LNER Class B17
B17/6 No. 61642Kilverstone Hall.
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Nigel Gresley Builder North British Locomotive Co. (10) Darlington Works (52) R. Stephenson & Co. (11) Serial number NBL: 23803–23812 RS: 4124–4134 Build date 1928–1937 Total produced 73
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0  • UIC 2′C h3 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge Leading dia. 3 ft 2 in (0.965 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 8 in (2.032 m) Length 62 ft 2 in (18.95 m)[1] Width 8 ft 11 in (2.72 m)[2] Height 12 ft 11 in (3.94 m)[2] Axle load 18 long tons (18.3 t; 20.2 short tons) Loco weight 77.25–80.5 long tons (78.49–81.79 t; 86.52–90.16 short tons) Fuel type Coal Boiler: ​  • Diameter 5 ft 4.75 in (1,644.6 mm) to 5 ft 6 in (1,680 mm) outside Boiler pressure B17/1 to B17/5: 200 psi (1.38 MPa) B17/6: 225 psi (1.55 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 168 sq ft (15.6 m2)[1]  • Total surface 1,676 sq ft (155.7 m2)[1] Superheater: ​  • Heating area 344 sq ft (32.0 m2)[1] Cylinders Three Cylinder size 17+1⁄2 in × 26 in (444 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Outside:Walschaerts Inside:Gresley conjugated Valve type 8-inch (203 mm)piston valves
Performance figures Tractive effort B17/1 to B17/5: 25,380 lbf (112.9 kN) B17/6: 28,553 lbf (127.0 kN)
Career Operators London and North Eastern Railway »British Railways Power class BR: B17/1 to B17/5: 4MT; B17/6: 5P4F Nicknames Footballers,Sandringhams Axle load class Route Availability 5 Withdrawn 1952–1960 Disposition All original locomotives scrapped but tender of one is preserved; one new-build under construction

TheLondon and North Eastern Railway (LNER)Class B17, also known as"Sandringham" or"Footballer" class was a class of4-6-0steam locomotive designed byNigel Gresley for hauling passenger services on theGreat Eastern Main Line. In total 73 were built.

By 1926, the formerGERB12 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.^[3]

After several unsuccessful attempts byDoncaster Works to satisfy Gresley's specification, the contract for the detailed design and building of the class was given to theNorth British Locomotive Company in 1927. They used several features from a batch ofA1 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 theLNER Class K32-6-0 andLNER Class O22-8-0 designs.Darlington Works provided drawings for thebogies, andStratford Works designs for the GE-type 3,700-imperial-gallon (17,000 L; 4,400 US gal), 4-long-ton (4.1 t)tender.^[4] 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 useddivided drive with the middle cylinder driving the leading axle and was positioned forward above the frontbogie.^[5]The LNER also ordered some modifications, including an increase in cylinder size from 17 in (432 mm) to17+1⁄2 in (444 mm), and a lengthening of the firebox by 5 in (127.0 mm) with longer frames, and lighter springs. The design continued to prove problematic and the LNER eventually cancelled apenalty clause in the original contract. The first locomotive, No. 2802Walsingham was delivered 30 November 1928, thirteen weeks late.^[6]

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 fromRobert Stephenson and Company in February 1936 (works nos. 4124-34) for delivery between January and July 1937; resulting in a total of 73 B17s built.

The first ten by the North British Locomotive Company were designated B17, later B17/1. The second and third batches had boilers supplied byArmstrong Whitworth 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 4,200-imperial-gallon (19,000 L; 5,000 US gal), 7.5-long-ton (7.6 t) tenders and were intended for use in the North Eastern area of the LNER: these were designated B17/4.^[6]

In September 1937 two locomotives (Nos. 2859Norwich City and 2870Tottenham Hotspur) were streamlined in the manner of theLNER Class A4s, renamedEast Anglian andCity of London and intended for use on theEast 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.^[7]

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.

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

• On 4 October 1929, locomotive No. 2808Gunton was hauling an express passenger train which was in collision with a freight train atTottenham,London after the latter had departed against a danger signal and subsequently stopped foul of a junction.^[8]
• On 15 February 1937, locomotive No. 2829Naworth Castle was hauling a passenger train that was derailed atSleaford North Junction,Lincolnshire due to excessive speed on a curve. Four people were killed and sixteen were injured, one seriously.^[9]
• On 10 February 1941, locomotive No. 2828Harewood House was hauling an express passenger train that came to a halt betweenHarold Wood andBrentwood,Essex 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.^[10]
• On 16 January 1944, locomotive 2868Bradford City was hauling a train fromGreat Yarmouth to Liverpool Street which was hit from behind by a train fromNorwich in darkness and dense fog atIlford station. Nine people were killed and 38 injured.^[11]
• On 2 January 1947, locomotive No. 1602Walsingham was hauling an express passenger train that overran signals and was in a rear-end collision with a local passenger train atGidea Park,Essex. Seven people were killed and 45 were hospitalised.^[12]

Originally numbered 2800–72, the whole class were renumbered 1600–72 between January 1946 and January 1947.^[13] Between 4/1948 and 8/1950, British Railways increased the numbers by 60000, becoming 61600–72.^[14] For both renumbering schemes, some locomotives were renumbered during or after rebuilding to Class B2.^[15]

Among enthusiasts, the class was referred to as "footballers" as several members were named afterfootball clubs. 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,61673Spirit of Sandringham.^[17] 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 atLlangollen Railway Engineering Services.^[18] 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 inSheffield, with the chassis moving from Llangollen and the tenders from theMid-Norfolk Railway.^[19]

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, 61662Manchester United.^[20] By May 2019, many parts of the locomotive were being fixed together for display at the groupsMizens Railway base.^[21] In time, they intended to develop the replica into an operational locomotive,^[22] 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.^[23]

Having previously produced tender drive OO gauge models of the "Footballer"-spec B17s,Hornby Railways 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.^[24][25]

Dapol manufacture a model of a B17 inBritish N gauge, which was awarded Steam Model Railway Locomotive of the year for N gauge.^[26]

Sources

• Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Fry, E. V.; Hennigan, W.;Hoole, Ken; Manners, F.; Neve, E.; Platt, E. N. T.; Proud, P.;Yeadon, W. B. (March 1975). Fry, E. V. (ed.).Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., Part 2B: Tender Engines—Classes B1 to B19. Lincoln:RCTS.ISBN 0-901115-73-8.
• Earnshaw, Alan (1990).Trains in Trouble: Vol. 6. Penryn: Atlantic Books.ISBN 0-906899-37-0.
• Earnshaw, Alan (1991).Trains in Trouble: Vol. 7. Penryn: Atlantic Books.ISBN 0-906899-50-8.
• Haresnape, Brian (October 1981).Gresley Locomotives: A Pictorial History. Shepperton:Ian Allan.ISBN 0-7110-0892-2. DX/1081.
• Yeadon, Willie (1993).Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives Vol.5: Gresley B17 and Thompson B2 Classes. Irwell Press.

• Green-Hughes, Evan (January 2013). "The Gresley 'B17'".Hornby Magazine. No. 67. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 82–85.ISSN 1753-2469.OCLC 226087101.

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