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Story: Railways

F-class locomotive

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F-class locomotive

The F-class locomotive, and to a lesser extent the D-class, were the workhorses of New Zealand’s railways in the 19th century. These small British-built tank engines sometimes had a working life of 100 years. Some rebuilt engines were still in use in the 1960s.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, James McAllister Collection (PAColl-3054)

Reference: 1/1-012575-G

by James McAllister

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Neill Atkinson, Railways – Building the rail network, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/21376/f-class-locomotive (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Neill Atkinson, published 6 April 2010.