DHR B Class

Specifications
Specifications
Configuration:;
• Whyte	0-4-0ST
• 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:
• Grate 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)

Type and origin
Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Sharp, Stewart & Co. (12); North British Locomotive Co. (16); Baldwin Locomotive Works (3); DHR Tindharia Works (3);
Build date	1889–1925
Total produced	34

DHR B Class
DHR B Class
	No. 792 hauling a school train, 2005
Power type
Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Sharp, Stewart & Co. (12); North British Locomotive Co. (16); Baldwin Locomotive Works (3); DHR Tindharia Works (3);
Build date	1889–1925
Total produced	34
Configuration:;
Specifications
Configuration:;
• Whyte	0-4-0ST
• 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:
• Grate 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)
Tractive effort
Performance figures
Tractive effort	7,750 lbf (34.47 kN)
Operators
Career
Operators	Darjeeling Himalayan Railway; → Indian Railways;
Class	B
Numbers	DHR: 17–30, 32–36, 39–53; All-India: 777–806;
Disposition	Some still in service

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The DHR B Class is a 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 (DHR 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] Another loco, DHR 780 is kept preserved with two narrow gauge coaches at Eco Park, Rajarhat, as an exhibit.

19B was re-imported to the UK c. 2000 and underwent restoration before spending two decades operating at the Beeches Light Railway.^[4]

The front look of the preserved DHR B Class - showing the saddle tank

Livery

Initially, all members of the class were liveried in DHR green. For a short period after World War II, they were repainted black. Later, they ran in an unlined red colour. They were given their current Caledonian blue with white lining after coming into ownership of the Northeast Frontier Railway in 1958.^[5]^[6]

Preserved examples

DHR Nº	Manufacturer	Serial Nº	Built	IR Nº	Location	Current status
28		4978	1903	785	Dehradun railway station	Display
32	North British Locomotive Co.	20143	1913	787	Siliguri Junction station	Display
33	North British Locomotive Co.	20144	1913	788	Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, India	Operational
41		44914	1917	794	Neral shed	Display

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b Hughes 1994, p. 34.
^ ^a ^b Marshall 2001, pp. 60–61.
^ Marshall 2001, p. 60.
^ Holden, Michael (24 May 2023). "Adrian Shooter's two-foot gauge replica Indian Hill railway up for auction". Rail Advent. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
^ Reed 1972.
^ 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. OCLC 39496543.
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.

External links

Media related to DHR B Class at Wikimedia Commons

[FOOTNOTEHughes199434-1] Hughes 1994, p. 34.

[FOOTNOTEMarshall200160–61-2] Marshall 2001, pp. 60–61.

[FOOTNOTEMarshall200160-3] Marshall 2001, p. 60.

[Holden-4] Holden, Michael (24 May 2023). "Adrian Shooter's two-foot gauge replica Indian Hill railway up for auction". Rail Advent. Retrieved 25 May 2023.

[FOOTNOTEReed1972-5] Reed 1972.

[FOOTNOTEGammell19857-6] Gammell 1985, p. 7.

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