Transfer and Withdrawal
In December 1908, the WMR was purchased by NZR and its Wellington - Manawatu Line was incorporated into the national network as part of the North Island Main Trunk Railway (NIMT). Most traffic from beyond the Wairarapa was re-routed via the old WMR route as it was quicker and did not include the time consuming Incline. Accordingly, by 1909, traffic over the Incline was in decline and primarily served the Wairarapa. The traffic volumes thus became manageable for the H locomotives alone, and E 66 was transferred from Cross Creek to Wellington despite its moderate success on the Incline. The NIMT contained a steeply graded section between Wellington and Johnsonville (now truncated as the Johnsonville Branch due to the Tawa Flat deviation) and E 66 was used to bank trains over this route. However, it had not been designed for this work and became unpopular with crews. Due to these problems, it did not meet its designer's ambitions and thus acquired the "Pearson's Dream" nickname.
Due to its unpopularity in Wellington and increasing tonnages over the Incline due to World War I, E 66 was transferred back to Cross Creek in 1916. However, it was only in steam 23 days that year, sometimes for works trains rather than revenue service, and operated over a distance of just 478 miles. In May 1917, it was withdrawn from service, stored, and then dismantled. Its boiler was transferred to Auckland for use as a depot wash-out boiler and used in this capacity until 1931, when it was condemned and dumped. The locomotive thus did not survive to be preserved.
Read more about this topic: NZR E Class (1906)
Famous quotes containing the words transfer and/or withdrawal:
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—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)