NZR JA class Steam Locomotives - 4-8-2 Tender Engines of 1946

The JA locomotives have been an icon of the steam era since they first entered service in 1946. They're also my favourite steam locomotives of all time.
51 of these beautiful engines were built between 1946 and 1956, with 35 of them being built in New Zealand itself at Dunedin's Hillside Workshops. The remaining 16 were built in Scotland by the North British Locomotive Company. Hillside JAs were convined to the South Island, while North British JAs were confined to the North Island. Of course, preservation broke that tradition.
JA 1240 was the class leader, and she entered service in 1946. One of these engines, JA 1274, also had the distinction of being the last steam locomotive built in New Zealand. Although all the North British engines had been retired by 1968, some Hillside JAs were kept in service until October 1971.
Out of the 51 JAs built, seven have been preserved. Their numbers are 1240, 1250, 1260, 1267, 1271, 1274 and 1275. Incidentally 1275 is the only survivor of the North British-built JAs.
The best way to tell the two JA variants apart are as follows:
1 ~ Hillside JAs are coal-fired, while North British JAs are oil-fired.
2 ~ North British JAs did not have smokebox numberplates.
3 ~ Each variant used a different type of headlight.

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i love the north british JAs