The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was corporatised on 1 April 1982 into the New Zealand Railways Corporation. Originally, railway construction and operation took place under the auspices of the former provincial governments and some private railways, before all of the provincial operations came under the central Public Works Department. The role of operating the rail network was subsequently separated from that of the network's construction. From 1895 to 1993 there was a responsible Minister, the Minister of Railways. He was often also the Minister of Public Works.
Engraving of a locomotive and carriages moving along the side of the Wellington Harbour toward the Hutt Valley, c.1875
New Zealand Railways Department Head Office, Wellington, photographed circa 1905–1908 by J N Taylor.
The AB class were introduced in 1915. Over 141 of these locomotives were introduced, from three different builders. Here preserved AB 778 hauls the Kingston Flyer.
Baldwin Locomotive Works
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Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone in the early 20th century. The company was for decades the world's largest producer of steam locomotives, but struggled to compete when demand switched to diesel locomotives. Baldwin produced the last of its 70,000-plus locomotives in 1951, before merging with the Lima-Hamilton Corporation on September 11, 1951, to form the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation.
Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1875
Baldwin Locomotive Works builder's plate, 1922
Baldwin Locomotive Works c. 1900
Matthias W. Baldwin, the company's founder