NZR UA class
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| NZR UA class | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 UA class 4-6-0 steam locomotive NZR number 176 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Classified U until 1902 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The NZR UA class were a class of 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler locomotive built by the Scottish firm of Sharp Stewart and Company to ease a motive power shortage. They lived relatively short lives amongst NZR ten wheelers, mostly at the southern end of the country where they were seldom photographed.
As New Zealand rapidly recovered from the 1880s depression, NZR developed a motive power shortage that its own workshops could not keep up with.[1] After his 1898 annual report indicated it was "absolutely necessary" to obtain more locomotives the Locomotive Superintendent obtained permission to buy sixteen 4-6-0 locomotives, ten from Baldwin, and six from Sharp Stewart and Co. All were delivered in 1899.[1]
Unlike the Addington U class the new locomotives were of uniform appearance, with low mounted running boards and splashers over the drivers. The design was based on and very similar to the U class, differing primarily in the provision of smaller driving wheels delivering higher tractive effort. Although they used the same type of boiler they carried a higher pressure and were fitted with piston valves. Overall their appearance was similar to their predecessors.
