DHR_B_Class

DHR B Class

DHR B Class

Class of narrow gauge steam locomotives built for Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The DHR B Class is a 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]

Quick Facts Type and origin, Power type ...
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 (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]

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 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

More information Manufacturer, Serial Nº ...

See also

References

Notes

  1. [1]
    Hughes 1994, p. 34.
  2. [2]
    Marshall 2001, pp. 60–61.
  3. [3]
    Marshall 2001, p. 60.
  4. [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. 
  5. [5]
    Reed 1972.
  6. [6]
    Gammell 1985, p. 7.

Bibliography

Media related to DHR B Class at Wikimedia Commons
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