| Driving Wheels | 2ft 6ins |
| Weight | 11 tons |
| Boiler Pressure | 120psi |
| Cylinders | Outside – 8in x 15in |
| Tractive Effort | 3,072 lbf |
The New Zealand Railway (NZR) A class of 1873 consisted of three types of locomotives with similar specifications but different details. The earliest and most numerous were built by Dübs in Glasgow in 1873 who supplied 12 locomotives. The Yorkshire Engine Company in Sheffield supplied another 2 in 1875. The details above are for the Dübs engines.
The locomotives were initially ordered by the Public Works Department for use in the construction of lines in Canterbury and Taranaki. They were not just used by the Public Works Department; the New Zealand Government Railways also utilised the class to operate revenue services on smaller branch lines.
The locomotives quickly became outmoded for use on the lines they helped build and this locomotive is the only one that was still in government service by 1905. It was used on the Piha Tramway and later on NZR’s Stores Branch Piha Tramway. By 1906 all Dubs A class locomotives were out of service for NZR.
Whilst the locomotives were too small for operating on the NZR they were ideally suited to use on bush tramways and small private industrial sidings. Many members of the class survived for decades in private use.
This locomotive (A62) was built by Dübs in Glasgow in 1873 for service with the NZR. It served with the NZR. It originally carried the number 196.
Between 1906 and 1929 the locomotive was allocated to the Maintenance Branch of the NZR.
The locomotive was employed on the Piha Mill logging tramway where it was recorded in 1914 but it is not known how long it was based there. It worked the Piha-Anawhata section of the track.
Around 1929 the locomotive was put on display outside the Otahuhu Workshops in Auckland which had opened in 1928 as a major rolling stock construction, maintenance and repair facility operated by the NZR.
In 1956 it was acquired by Jack Ryder for his museum at Avondale in Auckland. He set out to create a village modelled on old Auckland and he quickly set up a garage, fire station, railway station and two pubs.
In 1996 the locomotive came under the ownership of Ian Insley at Avondale.
In 2004 the ownership of the locomotive passed to Graeme and Moira Craw. Graeme Craw had an interest in the Industrial Revolution and started a collection of items in the 1950s. It is natural therefore that he would wish to acquire the locomotive that ran on the line from the Piha Mill to the bottom of the Anawhata Incline as the incline ended near the Craw Homestead.
Initially the collection was housed in sheds Graeme built at his farm, located at Anawhata, West Auckland but later moved to Tarai Station at Nukutawhiti where he set up the Packard Motor Museum.
The locomotive is now housed in the Packard Motor Museum at Maungatapere, Whangarei.
Five other A class locomotives built by Dübs in 1873 are preserved in New Zealand
- Works number 647 – 67
- Works number 648 – 66
- Works number 651 – 64
- Works number 653 – 65
- Works number 655 – 193
Preserved Outside Britain – By Country
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 