The O^A class is a solitary steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Wellington and Manawatu Railway (WMR) in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Ordered in 1894, it entered service in August of that year as No. 13 and was the first

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Vauclain compound The Vauclain compound was a type of compound steam locomotive that was briefly popular circa 1900. Developed at the Baldwin Locomotive Works, it featured two pistons moving in parallel, driving a common crosshead and controlled by a common valve ...

in the world. In 1908, the WMR and its locomotive fleet were purchased by

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway ...

(NZR) and incorporated into the

national rail network In United States railroading, the term national rail network, sometimes termed "U.S. rail network", refers to the entire network of interconnected standard gauge rail lines in North America. It does not include most subway or light rail lines. F ...

, and, although No. 13 bore a likeness to members of the O class, it was sufficiently different that it warranted separate classification. The designation of O^A was created and it was numbered O^A 457. It operated for another two decades until it was withdrawn in December 1929 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. The locomotive was known to WMR staff as "The Lady". In 1896, a locomotive similar in appearance was ordered by the WMR, No. 16. Its technical specifications were such that when it was acquired by NZR it was classified separately and became the sole member of the O^C class.

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Drawing of an O^A/O^C class locomotive from Derek Brown
Oa class 2-8-0 locomotives Baldwin locomotives Vauclain compound locomotives Scrapped locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1894 3 ft 6 in gauge locomotives of New Zealand Individual locomotives of New Zealand {{NewZealand-rail-transport-stub