 They were put to work on goods services on steeply graded branch lines where their superior tractive effort (45% higher than that of the Dd class) and high factor of adhesion were put to good use.The design was modified in 1925 into the N class 2-8-2, in response to a new Victorian Railways policy that all new locomotives be capable of conversion from to in the event of the Victorian Railways network being standardised.The K, with its firebox mounted between the frames, was unsuitable for standard gauge conversion.