Taupo Totara Timber Co. No. 9 and Heisler type 32-8-30

Geared locomotives could also be exported to other countries if their use was appropriate due to local conditions. One customer was the Taupo Totara Timber Company, TTT for short, which was founded in 1903 in Mokai on the North Island of New Zealand. They laid a 50-mile cape gauge main line from the NZR network to Mokai, and from there fanned out sidings into the forest. Due to the connection to the national route network, the main line was built with great effort, while the sidings were simply laid in the forest, as is usual for logging railways. Therefore, locomotives were needed that allowed safe operation on rough, winding and mountainous routes, but were also fast enough for the main line.

Of the ten locomotives that TTT purchased between 1903 and 1937, four were of the Heisler design. The last of these was number 9 shown, which had been delivered in 1921. It belonged to the type 32-8-30, which indicated a service weight of 32 short tons, eight powered wheels and a wheel diameter of 30 inches. It had a boiler pressure of just 160 psi, compared to the 180 or 200 psi of the larger variants.

The Heisler locomotives were used together with conventional and geared locomotives from different manufacturers. A point of interest on their route was the bridge over the Waikato at Ongaroto, which at the time had the longest span in the southern hemisphere. Unfortunately, this bridge in particular could not benefit from an urgently needed renovation after the sawmill in Mokai burned down in 1928 and the TTT therefore lacked the financial means. It is said that the condition of the bridge soon became so bad that the crew and passengers jumped off the train just before the bridge. This then crawled across the bridge without a driver while the people waded through the river and got back on at the other side. The company finally closed its doors in 1944 and part of the main line was then operated by the state railway.