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LNER Thompson Class B1
61059 at Norwich Thorpe, January 1958.
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Edward Thompson Builder Darlington Works (60) Gorton Works (10) North British Locomotive Co. (290) Vulcan Foundry (50) Build date 1942–1952 Total produced 410
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0  • UIC 2′C h2 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 2 in (1.880 m) Axle load 17 long tons 15 cwt (39,800 lb or 18 t) Loco weight 71 long tons 3 cwt (159,400 lb or 72.3 t) Fuel type Coal Boiler LNER diagram 100A Boiler pressure 225 psi (1.55 MPa) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 20 in × 26 in (508 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Valve type 10-inch (254 mm)piston valves
Performance figures Tractive effort 26,878 lbf (119.56 kN)
Career Operators LNER »BR Class LNER: B1 Power class BR: 5MT Numbers LNER:1000-1409, BR : 61000-61409 Nicknames Bongos,Antelopes Axle load class Route Availability 5 Locale Eastern Region North Eastern Region Scottish Region Withdrawn 1961–1967 Preserved (6)1264,61306 Disposition Two preserved, remainder scrapped

TheLondon and North Eastern Railway (LNER)Thompson Class B1 is a class of steam locomotive designed byEdward Thompson for medium mixed traffic work.^[1]

It was the LNER's equivalent to the highly successfulGWR Hall Class and theLMS Stanier Black Five, two-cylinder mixed traffic4-6-0s. However, it had the additional requirement of having to be cheap because, due to wartime and post-war economies, the LNER, never the richest railway company, had to make savings.^[2]

Introduced in 1942, the first example, No. 8301, was namedSpringbok in honour of a visit byJan Smuts. The first 40 of the class were named after breeds of antelopes and the like, and they became known as bongos after 8306Bongo. 274 were built by the LNER. 136 were built by British Railways after nationalisation in 1948. The total number in stock at any one time however was only 409 as 61057 was involved in an accident in 1950 and was scrapped.^[3]

The prototype for the new B class (later classified B1) 4-6-0 was built at Darlington and entered service on 12 December 1942. It was the first 2-cylinder main-line locomotive constructed for the LNER since the grouping, such had beenSir Nigel Gresley's faith in the 3 cylinder layout. With cost saving a wartime priority the LNER's draughtsmen went to great lengths to re-use existing patterns, jigs and tools to economise on materials and labour. Extensive use was made of welding instead of steel castings. The boiler was derived from the Diagram 100A type fitted to theLNER Class B17 Sandringham 4-6-0s but with a larger grate area and an increase in boiler pressure to 225 pounds per square inch (1.55 MPa).^[4]

The appearance of No. 8301 (subsequently renumbered No. 1000) coincided with a visit to Britain by the Prime Minister of South Africa, Field MarshalJan Smuts, and, as mentioned above, it was named Springbok. 18 other B1s took the names of LNER directors. Not that there were many B1s to be named during the war years: constraints on production meant that the first ten were not completed until 1944. However, Thompson then placed substantial orders with two outside builders:Vulcan Foundry and theNorth British Locomotive Company ofGlasgow. Between April 1946 and April 1952 NBL built 290 B1s. Over the period the cost of each engine rose from £14,893 to £16,190. Vulcan Foundry contributed 50 at £15,300 apiece. Orders for the B1s, which became Nos. 61000–61409 under British Railways, totalled 410.^[5]

The B1s operated throughout LNER territory. The first batch was distributed among depots on the formerGreat Eastern Railway section:Ipswich,Norwich, andStratford inLondon. They were an immediate success and were soon working theLiverpool Street - Harwich boat trains, theHook Continental, theDay Continental and theScandinavian. B1s were also a familiar sight on other top-link workings such asThe East Anglian,TheBroadsman andTheFenman. During the 1950s over 70 B1s were stationed on ex-GE lines.^[6]

They enjoyed similar popularity on ex-Great Northern and Great Central territory. Engines based atDarnall, Sheffield were regularly rostered for theMaster Cutler andSouth Yorkshireman expresses. Elsewhere there were substantial allocations inScotland, WestYorkshire and East Yorkshire.

If any fault is to be highlighted on the B1, it must be the ride quality.O. S. Nock often criticised the B1s for a poor ride, not something many were used to on the Gresley engines. The B1 was very cheap to build, but the final result was an engine that was somewhat lacking in the quality LNER men had come to expect. The two-cylinder layout gave the engines good starting power and excellent hill climbing abilities, but it also caused very bad hunting effects, a result of the use of cut-offs of up to 75% (a 10% advance on Gresley engines), and as such they were less kind on the passengers they carried than the B17s they replaced.^[7]

Overall, however, it was entirely necessary that the B1s be introduced, because the LNER was operating a large number of engines that were well past their economic life. It was somewhat ironic that among the engines that came under threat with the arrival of the B1s were the ones that Thompson admired the most: the engines of the North Eastern Railway designed byVincent Raven (his father-in-law).

B1s could be found over almost all of the LNER network, and that of the BR Eastern and North Eastern Regions.

The last scheduled steam-hauled passenger train to arrive inLiverpool Street was the upDay Continental on 9 September 1962 hauled by a B1 61156.^[8]

• On 7 March 1950, locomotive No. 61057 was hauling an express passenger train at night, when it collided with the rear of a mineral train in fog,3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) north east of Witham Junction; the passenger fireman and goods guard were killed. The locomotive was badly damaged; after being moved toStratford Works, it and its tender were withdrawn and later scrapped.^[9][10]
• On 4 September 1953, locomotive No. 61046 was hauling a passenger train that was derailed atBethnal Green,London when a set of points moved under it.^[11]
• In August 1961, locomotive No. 61229 was derailed atMalton,Yorkshire.^[12]

59 of the 410 locomotives were named. Early B1s were named after species ofantelope, whilst later engines were named after members of the board of directors of the LNER. This led to the fact that the Class B1 contained the shortest name given to a British locomotive ((6)1018Gnu) and one of the longest ((6)1221Sir Alexander Erskine-Hill).

Note this does not include all engines

With the change in the policies of British Railways, the B1s were withdrawn long before their projected economic working life. Excepting No. 61057 which was destroyed in an accident in 1950, the first normal withdrawal was No. 61085 in November 1961. The remaining locomotives were withdrawn between 1962 and 1967.

After withdrawal from capital stock, 17 were taken into departmental stock where they were used as boilers for carriage heating. For this they had their couplers removed so they could not haul trains, though they could still propel themselves.

Two have been preserved, these being61264 and61306. Both of these were built by North British Locomotive Company. No. 61264 has the distinction of being the only ex-LNER locomotive to be sent and later rescued fromBarry Scrapyard.^[14][15]

Note: Loco numbers in bold mean their current number.

Number		Name	Makers No	Built	Withdrawn	Service Life	Base	Owners	Livery	Condition	Mainline Certified	Dual Braked	Photograph
LNER	BR
1264	61264	-	26165	5 December 1947	21 November 1965	17 Years, 11 months	Great Central Railway (Nottingham)	Thompson B1 Locomotive Trust	TBC	Under Overhaul	No, to be certified following overhaul	No
*1306	61306	*Mayflower	26207	5 April 1948	30 September 1967	19 Years, 5 months	Crewe Diesel TMD	Locomotive Services Group	LNER Apple Green (Post War; British Railways Lettering)	Operational	Yes (2019 - ongoing)	Yes

(* denotes historically inauthentic)

In 2007,Bachmann introduced aOO gauge model of the B1 in BR black livery.^[16]

• Allen, Dr Ian C. (1975).East Anglian Album. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Co.SBN 902888 54 4.
• 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.
• Swinger, Peter (2004).The Power of the B1s. (2004 reprintISBN 0-86093-445-4)
• Yeadon, W. B. (1994).Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives, Volume 6: Thompson B1 Class. Irwell Press.ISBN 1-871608-39-2.

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• LNER encyclopedia
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• London and North Eastern Railway locomotives
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