LNER Class B17

The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class B17, also known as "Sandringham" or "Footballer" class, was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for hauling passenger services on the Great Eastern Main Line. In total 73 were built.

Background By 1926, the former GER's Class S69 (LNER Class B12) 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 to satisfy Gresley's specification, the contract for the detailed design and building of the class was given to the North British Locomotive Company 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 2-6-0 and LNER Class O2 2-8-0 designs. Darlington Works provided drawings for the bogies, and Stratford Works designs for the GE-type , tender, as used with Class B12. 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. 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 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 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 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. These three sub-classes were all intended for the Great Eastern Section, where the turntables were no more than in diameter; accordingly, they used the 3,700-gallon tender, which was shorter than the LNER Group Standard tender, and for these, total wheelbase was and overall length . 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. They had a total wheelbase of and overall length of . In the event, none were sent to the North Eastern Area - the whole class was allocated to the Southern Area, with those having the longer 4,200-gallon tender being based on the former Great Central Railway routes, where the turntables were larger.

In September 1937 two locomotives (Nos. 2859 Norwich City and 2870 Tottenham Hotspur) were streamlined in the manner of the LNER Class A4s, 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, London 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 North Junction, Lincolnshire 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 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 to Liverpool Street which was hit from behind by a train from Norwich in darkness and dense fog at Ilford 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. Seven people were killed and 45 were hospitalised.

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

LNERNo. BRNo. Original Name (Rename(s)) Date built Date rebuilt Rebuiltas Datewithdrawn Notes 2800 61600 Sandringham B17/6 2801 61601 Holkham — — 2802 61602 Walsingham B17/6 2803 61603 Framlingham B2 2804 61604 Elveden B17/6 2805 61605 Burnham Thorpe(Lincolnshire Regiment from April 1938) B17/6 2806 61606 Audley End B17/6 2807 61607 Blickling B2 2808 61608 Gunton B17/6 2809 61609 Quidenham B17/6 2810 61610 Honingham Hall B17/6 2811 61611 Raynham Hall B17/6 2812 61612 Houghton Hall B17/6 2813 61613 Woodbastwick Hall B17/6 2814 61614 Castle Hedingham B2 2815 61615 Culford Hall B2 2816 61616 Fallodon B2 2817 61617 Ford Castle B2 2818 61618 Wynyard Park B17/6 2819 61619 Welbeck Abbey B17/6 2820 61620 Clumber B17/6 2821 61621 Hatfield House B17/6 2822 61622 Alnwick Castle B17/6 2823 61623 Lambton Castle B17/6 2824 61624 Lumley Castle — — 2825 61625 Raby Castle — — 2826 61626 Brancepeth Castle B17/6 2827 61627 Aske Hall B17/6 2828 61628 Harewood House B17/6 First to be withdrawn 2829 61629 Naworth Castle — — 2830 61630 Thoresby Park(Tottenham Hotspur from January 1938) B17/6 2831 61631 Serlby Hall B17/6 2832 61632 Belvoir Castle(Royal Sovereign from September 1958) B2 2833 61633 Kimbolton Castle B17/6 2834 61634 Hinchingbrooke B17/6 2835 61635 Milton B17/6 2836 61636 Harlaxton Manor B17/6 2837 61637 Thorpe Hall B17/6 2838 61638 Melton Hall B17/6 2839 61639 Rendlesham Hall(Norwich City from January 1938) B2 2840 61640 Somerleyton Hall B17/6 2841 61641 Gayton Hall B17/6 2842 61642 Kilverstone Hall B17/6 2843 61643 Champion Lodge B17/6 2844 61644 Earlham Hall B2 2845 61645 The Suffolk Regiment B17/6 2846 61646 Gilwell Park B17/6 2847 61647 Helmingham Hall B17/6 Hauled the funeral train of King George V from Wolferton to King's Cross on 23 January 1936. 2848 61648 Arsenal B17/6 2849 61649 Sheffield United B17/6 2850 61650 Grimsby Town B17/6 2851 61651 Derby County B17/6 2852 61652 Darlington B17/6 2853 61653 Huddersfield Town B17/6 2854 61654 Sunderland B17/6 2855 61655 Middlesbrough B17/6 2856 61656 Leeds United B17/6 2857 61657 Doncaster Rovers B17/6 2858 61658 Newcastle United(The Essex Regiment from June 1936) B17/6 2859 61659 Norwich City(East Anglian from September 1937) B17/6 2860 61660 Hull City — — 2861 61661 Sheffield Wednesday B17/6 2862 61662 Manchester United B17/6 2863 61663 Everton B17/6 2864 61664 Liverpool B17/6 2865 61665 Leicester City B17/6 2866 61666 Nottingham Forest B17/6 2867 61667 Bradford — — 2868 61668 Bradford City B17/6 Last to be withdrawn 2869 61669 Barnsley B17/6 2870 61670 Manchester City(Tottenham Hotspur from May 1937)(City of London from September 1937) B17/6 2871 61671 Manchester City(Royal Sovereign from April 1946) B2 2872 61672 West Ham United B17/6 *2873 61673 Spirit of Sandringham - - - - Newbuild member of the class.

Preservation and revival Among enthusiasts, the class was referred to as "footballers" as several members were named after football 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, 61673 Spirit of Sandringham.B17 Steam Locomotive Trust, accessed 13 December 2013 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 Engineering Services.61673 Design and Manufacturing Progress Report Autumn 2018 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, with the chassis moving from Llangollen and the tenders from the Mid-Norfolk Railway.THE BIG MOVE – relocating 61673 ‘Spirit of Sandringham’ - 27th August 2020

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 base.http://www.engine61662appeal.co.uk/news_updates/2019/may_19.pdf May 2019 News, 61662 In time, they intended to develop the replica into an operational locomotive, Main Line Steam Today, 61662 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 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 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 Ltd LNER encyclopedia