 The isolated Nelson Section received four WF class locomotives from the 1920s onwards to replace its stud of smaller locomotives, primarily the D class 2-4-0T and FA 0-6-2T tank locomotives.These locomotives were smaller than the WF class locomotives, and the arrival of the larger engines allowed for the smaller D and FA class locomotives to be withdrawn, and in the case of the D class engines, transfer to other parts of the NZR network or sale to industrial users.The first of an eventual four locomotives of this class to be brought to the Nelson Section, WF 404, arrived in 1915 and replaced D 144, one of the original locomotives on the Nelson Section.