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London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...
(LNER) Class B17, also known as "Sandringham" or "Footballer" class was a class of
4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
designed by
Nigel Gresley Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Rail ...
for hauling passenger services on the
Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...
. In total 73 were built.


Background

By 1926, the former GER B12 class locomotives were no longer able to cope with the heaviest express passenger trains on the Great Eastern Main Line between London and Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich. Yet Gresley was unable to use his larger classes due to severe weight restrictions on the line. The requirement for a lightweight yet powerful 4-6-0 proved to be difficult to achieve.


Design

After several unsuccessful attempts by
Doncaster Works Doncaster Railway Works is a railway workshop located in Doncaster, England. Also referred to as ''The Plant'', it was established by the Great Northern Railway (England), Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston, ...
to satisfy Gresley's specification, the contract for the detailed design and building of the class was given to the
North British Locomotive Company The North British Locomotive Company (NBL, NB Loco or North British) was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp, Stewart and Company (Atlas Works), Neilson, Reid and Company (Hyde Park W ...
in 1927. They used several features from a batch of A1 Pacifics they had built in 1924. The cab, cylinders, and motion had all been copied directly or slightly modified. Most of the boiler design was taken from the
LNER Class K3 The Great Northern Railway Class H4 (classified K3 by the LNER) was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotive designed for mixed-traffic work. The type was a more powerful development of the earlier H3 ( LNER K2) class and was notable at the time, ...
2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. T ...
and LNER Class O2
2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...
designs.
Darlington Works Darlington Works was established in 1863 by the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the town of Darlington in the north east of England. The main part of the works, the North Road Shops was located on the northeast side of the Stockton and Darli ...
provided drawings for the
bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...
s, and
Stratford Works Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. The original site of the works was located in the 'V' between the Great Eastern Main Line and the Stratford to Lea Bridge r ...
designs for the GE-type , tender. However, the two designs presented by the NB Loco Co. had an axle loading of 18 tons and 19 tons, respectively. The 18 ton design, being lighter, was chosen. Since it had an axle loading of 18 tons, 1 ton higher than the initial requirement of 17 tons, this meant that the B17’s route availability was “certain GER main lines” instead of the full range which was intended, although the LNER did accept the restriction. Due to weight restrictions it proved to be impossible for all three cylinders to drive the middle coupled axle. Therefore, the design used divided drive with the middle cylinder driving the leading axle and was positioned forward above the front
bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...
. The LNER also ordered some modifications, including an increase in cylinder size from to , and a lengthening of the firebox by with longer frames, and lighter springs. The design continued to prove problematic and the LNER eventually cancelled a
penalty clause Penal damages are liquidated damages which exceed reasonable compensatory damages, making them invalid under common law. While liquidated damage clauses set a pre-agreed value on the expected loss to one party if the other party were to breach ...
in the original contract. The first locomotive, No. 2802 ''Walsingham'' was delivered 30 November 1928, thirteen weeks late.


Construction

Ten locomotives were built by the North British Locomotive Company (works nos. 23803-12) during November and December, which were allocated the running numbers 2800-9. Five further orders were placed with Darlington Works between December 1928 and March 1935 for a further fifty-two locomotives to be delivered between August 1930 and June 1936. A final batch of eleven were ordered from
Robert Stephenson and Company Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823 in Forth Street, Newcastle upon Tyne in England. It was the first company in the world created specifically to build Steam locomotive, railway engines. Famou ...
in February 1936 (works nos. 4124-34) for delivery between January and July 1937; resulting in a total of 73 B17s built.


Sub-classes

The first ten by the North British Locomotive Company were designated B17, later B17/1. The second and third batches had boilers supplied by
Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Tyne and Wear, Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomot ...
and different springing and became B17/2. The next two batches had different springing and were designated B17/3. However, as the locomotives passed through the works the original springs were replaced by those of the later design and in 1937 the three sub-classes were merged into B17/1. The final Darlington batch introduced in 1936, and those built by Robert Stephenson and Company had , tenders and were intended for use in the North Eastern area of the LNER: these were designated B17/4. In September 1937 two locomotives (Nos. 2859 ''Norwich City'' and 2870 ''Tottenham Hotspur'') were streamlined in the manner of the
LNER Class A4 The LNER Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive, steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them high-speed capability as well as making them ins ...
s, renamed ''East Anglian'' and ''City of London'' and intended for use on the ''East Anglian'' train. They were designated B17/5. However, the streamlining was cladding for publicity purposes only and had little effect on the overall speed of the locomotive. By 1951 both engines had been stripped of the streamlining altogether. Between 1943 and 1957 most of the surviving members of the class were rebuilt with a LNER 100A boiler with increased pressure and were designated B17/6.


Rebuilding

Ten B17s were rebuilt by Edward Thompson as 2-cylinder locomotives with a LNER 100A boiler, between 1945 and 1949, becoming the Class B2. No more were rebuilt because of the success of the Thompson's B1 class.


Accidents and incidents

*On 4 October 1929, locomotive No. 2808 ''Gunton'' was hauling an express passenger train which was in collision with a freight train at
Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
after the latter had departed against a danger signal and subsequently stopped foul of a junction. *On 15 February 1937, locomotive No. 2829 ''Naworth Castle'' was hauling a passenger train that was derailed at
Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. On the edge of the The Fens, Fenlands, it is north-east of Grantham, west of Boston, Lincolnshire, Boston, and sou ...
North Junction,
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
due to excessive speed on a curve. Four people were killed and sixteen were injured, one seriously. *On 10 February 1941, locomotive No. 2828 ''Harewood House'' was hauling an express passenger train that came to a halt between and ,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
as it was too heavy for the locomotive. A passenger train overran signals and was in a rear-end collision with the express. Seven people were killed and seventeen were seriously injured. *On 16 January 1944, locomotive 2868 ''Bradford City'' was hauling a train from
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
to Liverpool Street which was hit from behind by a train from
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
in darkness and dense fog at
Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...
station. Nine people were killed and 38 injured. *On 2 January 1947, locomotive No. 1602 ''Walsingham'' was hauling an express passenger train that overran signals and was in a rear-end collision with a local passenger train at ,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. Seven people were killed and 45 were hospitalised.


Summary table


Preservation and revival

Among enthusiasts, the class was referred to as "footballers" as several members were named after
football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...
s. None of the class have survived into preservation but a few of the football clubs the locomotives were named after were presented with the nameplates after the locomotives themselves were cut up. An operational locomotive being developed by the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust will become the newest member of the class, 61673 ''Spirit of Sandringham''. The frames of a Great Eastern Railway tender, fitted with an original axle from 61602 'Walsingham', and a LNER tender have been secured for the project. A static chassis for the locomotive has been constructed at
Llangollen Railway The Llangollen Railway () is a volunteer-run heritage railway in Denbighshire, North Wales, which operates between Llangollen and Corwen. The standard gauge line, which is long, runs on part of the former Ruabon Barmouth Line, Ruabon – Barmo ...
Engineering Services. Fundraising for the driving wheels is ongoing with three fully funded through the 'Put a Spoke in My Wheel' campaign. In October 2020 the project relocated to CTL Seal's premises in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, with the chassis moving from Llangollen and the tenders from the
Mid-Norfolk Railway The Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is a preserved standard gauge heritage railway, one of the longest in Great Britain. Preservation efforts began in 1974, but the line re-opened to passengers only in the mid-1990s as part of the "new generation" o ...
. The North British Locomotive Preservation Group were engaged in a project to build a non-operational LNER Class B17 4-6-0 replica, named after a football club, 61662 ''Manchester United''. By May 2019, many parts of the locomotive were being fixed together for display at the groups
Mizens Railway Mizens Railway is a 7¼ inch gauge miniature railway located in a 10-acre site near Woking in Surrey, England. The railway comprises three routes, the longest being nearly 1 mile long. A variety of locomotives are in use, including several ste ...
base. In time, they intended to develop the replica into an operational locomotive, but in November 2020 they announced that the project was being terminated, with re-usable components, including the original tender, being donated to the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust.


Modelling

Having previously produced tender drive OO gauge models of the "Footballer"-spec B17s,
Hornby Railways Hornby Hobbies Limited is a British-owned scale model manufacturing company which has been focused on rail transport modelling, model railways. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccan ...
released an all-new locomotive drive model of the B17 in 2013, available in both B17/1 and B17/6 subclasses with either the small GER-region tender or the larger LNER group standard 4200 gallon tender.
Dapol Dapol Ltd is a model railway manufacturer based in Chirk, Wales. The factory where some of the design and manufacturing take place is just over the border in England. The company is known for its model railroad, model railway products in N gaug ...
manufacture a model of a B17 in British N gauge, which was awarded Steam Model Railway Locomotive of the year for N gauge.


References

;Sources * * * * *


Further reading

*


External links


The Sandringham Locomotive Company LtdLNER encyclopedia
{{Authority control B17 4-6-0 locomotives 2′C h3 locomotives NBL locomotives Robert Stephenson and Company locomotives Streamlined steam locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1928 Scrapped locomotives Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Passenger locomotives