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The first member of the N class was ordered in 1901 and entered service in May 1902 as WMR No. 5. Another locomotive built to a very similar design was ordered in 1904 and entered service that same year as WMR No. 18. When the locomotives passed into NZR ownership in 1908, they were considered to be similar enough to be classified together, and while they also bore strong similarities to the members of the N class, they were sufficiently different that a separate classification of N was used. Their main distinguishing feature was a wider firebox. They were Vauclaincompound locomotives.
The two engines served NZR for just over two decades. No. 18, now N 462, was retired in September 1928, while No. 5, now N 461, remained in service until March 1931. Their final region of operation is believed to be the Wairarapa, and they are known to have worked the line from the Hutt Valley up the western slope of the Rimutaka Range to the western end of the Rimutaka Incline. Together with O 455 (ex-WMR No. 11) and U 465 (ex-WMR No. 20), N 461 was one of the last surviving locomotives of WMR heritage. All three were withdrawn in March 1931.
Builders photo of WMR No.5 in Baldwin olive green.
NZR 462, circa 1909
