DHR B Class

DHR B Class

No. 792 hauling a school train, 2005
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Builder
Build date 1889–1925
Total produced 34
Specifications
Configuration:
 ​
 • Whyte 0-4-0 ST
 • UIC B n2t
Gauge 2 ft (610 mm)
Driver dia. 26 in (0.660 m)
Axle load 7.75 long tons (7.87 t)
Loco weight 14 long tons (14 t)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		 9 sq ft (0.84 m2)
Boiler pressure 140 psi (0.97 MPa)
Heating surface 316 sq ft (29.4 m2)
Superheater None
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 11 in × 14 in (279 mm × 356 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort 7,750 lbf (34.47 kN)
Career
Operators
Class B
Numbers
  • DHR: 17–30, 32–36, 39–53
  • All-India: 777–806
Disposition Some still in service
[1][2]

The DHR B Class is a famous class of 2 ft (610 mm) gauge 0-4-0 ST saddle tank steam locomotives used on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) in West Bengal, India.[1][3]

Service history

A total of 34 B Class locomotives have served on the DHR. Some are still on the working roster. One, no. 778, was sold for private preservation, and four others were sold to Coal India, Assam. The remaining class members have been either plinthed in various locations in northern India, or scrapped. Of the few in active service, the locomotives 788 'Tusker' and 'Victor' haul trains between Darjeeling to Ghum stations via Batasia loop, quite a few times a day. [2]

Livery

Initially, all members of the class were liveried in DHR green. For a short period at the end of World War II, they were repainted black. Later, they ran in an unlined red colour. Since coming under the control of the Northeast Frontier Railway in 1958, they have been painted Caledonian blue with white lining.[4][5]

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Hughes 1994, p. 34.
  2. 1 2 Marshall 2001, pp. 60–61.
  3. ↑ Marshall 2001, p. 60.
  4. ↑ Reed 1972.
  5. ↑ Gammell 1985, p. 7.

Bibliography

  • Gammell, C.J. (1985). Relics of the Raj. London: G.R.Q. ISBN 0946863016. 
  • Hughes, Hugh (1976). Steam in India. Truro, Cornwall: D. Bradford Barton Ltd. ISBN 0851532586. 
  • Hughes, Hugh (1994). Indian Locomotives: Part 3 – Narrow Gauge 1863–1940. Harrow, Middlesex: The Continental Railway Circle. ISBN 0-9521655-0-3. 
  • Manning, Peter (2013). The Anatomy of the Darjeeling Garratt and the Engine it tried to Replace: the DHR Class "B" saddle tank. Coromandel Valley, South Australia: Peter Manning Design & Drafting. ISBN 9780980621228. 
  • Marshall, Lawrence G (2001). Indian Narrow Gauge Steam Remembered. East Harling, Norfolk: Plateway Press. ISBN 1871980488. 
  • Reed, Brian (1972). Darjeeling Tanks. Loco Profile 23. Windsor, UK: Profile Publications. OCLC 498607897. 

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