| Weight | 23t |
| Driving Wheels | 3ft 4ins |
| Boiler Pressure | 160psi |
| Cylinders | Outside – 13in x 20in |
| Tractive Effort | 10,140lbf |
| Vlalve Gear | Walschaerts |
This locomotive is one of three locomotives built by the Hunslet Engine Company in 1923 for the Public Works Department (PWD) in New Zealand. The three engines were allocated to the Way and Works Branch of the organisation where they were used for construction work. It is the only one of the ten steam locomotives built by Hunslet which operated in New Zealand that has been preserved.
The locomotive was sold in 1945 to the New Zealand Railway (NZR). The other two were also sold to the NZR – one in 1938 and one in 1945 During their service life with the NZR, the locomotives retained their original PWD numbers.
The three engines were transferred to the Mechanical Branch in 1951 and received the class letter Y in 1952. The Y class was the smallest steam locomotive to enter NZR service in the twentieth century. They retained their old PWD numbers and were allocated to locomotive depots at Auckland and Frankton. This locomotive carried the number Y542.
Y 542 was withdrawn in working order in August 1957 but was then sold to Wilsons (NZ) Portland Cement for use on their private railway at Portland, south of Whangarei. The railway at the cement company used the locomotive to transport cement to a wharf where it was loaded onto ships at a deep water jetty. The jetty had been built many years earlier and could only be accessed by lighter locomotives. The railway at the site also linked up with the company’s limestone quarries and the North Auckland Line at Portland.
In 1970 Wilsons (NZ) Portland Cement was taken over by the Golden Bay Cement Company and Winstone Ltd with each holding a 50% stake in the company. Golden Bay Cement Company became the sole owner in 1980.
The locomotive was taken out of service in 1973 after which it was placed in store for twelve years and help as a reserve for the company’s fleet of diesel shunters. The first diesels had been deployed in 1958 to haul rocks from the quarry to the mill which resulted in the gradual phasing out of the steam locomotives. In 1986 a new wharf was built which was able to handle cement transported pneumatically from the plant.
In 1985 the locomotive was acquired by the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) and has been based at their Western Spring Tramway. It has been restored to working order and is used occasionally.
Preserved Outside Britain – By Country
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 