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 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
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:  • 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 Darjeeling Himalayan Railway → Indian Railways Class B Numbers DHR: 17–30, 32–36, 39–53 All-India: 777–806 Disposition Some still in service
[1][2]

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.

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

• Rail transport in India#History
• Indian Railways
• Locomotives of India
• Rail transport in India

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Media related to DHR B Class at Wikimedia Commons