History
In 1877, the new Chief Mechanical Engineer of the NZR, Allison D. Smith required some new motive power for the fledgling Government system. It had been intended to order more J Class locomotives which were of an English design. However, Mr Smith was adamant American locomotives would be much more suitable for New Zealand's conditions. His argument won, and an order was placed with the Rogers Locomotive Works of New Jersey, for two tender locomotives with a wheel arrangement of 2-4-2. Upon their arrival to New Zealand, the locomotives created quite a stir with their bar frames, 'Gothic' style wooden cabs, locomotive bell, ornate embellishments and, rakish appearances which were at odds with the traditional English locomotive appearance in New Zealand at the time. In addition this first pair, K 87 "Lincoln" and K 88 "Washington", reputedly wore a 'kaleidoscope' of colours - green, blue, yellow, red, purple, and gold in addition to their Russian Iron boiler jackets.
Read more about this topic: NZR K Class (1877)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“You treat world history as a mathematician does mathematics, in which nothing but laws and formulas exist, no reality, no good and evil, no time, no yesterday, no tomorrow, nothing but an eternal, shallow, mathematical present.”
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)
“They are a sort of post-house,where the Fates
Change horses, making history change its tune,
Then spur away o’er empires and o’er states,
Leaving at last not much besides chronology,
Excepting the post-obits of theology.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)