TheNZR P class was a class of two0-6-0ST locomotives built to work on the government-ownednational rail network ofNew Zealand in 1876. They were initially ordered by theOtago Provincial Council, but they were soon incorporated into the national locomotive fleet when the provinces were abolished. Other examples of the P class were built for industrial service and never came under the ownership of theNew Zealand Railways Department, though one worked on theKaitangata Line.
The two P class locomotives owned by the Railways Department were known asKiwi andWeka and they soon passed to the ownership of others, allowing the P classification to beused again in 1885.Weka was the first to leave the ownership of the Railways Department in 1882, when it was acquired by theWellington and Manawatu Railway Company, who used it for construction and maintenance purposes until 1898. It then came into the possession of the Manawatu County Council'sSanson Tramway, who operated it until 1922, when it passed into the ownership of Mangawhero Sawmilling Co at Karioi[1] and was ultimately scrapped in 1932.Kiwi left the Railways Department's ownership a few years afterWeka, just before the arrival of the second P class in 1885. It worked for a number of sawmilling companies throughout theNorth Island for over half a century, but was derelict in 1956.[2]
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