DHR B Class 778

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 19 (All-India No. 778)
No. 778 hauling a train on the Ffestiniog Railway
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Sharp, Stewart & Co. Serial number 3518 Website www.darjeelingtank.org.uk
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-4-0ST  • UIC B n2t Gauge 2 ft (610 mm) Driver dia. 26 in (0.660 m) Axle load 7.75 long tons (7.87 t) Loco weight 14 long tons (14 t) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 9 sq ft (0.84 m^2) Boiler pressure 140 psi (0.97 MPa) Heating surface 316 sq ft (29.4 m^2) Superheater None Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 11 in × 14 in (279 mm × 356 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 7,750 lbf (34.47 kN)
Career Operators Darjeeling Himalayan Railway → Indian Railways Class DHR B Class Number in class 3rd of 34 Numbers No. 19 (1889‒1957) No. 778 (1957‒) Nicknames Little Blue Locale Statfold Barn Railway Withdrawn 1960 Current owner Darjeeling Tank Locomotive Trust Disposition Under renovation (awaiting new boiler)

Adrian Shooter (driver, right) with Jeremy Davey (fireman, left) onboard locomotive No.19 at Beeches Light Railway in 2019.

DHR19 in the station at Leighton Buzzard.

DHR 778 (originally number 19) is a narrow-gauge steam locomotive, that was built in 1889 for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. It is preserved in the United Kingdom, and is the only DHR locomotive outside of India. The engine has the oldest locomotive boiler still in use anywhere in the world.[1]

History

DHR 778 is a 0-4-0ST DHR B Class, a design built between 1889 and 1927. A total of 34 were built. By 2005 only 12 remained in use (or under repair) on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The class was designed by Sharp, Stewart and Company of Glasgow and built by them, their successors the North British Locomotive Company (NBL), and three each by Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW, Philadelphia, USA), and the DHR works at Tindharia.

Number 778 (originally No.19) was built in 1889 by Sharp Stewart & Co at the Atlas Works in Glasgow. It is the only DHR locomotive outside of India. After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Museum, it was sold to enthusiast Adrian Shooter in the United Kingdom and restored to working order. It was based on Beeches Light Railway, a private railway in Oxfordshire, and has also run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the South Tynedale Railway.[2] 778 is the only B class with a tender.^[citation needed]

Locomotive No. 19B was basedat the Beeches Light Railway until the Shooter's death in December 2022. On 21 June 2023, the locomotive was purchased at auction for £250,000 by The Darjeeling Tank Locomotive Trust (DTLT), with supporters raising the required money three months beforehand. Following the sale, the locomotive and its two matching carriages were relocated by the Trust to the Statfold Barn Railway near Tamworth, Staffordshire.

Special events

In mid-2011, for the 40th anniversary of the Froissy Dompierre Light Railway in France, three Britain-based locomotives visited, including locomotive 778.[3]

In 2013, locomotive 778 ran as a part of Indian Extravaganza Fest in Bedfordshire in East England, [4] and in 2014 it was the main attraction at the South Tynedale Railway's Indian Summer Event[5]

References

1. "Catch the Darjeeling B at Launceston Steam Railway before the end of the season". Cornish & Devon Post. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2023. x-ray inspection of the original boiler showed that there was virtually no wastage. No.19 now has the distinction of having the oldest locomotive boiler in use anywhere in the world.
2. "Slumdog Millionaire comes to the North Pennines!". 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
3. "British-based Trio Steam in France". Rail.co.uk. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021. 40th anniversary of the Froissy-Cappy-Dompierre line entering preservation. … invitations extended to The Greensand Railway Museum Trust's Baldwin 4-6-0T WDLR No. 778 and Adrian Shooter's Darjeeling Himalayan Railway B-Class 0-4-0ST No. 19 (SS 3518/1888) to visit.
4. "Historic Indian steam locos to run again in England amid extravaganza on weekend". 4 May 2013.
5. "Indian Summer Comes to Alston". 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2021.

Further reading

1980s

• Hughes, Hugh & Jux, Frank (1980). Steam Locomotives in India. Part 1 – Narrow Gauge. Harrow, Middlesex: Continental Railway Circle. pp. 69, 79, 87. ISBN 0-9503469-5-0.

2010s

• Charlesworth, David (2017). The Story of 19B: the only Darjeeling 'B' class locomotive ever to leave India. Darjeeling Mail Extra. Technical assistance by David Churchill and Jeremy Davey. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society. pp. 1‒32.
• Holden, Michael (25 February 2019). "Steam locomotive No.19 to visit the Launceston Railway". Rail Advent. Retrieved 25 July 2023.

2020s

• Holden, Michael (29 March 2022). "Statfold Barn Railway to welcome Darjeeling steam locomotive". Narrow gauge. Rail Advent. Retrieved 25 July 2023.

2023

Pre-auction

• "Trust makes urgent bid to keep Darj loco in UK". Narrow Gauge News. No. 174. Photographs by Joey Evans and Andrew Charman. Narrow Gauge Railway Society. March 2023. p. 9.
• "Darjeeling tank in Adrian Shooter collection sale". Heritage Railway. No. 305. 11 April 2023 – via Scribd.
• "New trust seeks £250k to save Shooter's Darjeeling 19B". Steam Railway. No. 544. Photographs by Jack Boskett. 28 April 2023. p. 25.
• Marsh, Phil (May 2023). "Beeches Light Railway supporters plan bid for the late Adrian Shooter's Darjeeling Himalayan Railway 0-4-0ST". Heritage News. Today's Railways UK. No. 256. Photograph by Roger Dimmock. Platform 5. ISSN 1475-9713.
• Marsh, Phil (9 May 2023). "Help Keep Adrian's Darjeeling in Britain". Race against time. Heritage Railway. Photograph by Joey Evans. pp. 52‒53 – via Scribd.
• Holden, Michael (24 May 2023). "Adrian Shooter's two-foot gauge replica Indian Hill railway up for auction". Narrow gauge. Photographs by Phil Marsh & Ffestiniog Railway.
• "Appeal to save Adrian Shooter's Darjeeling Himalayan loco". Newsdesk. Railway Herald. No. 819. Photograph by Cliff Thomas. 24 May 2023. p. 28. ISSN 1751-8091.
• "Heritage Heavyweights behind DHR B-class bid". Narrow gauge: Track Record. The Railway Magazine. May 2023. p. 68. ISSN 0033-8923.
• "Crunch point for 'save the Darj' bid". UK news. Narrow Gauge News. No. 175. Photograph by Peter Jordan. Narrow Gauge Railway Society. May 2023. p. 10.
• "Fundraisers hope to buy 134-year-old Oxfordshire garden locomotive". South. BBC News. Photographs by Jeremy Davey & Alamy. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
• Holden, Michael (17 June 2023). "Darjeeling Tank Locomotive Trust receives huge financial boost". Retrieved 25 July 2023. boosted by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society who in late May made a donation of £40,000 to support the bid.
• Holden, Michael, ed. (19 June 2023). "Photos from final day of service at The Beeches Light Railway as auction approaches". Rail Advent. Photographs by Jeremy Davey. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

Post-auction

• Holden, Michael (22 June 2023). "Darjeeling Tank Locomotive Trust secures steam locomotive No. 19". Rail Advent. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
• "Volunteers buy 134-year-old Oxfordshire locomotive". BBC News. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
• "Sold! The world's oldest working steam train sells after volunteers raised £300K to buy it" (Press release). Bournemouth News & Picture Service. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023 – via Youtube.
• "Old Train £300K". The Sun. 25 June 2023. p. 17.
• Burton, Tim (August 2023). Gooding, Brian (ed.). "They did it!". News & Events. Vintage Spirit. Steam Heritage. pp. 3, 6‒7. ISSN 1477-1276.
• Thompson, Sarah (August 2023). Charlesworth, David (ed.). "Zero to £300,000 in ten weeks!". The Darjeeling Mail. No. 103. Photographs by Peter Jordan, John Burghes & Jeremy Davey. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society. pp. 9‒12. ISSN 1465-8682.
• Jordan, Peter (August 2023). Charlesworth, David (ed.). "The Auction". The Darjeeling Mail. No. 103. Poster by H.J. Pugh & Co. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society. pp. 12‒14. ISSN 1465-8682.
• Marsh, Phil (August 2023). Charlesworth, David (ed.). "A Darjeeling Vision ‒ part 2". The Darjeeling Mail. No. 103. Photographs by John Burghes & Julie Raworth. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society. pp. 14‒16. ISSN 1465-8682.
• Davey, Jeremy (August 2023). Charlesworth, David (ed.). "From Steeple Aston to Statfold". The Darjeeling Mail. No. 103. Photographs by Phil Marsh & Joey Evans. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society. pp. 18‒23. ISSN 1465-8682.

2024

• "Darjeeling tank will cost at least £140k to repair - shock report". Heritage Railway. No. 317. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
• Holden, Michael (13 March 2024). "Overhaul of Darjeeling steam locomotive takes costly turn". Rail Advent. Retrieved 19 June 2024. Dismantling provided a number of surprises, such as the boiler, which is not the original 1889 one as thought by the trustees. … the team found a stamp marking "B 4977". … 19B's works number was 3518 whilst 4977 is an identical B class but was built 14 years later in 1903.
• Holden, Michael (18 April 2024). "£80,000 boiler appeal launched for Darjeeling locomotive". Rail Advent. The 1903-built boiler has been found to need too many repairs to be economical when compared to making a new boiler. … 19B is unlikely to return to steam until 2026. … cost of the boiler is expected to be around £150,000
• Borg, Oliver J. (28 May 2024). Post Wild Boys Of Radio 2 Handover. Midnight Mastermind: Darjeeling Tank locomotive No. 19. BBC Radio 2 (offset 28:28‒29:30, 32:16‒38:40). Questions set by Jeremy Davey. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
• "Boston Lodge to build new Darjeeling tank boiler". Heritage Railway. No. 320. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024. Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways' Boston Lodge Works is to design a new boiler for Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Sharp Stewart B class 0-4-0SWTT No. 19B.
• Whalley, Jon (24 May 2024). Moving Pictures Ninety Three (offset 14:55‒17:58). Boston Lodge: Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways. Retrieved 19 June 2024. [Boston Lodge] has recently been awarded the contract for the design of a replacement boiler for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway No. 19 B … welded barrel, welded outer wrapper, but flanged plates … Bob Yates is doing the drawing of the new layout and [Jon Whalley] will be doing some calculations … that'll go to British Engineering Services for their approval

External links

• Official website, 2023 trust established to maintain the locomotive