The SECR B1 class was a class of

4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

tender locomotive for express passenger service on the

South Eastern and Chatham Railway The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC),Awdry (1990), page 199 known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR), was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Easter ...

. These engines were originally designed by James Stirling for the South Eastern Railway (SER) in 1898 and designated B class. The SER was merged into the SECR in 1899 and, between 1910 and 1927 the B class engines were rebuilt with new boilers by Harry Wainwright to become B1 class.

Numbering

Twenty B Class engines were built by Neilson, Reid and Company and numbered 440-459. A further 9 were built at the South Eastern Railway's Ashford railway works and given a jumble of numbers: 217, 13, 21, 101, 34, 17, 132, 186, 189. They kept these numbers under the SECR. When the Southern Railway took over in 1923 they initially gave the numbers an "A" prefix and later added 1000 to them. For example, 440 became A440 and then 1440 and 13 became A13 and then 1013. A few passed into

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

ownership in 1948 and had 30000 added to their numbers but it is believed that only 31446 actually carried its number. All had been withdrawn and scrapped by the end of 1951. None remain today.

Accidents and incidents

*On 19 May 1938, locomotive No. 1454 was derailed at station, London, causing delays for several hours.

References

;Bibliography * Locomotive history of the South Eastern Railway, D.L.Bradley, Railway correspondence & travel society (RCTS)

External links

Wainwright B1
''Southern E-Group''
Class B1 Details
''RailUK'' {{SECR locomotives B1 4-4-0 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1898 Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain