Palmerston was the first steam locomotive to be manufactured completely in New Zealand. It was built specifically to operate on the 25 mile (40 km) long, wooden-railed Foxton to Palmerston North Tramway in New Zealand’s North Island. Palmerston was constructed at the Dunedin Iron Works foundry by R.S. Sparrow & Co in 1872. Sparrow & Co also built the famous Platypus submarine gold dredge.
Steam Train Palmerston
The locomotive Palmerston was approximately 15 feet long (4.6m) with a vertical boiler and a single cylinder engine which drove the rear wheels by means of a crank. A tall flue reaching 12 feet (3.7m) above the boiler provided the ‘draw’ for the firebox. Palmerston was designed for a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km per hour). Water was carried in a tank behind the boiler and firewood carried in front. The historical photograph shows the two-man crew with the driver operating the steam regulator and reversing lever.
Palmerston was shipped from the Dunedin foundry to the port of Foxton from where it was transported up the navigable lower reaches of the Manawatu River to the rail head near Opiki. On 25th August 1872 Palmerston made its first journey, under its own steam, on the wooden rails to Palmerston North.
Foxton Tramway
The Foxton tramway was planned in 1865 as a wooden-railed tramway between the fledgling town of Palmerston North and its nearest port at Foxton 25 miles (40 km) away. Though the Manawatu River flowed through and connected the two towns it was not navigable for the entire distance between them. A tramway was needed to transport timber and supplies across the flat swampy plain between Palmerston North and the coast. To reduce construction costs and expedite construction wooden rails were chosen because timber was readily available and iron rails would have to be imported, involving a lengthy delay.
Tramway construction began in 1871 and initially trams were hauled by teams of horses. By the time Palmerston was delivered and began operating on the tramway in August 1872, the line had been completed between Palmerston North and Opiki, approximately half of the total distance to Foxton. Palmerston ran on this northern portion of the line. The tramway was completed to Foxton on 25th July 1873.
Neither the line nor Palmerston was very successful. Within a month of delivery Palmerston experienced serious mechanical problems which meant that it saw very little service on the line. Trams were again hauled by horse teams.
The wooden rails also proved inadequate, being poorly ballasted and wearing out quickly. Soon plans were made to replace them with iron rails to railway standards and in April 1876 the Foxton line was formally opened as a railway.
Palmerston Replica
A replica of the Palmerston was installed outside the Foxton Museum in Main Street on 9th April 1994. The replica was built on a steel ‘L’ class wagon, fitted with a vertical boiler and a twin cylinder vertical steam engine, though the original Palmerston was driven by a single cylinder engine.
GPS Co-ordinates of the Palmerston Replica
Latitude: -40.470794, Longitude: 175.281731
Location on Google maps: Palmerston replica location
Sources:
- Garner, J. (1996) Guide to New Zealand Rail Heritage. IPL Books, NZ.
- Churchman, G. B. and Hurst, A (1991) The Railways of New Zealand: A Journey Through History. HarperCollins Publishers, NZ.
- Leitch, D and Scott, B (1998) Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways. Grantham House, NZ.
- Foxton Museum and Historical Society, Main Street, Foxton, New Zealand.
- Trainweb: Locomotive Manufacturers (Accessed September 2011)
Mike Bown - Mike Bown has been writing for over 20 years as an agricultural scientist, adult educator and freelance educational resource writer.
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