine drivers, fireman's and cleaners' association write a formal complaint to head office, pleading to have the tired old N withdrawn from service, as she was “unsuitable for the work it has to perform … and it is also very rough riding" - no doubt due to the reduced working pressure and deferred maintenance. Her boiler ticket expired on 30th January 1928, and after being stripped of reusable parts, lay idle at Greymouth awaiting her fate. After a number of memos between departments, N 454 was finally written off on the 31st of March, 1928, with a capital value of ₤1,938. The following month, she was towed up the Midland line and tipped into the Waimakariri river, the final resting place of the old record breaker still mystifying railway enthusiasts to this day.