NZR K Class (1877) - The K Class in Service

The K Class in Service

After arrival in the South Island at Lyttelton, the locomotives were quickly put into service. K 87 "Lincoln" quickly distinguished itself by hauling the first bogie-carriage passenger train, and both the locomotives soon earned a reputation as fast and free runners, with mild coal consumption. K 88 "Washington" hauled the first train between Christchurch and Dunedin on the just-completed Main South Line, assisted by the Double Fairlie "Josephine" south of Oamaru until "Josephine" had to be taken off the train due to mechanical issues - caused by how K 88 was being driven by its driver. Having proven their worth, 6 more of the class was ordered from the Rogers Locomotive Works, numbered from 92 through 97. These locomotives also entered service in the South Island and contained almost no differences to the first two, albeit they weren't given names and there is no record of them wearing the "kaleidoscope" livery (it is likely K 87 & K 88 had been repainted by this time also).

As more powerful locomotives arrived on the railway system, increasingly of American origin, the K Class became relegated from the top expresses and cascaded down to express trains on secondary lines. Two of the K's, K 93 & K 96, were transferred to the North Island during this time. Beginning just after 1900 the class started receiving new NZR-built boilers to replace their Rogers-built wagon-top boilers. The South Island locomotives gained boilers of a Belpaire design, while the North Island pair received round-top boilers. All the new boilers were pressed to 160psi, an increase over the original boiler's 130psi. By this time all the locomotives had received Westinghouse brake equipment also. It was during this time that some of the K Class, having been relegated to the Kingston-Gore branch, began earning a reputation for the Kingston-Invercargill express train which earned the name "Kingston Flyer".