| Weight | 25t |
| Driving Wheels | 3ft 9ins |
| Boiler Pressure | 130psi |
| Cylinders | Four Outside – 10in x 18in |
| Tractive Effort | 8,00lbf |
This was the first Fairlie locomotive built by Yorkshire Engine Company in Sheffield. It was built in 1872 for the Duedin & Port Chambers Railway which was the first railway line built in Otago, New Zealand, and linked the region’s major city of Dunedin with the port in Port Chalmers. The line was only 1.3 miles long and was used to transport freight to and from the port. In May 1873 the central Government purchased the Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Company for £150,000. The Chalmers line is now part of the Main South Line from Christchurch to Dunedin.
The motive power used was often provided by shunting locomotives which included the class F 0-6-0T engines built at various locomotive works in Britain.
Locomotives built using the Fairlie design of articulated locomotives had the driving wheels on bogies and many were built as double ended including this one. The Fairlie patent was developed by the Scottish engineer Robert Fairlie in 1864. Robert Fairlie was a consultant engineer for the first standard gauge railway in New Zealand and he persuaded the railway to use his design.
The aim of his design was to put the weight of the locomotive on the driving wheels to maximise the tractive effort. The design also allowed the locomotives to drive in both directions without needing to be turned.
This locomotive was one of the first two Fairlie locomotives built by Vulcan Foundry for the Duedin & Port Chambers Railway in 1872. They were shipped to New Zealand in kit form and arrived at Port Chambers in August 1872. They were unloaded onto the wharf and assembled in situ. After being assembled and steamed in September 1872 this locomotive (N02 but from 1889 numbered E 175) was used to help finish the construction of the railway whilst the second locomotive (No 1 Rose) was assembled.
Both locomotives continued in service until the railway was amalgamated into the New Zealand Government Railway system when they were classified as class E locomotives. The two locomotives had the reputation of being rather unspectacular performers.
In 1879 Josephine was used as a banking engine south of Oamaru on the first train on the newly completed Main South Line between Dunedin and Christchurch. It had to de detached
at Palmerston as the locomotive had developed mechanical problems due to taking too much of the load.
In 1900 the locomotive was sold by the New Zealand Railway (NZR) to the Public Works Department and re-numbered PWD 504. It was then used and used in the construction of railway lines before they were handed over to the Railways Department.
It was transferred to the North Island and utilised in the construction of the North Island Main Trunk Railway before returning to the Otago Central Railway.
The locomotive was withdrawn from service in 1917 and sold for scrap to the Otago Iron Rolling Mill. The engine languished at the company’s Green Island premises. In 1926 the company cosmetically restored (including the fitting of balloon funnels, which it never had in service).
The locomotive was then placed on display at the New Zealand South Seas Exhibition of 1926. At this time the ownership of it was placed under the ownership of the Otago Settlers Museum. This is believed to be the first example of railway preservation in New Zealand.
The locomotive was subsequently displayed in the park area next to the museum, where it deteriorated in the elements. In the 1960s it was cosmetically restored again, this time with correct-style funnels, and placed inside a protective glass room at the entrance of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin .
There are no current plans to restore the locomotive to an operational condition.
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Preserved Outside Britain – By Country
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 