What's this ?

What's the front end arrangement about on this New Zealand loco: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxmg/2878628178/in/pool-mainlinesteamnz

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51585012@N06/8438315946/

Plenty of photos with and without that arrangement. Looks cosmetic, rather than serving any practical purpose. I assume you did what I did and looked to see what the loco was when Mr. Morgan posted that link on Four Foot?

 

Pretty much, I just can't work out why you would enclose the smokebox like that, why have doors infront of the smokebox door ?.

Edit - http://www.mainlinesteam.co.nz/ka942.html

Reading that, it looks like a comedy attempt at streamlining, a Kiwi Spamcan, who'd of thought it

 

As it was converted to oil firing when the equipment and its casing was fitted they may have expected to require less frequent access to the smokebox. The link

http://www.mainlinesteam.co.nz/ka942.html explains what's going on.

 

The Ka's were fitted with these front ends for cosmetic reasons. basically a form of streamlined casing, although lacking much streamlined form! The casing did hide some of the gear on the front of the engine. Oil firing doesn't come into it, as they were built as coal burners and 'streamlined' from new. Likewise the J's were 'streamlined' too, but in a different from. L8ike most 'Streamlined' engines, the Ka's and J's lost the casings later in life and became almost indistinguishable from the K's and Ja's.
Daniel

 

What was that other odd ball to come out of NZ... ah yes OVS bulleid

 

The precursor to the Ka was the K class, built in the 1930s. The significant difference between the two classes was in the frame design; the K's had frames which were prone to cracking; the Ka 's had extensively strengthened frames, as well as numerous other detail differences. There is a preserved K at MOTAT; it's a bit hard to photograph, but here is my attempt, including a view of the standard (non-streamlined) front end.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamessquared/9710515027/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamessquared/9710559195/

The J's and Ja's that Daniel mentions were a smaller 4-8-2 design. They were supposedly recorded at over 75mph across the Canterbury plains, easily outrunning the cars during the 1950s - not bad for 4'6" diameter wheels! This is a Ja1250:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamessquared/8590986469/

Tom

 

OVS was born in New Zealand.

 

Oi, wash your mouth with soap and water. And he was a "who" not a "what."