DHR B Class

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

DHR B Class
No. 792 hauling a school train, 2005
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Build date1889–1925
Total produced34
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte0-4-0ST
 • UICB n2t
Gauge2 ft (610 mm)
Driver dia.26 in (0.660 m)
Axle load7.75 long tons (7.87 t)
Loco weight14 long tons (14 t)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		9 sq ft (0.84 m2)
Boiler pressure140 psi (0.97 MPa)
Heating surface316 sq ft (29.4 m2)
SuperheaterNone
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size11 in × 14 in (279 mm × 356 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort7,750 lbf (34.47 kN)
Career
Operators
ClassB
Numbers
  • DHR: 17–30, 32–36, 39–53
  • All-India: 777–806
DispositionSome still in service
[1][2]
Darjeeling train in shed. 1979

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

Preserved DHR 780 with 2 coaches
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 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. Hughes 1994, p. 34.
  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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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