NZR Bc class
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| NZR BC class | ||
|---|---|---|
| In service | 1 | |
| Road numbers | 463 | |
| Builder | Baldwin Locomotive Works | |
| Built | 1901 | |
| Wheel arrangement | 2-8-2 | |
| Total weight | 71.4 tons | |
| Height | ||
| Width | ||
| Length | 55 ft 7 in | |
| Maximum speed | ||
| Boiler pressure | 200 lbf/in² | |
| Tractive effort | 16,080 lbf | |
| Coal capacity | 4.0 tons | |
| Water capacity | 1,660 gallons | |
The BC class comprised a single locomotive that operated on New Zealand's national rail network. Built for the Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) and classified simply as No. 17, it passed into the ownership of New Zealand Railways (NZR) when the government purchased the WMR in 1908, and it was then that it acquired the BC classification as BC 463.
It was ordered in 1901 by the WMR from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. It entered service on 10 June 1902 and was at the time the most powerful locomotive to operate in the country, and it was the only 2-8-2 "Mikado" to run in New Zealand.
The locomotive was designed to haul trains on the WMR's steep main line between Wellington and Paekakariki, and it proved capable of hauling a 280-ton freight train up the sharp grades. It was a Vauclain compound and its trailing truck bore similarities to the Q class, the world's first 4-6-2 "Pacific" type then under construction by Baldwin for NZR.
The locomotive worked the rugged line out of Wellington its entire life. It operated for nearly two decades in NZR's ownership until it was withdrawn on 31 March 1927.
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