| NZR class Ka 950 with three empties after being used as a banker engine on the Raurimu Spiral on an unknown date, Agfa print by J. A. T. Terry, Chuck Zeiler collection. The description is what is hand written on the back of the print. I believe that 'banker engine' translates to 'pusher engine'. A total of 71 class K, Ka, and Kb 4-8-4, three and a half foot gauge locomotives were built between 1932 and 1950, most by the Hutt Workshops on the North Island, but six were built at the Hillside Workshops in 1939 for use on the South Island. Retirements and scrapping began in 1964, as the GM G12 diesels began arriving. Five 4-8-4 locomotives were saved from scrapping; the original K number 900, Ka's 935, 942, 945, and Kb 968. |