More Info →Railway engine "The Skunk", Palmerston North

Designated Class 'A', this locomotive was one of three small tank locomotives built by the Lion Foundry and fitted with outside Stephenson link motion. The 'Skunk' and the 'Wallaby' were the first railway locomotives to run a scheduled service between Palmerston North and Foxton from 1876, replacing a horse dawn tram service. The Skunk later worked on the line between Palmerston North and Wanganui, opened in 1878, and was relegated to shunting and ballast duties before going to Greymouth for harbour construction work. From left: (possibly) Henry Stevens; George Hughes (formerly a driver on the Tramway, became a fireman on the first steam trains to Palmerston North, left the railways about 1888).