ROMANCE OF THE RAIL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 265, 8 November 1937, Page 6

ROMANCE OF THE RAIL

“GIANT” OF EARLY DAYS HISTORY OF OLD ENGINE LINK WITH YEARS GONE BY An old engine of the “F” class used (or shunting purposes at the Eastown Railway Shops could tell an intriguing story of early days in the history of the iron way in New Zealand if it could speak. Indication of the great age of the locomotive is given by a massive brass plate affixed behind the cab which reads: “Yorkshire Engine Co., No. 244, Meadow-Hall Works, Sheffield, 1874. ’ Sixty-three years old! The engine was brought to this country by sailing ship in 1875 and was put into service immediately. From then till the present time it has been m constant use, except in periods when it has been laid up for repairs. At the time of its coming the “F” was regarded as the latest in locomotives and it is said that she attained what was then considered the remarkable speed of 35 miles per hour! Many natives must have gazed awestruck at this “iron horse” as it thundered down tracks in the bush accepting it as another accroutrement of the pakeha. To-day the oddlyshaped smoke-stack and queer saddletanks are subject of derision, but to glance back along the history of the 20-ton engine is to bring memories of a day when the Dominion was a colony, when the Maori wars were still fresh in the minds of many, and the rail was in its infancy. The “F” in early days was used' as an express engine, and has run on almost all lines in the North Island. She is powerful and a load of 200 tons was never too much for her. For a number of years she ran regularly between Waipukurau and Napier, and railwaymen recall stirring incidents connected with her service on this section. In latex vears she ran regularly on the Main Trunk route and local drivers identify her with this period of her career. Heavier engines were making their appearance on New Zealand railways, however, and there came a sad day for the old “F” when she was relegated to suburban traffic. Even here xeavier and faster engines came and t was some 25 years ago that she R*as put on the shunt at the Wanganui yards. She was used here for 12 years until displaced, and then removed to Eastown, where she still does her day’s work. Principle of Operation The original Stephenson link motion is used in the “F,” considered to be the true high speed motion. In modern locomotives the Walshart motion is used. Long before the day of the Westinghouse braking system, a massive hand braxe was the means of bringing her to a halt, but this in later years has been replaced by the air system. On a day’s run the engine would consume from 10 to 15cwt. of coal, depending on the load and nature of country traversed. A feature 3f the locomotive in her early career was the huge kerosene head-light which, combined with a shower of .parks from the stack, must have inieed presented an awe-inspiring sight _o the unitiated. Mr J. H. Stone, of Wanganui East, now retired, recalls the time when he fired an engine of the same model on the Lakes Mail, which ran from Invercargill to Lumsden many years

ago. Mr. Stone has also had a good deal to do with the engine at Eastown and can tell of many incidents connected with her early history. He considers that she possibly is the oldest engine of her type in use in the country. Recently some apprehension as to the “F’s” future career was felt when the boiler inspector made his rounds but he reported that she is quite sound and in good order. And so the old locomotive seems destined to end her days fussing and panting about the Eastown yards while mighty modern “X” and “K” engines thunder past on the main line a few yards away. “Ay,” said her driver, Mr. G. Guinn, as he carefully wiped signs of coal-dust from the side of her not-so-large cab, “she’s good for a few years yet.” and judging by the energetic manner in which she moved a substantial string of waggons, and the note of defiance in her lusty whistle, there’s a “kick in the old horse yet.”