The Indian locomotive class XB was a

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomo ...

(or ''Pacific'') passenger locomotive with a axle load. It had a lot of problems. It was built with the help of British Engineering Standards Association (BESA). It was up to date as any locomotive in England. It had American 3-point suspension with compensating levers for indifferent tracks in India. The trailing wheels were mounted on a Cartazzi truck as it was for the rest of British Pacifics at the time. Goodall-type drawgear was fitted between engine and tender to facilitate free movement. They still proved to be successful as they survived till the 1980s. The modifications in India to this class was implemented in LMS Railway in UK. Copper firebox had combustion chamber extension.

Problems

Like other X series Pacifics, it was prone to frame fractures. One unit had 9 fractures in 9 years. 18 XBs of the

East Indian Railway Company The East Indian Railway Company, operating as the East Indian Railway (reporting mark EIR), introduced railways to East India and North India, while the Companies such as the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, South Indian Railway, Bombay, Barod ...

(EIR) spent 3 years in repair shop, out of 8 years. Again due to it being an X series Pacific, it had chronic

coupling rod A coupling rod or side rod connects the driving wheels of a locomotive. Steam locomotives in particular usually have them, but some diesel and electric locomotives, especially older ones and shunters, also have them. The coupling rods transfer t ...

failure. Tubeplates had to be frequently changed due to cracking in the radius of flanges. Cross-sectional area of the boiler was too small for the

flue gas Flue gas is the gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue, which is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, oven, furnace, boiler or steam generator. Quite often, the flue gas refers to the combustion exhaust gas produc ...

generated by the

firebox Firebox may refer to: *Firebox (steam engine), the area where the fuel is burned in a steam engine *Firebox (architecture), the part of a fireplace where fuel is combusted *Firebox Records Firebox Records was a Finnish record label based in S ...

. Tube cross-section area to the grate was only 9%. The boiler was poor, having pressure below . Testing showed that the engine was unable to haul a train at at 33% cylinder cut-off. It oscillated laterally at a right-angle to the tracks causing damage to the tracks. In 9 years, there were 68 such cases due to XB and XC class locomotives.

Development

The trailing bogie was moved back and engine was fitted with American drawgear. But this did not work. In 1937, Bihta accident occurred with the engine jumping the tracks and derailing at . The tracks were twisted like noodles. 100 people lost their lives. The Pacific Locomotive Committee was formed on public demand. Robert Leguille came up with a solution. He decided to fit leading and trailing bogie with stiffer side springs and better damping. He was proven right with experiments. The Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway and

Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway The Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway was a railway company that operated in southern India. It was founded on 1 January 1908 by merging the Madras Railway and the Southern Mahratta Railway. Initially, its headquarters was at Royapuram in Ma ...

followed his advice and EIR restricted the engines to slow-speed trains. No 4105-4118 1927 EIR XB

Preservation

No XB's from Indian Railways have survived Preservation today but in Pakistan, an ex-EBR XB class loco, 450 survives and is preserved at Lahore workshops.

Trains hauled by XB

West Coast Express The West Coast Express is a commuter railway serving the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, it provides a link between Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District and is the only commuter railway in ...

Darjeeling Mail The 12343 / 12344 Sealdah-Haldibari-Sealdah Darjeeling Mail is one of the oldest running legendary trains in India that has been running from pre-independence days and is still in operation. It connects to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway at ...

References

External links