LNER Class B17

LNER Class B17
The 14.26 Ely to Birmingham New Street express entering March, looking eastward, towards Ely; train is headed by B17/6 No. 61642 Kilverstone Hall.
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
Configuration	4-6-0
UIC classification	2′C h3
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading wheel diameter	3 ft 2 in (0.965 m)
Driver diameter	6 ft 8 in (2.032 m)
Locomotive weight	77.25–80.5 long tons (78.49–81.8 t)
Fuel type	Coal
Boiler pressure	B17/1 to B17/5: 180 psi (1.24 MPa) B17/6: 225 psi (1.55 MPa)
Cylinders	Three
Cylinder size	17+1⁄2 × 26 in (445 × 660 mm)
Valve gear	Outside: Walschaerts Inside: Gresley conjugated
Valve type	8-inch (203 mm) piston valves
Tractive effort	B17/1 to B17/5: 22,485 lbf (100.0 kN) B17/6: 28,555 lbf (127.0 kN)
Career	LNER » BR
Power class	BR: B17/1 to B17/5: 4MT; B17/6 and B2: 5P4F
Axle load class	Route Availability 5
Withdrawn	1952–1960
Disposition	All scrapped

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 Sir Nigel Gresley for hauling passenger services on the Great Eastern Main Line. In total 73 were built.

The final B17 design borrowed many features from a batch of A1 Pacifics which the North British Locomotive Company 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. The LNER quickly ordered some modifications, including an increase in cylinder size from 17in to 17½in, and a lengthening of the firebox by 5in. It was impossible for all three cylinders to drive the middle coupled axle, so the middle cylinder powered the leading axle and was positioned forward above the front bogie.

Sub-classes

The first ten B17s were built by the North British Locomotive Company; the first locomotive was delivered on 30 November 1928. Between 1930 and 1936, Darlington Works would produce 52 B17s in five batches. A final batch of eleven would be built by Robert Stephenson and Company in 1937; resulting in a total of 73 B17s built. Small modifications were made to successive batches, resulting in six class parts (B17/1 to B17/6). The B17/5s, 61659 East Anglian and 61670 City of London were streamlined in the manner of the LNER Class A4s. However, the streamlining was cladding for publicity purposes only and had little real effect on the overall speed of the locomotive. By 1951 both engines were stripped of the streamlining altogether.

• B17/1, Introduced 1928, GE-type 3,700-imperial-gallon (17,000 l; 4,400 US gal), 4-long-ton (4.1 t) tender;
• B17/2, Variant of B17/1, later merged with B17/1;
• B17/3, Variant of B17/1, later merged with B17/1;
• B17/4, Introduced 1936, LNER 4,200-imperial-gallon (19,000 l; 5,000 US gal), 7.5-long-ton (7.6 t) tender;
• B17/5, Introduced 1937, streamlined;
• B17/6, Introduced 1943, rebuilt with 100A boiler and increased pressure.

Rebuilding

Some B17s were rebuilt with the 100A boiler, retaining the original cylinders, and became Class B17/6. Others had a more drastic rebuild, including 100A boiler and conversion to 2-cylinder layout, and became Class B2.

Summary table

LNER No.	BR No.	Original Name (Rename(s))	Date built	Date rebuilt	Rebuilt as	Date withdrawn
2800	61600	Sandringham	01928-12 December 1928	01950-06 June 1950	B17/6	01958-07 July 1958
2801	61601	Holkham	01928-12 December 1928	—	—	01958-01 January 1958
2802	61602	Walsingham	01928-11 November 1928	01951-10 October 1951	B17/6	01958-01 January 1958
2803	61603	Framlingham	01928-12 December 1928	01946-10 October 1946	B2	01958-09 September 1958
2804	61604	Elveden	01928-12 December 1928	01951-11 November 1951	B17/6	01953-08 August 1953
2805	61605	Burnham Thorpe (Lincolnshire Regiment from April 1938)	01928-12 December 1928	01948-01 January 1948	B17/6	01958-05 May 1958
2806	61606	Audley End	01928-12 December 1928	01950-03 March 1950	B17/6	01958-09 September 1958
2807	61607	Blickling	01928-12 December 1928	01947-05 May 1947	B2	01959-12 December 1959
2808	61608	Gunton	01928-12 December 1928	01950-10 October 1950	B17/6	01960-03 March 1960
2809	61609	Quidenham	01928-12 December 1928	01952-01 January 1952	B17/6	01958-06 June 1958
2810	61610	Honingham Hall	01930-08 August 1930	01953-10 October 1953	B17/6	01960-01 January 1960
2811	61611	Raynham Hall	01930-08 August 1930	01956-02 February 1956	B17/6	01959-10 October 1959
2812	61612	Houghton Hall	01930-10 October 1930	01950-03 March 1950	B17/6	01959-09 September 1959
2813	61613	Woodbastwick Hall	01930-10 October 1930	01951-12 December 1951	B17/6	01959-12 December 1959
2814	61614	Castle Hedingham	01930-10 October 1930	01946-11 November 1946	B2	01959-06 June 1959
2815	61615	Culford Hall	01930-10 October 1930	01946-04 April 1946	B2	01959-02 February 1959
2816	61616	Fallodon	01930-10 October 1930	01945-11 November 1945	B2	01959-09 September 1959
2817	21617	Ford Castle	01930-11 November 1930	01946-12 December 1946	B2	01958-08 August 1958
2818	61618	Wynyard Park	01930-11 November 1930	01958-04 April 1958	B17/6	01960-01 January 1960
2819	61619	Welbeck Abbey	01930-11 November 1930	01953-01 January 1953	B17/6	01958-09 September 1958
2820	61620	Clumber	01930-11 November 1930	01951-12 December 1951	B17/6	01960-01 January 1960
2821	61621	Hatfield House	01930-11 November 1930	01955-01 January 1955	B17/6	01958-11 November 1958
2822	61622	Alnwick Castle	01931-01 January 1931	01943-10 October 1943	B17/6	01958-09 September 1958
2823	61623	Lambton Castle	01931-02 February 1931	01948-04 April 1948	B17/6	01959-07 July 1959
2824	61624	Lumley Castle	01931-02 February 1931	—	—	01953-03 March 1953
2825	61625	Raby Castle	01931-02 February 1931	—	—	01959-12 December 1959
2826	61626	Brancepeth Castle	01931-03 March 1931	01955-04 April 1955	B17/6	01960-01 January 1960
2827	61627	Aske Hall	01931-03 March 1931	01948-11 November 1948	B17/6	01959-07 July 1959
2828	61628	Harewood House	01931-03 March 1931	01948-12 December 1948	B17/6	01952-09 September 1952
2829	61629	Naworth Castle	01931-04 April 1931	—	—	01959-09 September 1959
2830	61630	Thoresby Park (Tottenham Hotspur from January 1938)	01931-04 April 1931	01948-12 December 1948	B17/6	01958-08 August 1958
2831	61631	Serlby Hall	01931-05 May 1931	01957-10 October 1957	B17/6	01959-04 April 1959
2832		Belvoir Castle (Royal Sovereign from September 1958)	01931-05 May 1931	01947-06 June 1947	B2	01959-02 February 1959
2833	61633	Kimbolton Castle	01931-05 May 1931	01948-08 August 1948	B17/6	01959-09 September 1959
2834	61634	Hinchingbrooke	01931-06 June 1931	01957-01 January 1957	B17/6	01958-08 August 1958
2835	61635	Milton	01931-07 July 1931	01949-01 January 1949	B17/6	01959-01 January 1959
2836	61636	Harlaxton Manor	01931-07 July 1931	01950-05 May 1950	B17/6	01959-10 October 1959
2837	61637	Thorpe Hall	01933-03 March 1933	01957-11 November 1957	B17/6	01959-09 September 1959
2838	61638	Melton Hall	01933-03 March 1933	01948-12 December 1948	B17/6	01958-03 March 1958
2839	61639	Rendelsham Hall (Norwich City from January 1938)	01933-05 May 1933	01946-01 January 1946	B2	01959-05 May 1959
2840	61640	Somerleyton Hall	01933-05 May 1933	01955-05 May 1955	B17/6	01958-11 November 1958
2841	61641	Gayton Hall	01933-05 May 1933	01949-02 February 1949	B17/6	01960-01 January 1960
2842	61642	Kilverstone Hall	01933-05 May 1933	01949-01 January 1949	B17/6	01958-09 September 1958
2843	61643	Champion Lodge	01935-05 May 1935	01954-10 October 1954	B17/6	01958-07 July 1958
2844	61644	Earlham Hall	01935-05 May 1935	01949-03 March 1949	B2	01959-02 February 1959
2845	61645	The Suffolk Regiment	01935-06 June 1935	01952-12 December 1952	B17/6	01959-02 February 1959
2846	61646	Gilwell Park	01935-08 August 1935	01951-02 February 1951	B17/6	01959-01 January 1959
2847	61647	Helmingham Hall	01935-09 September 1935	01958-02 February 1958	B17/6	01959-11 November 1959
2848	61648	Arsenal	01936-03 March 1936	01957-10 October 1957	B17/6	01958-12 December 1958
2849	61649	Sheffield United	01936-03 March 1936	01954-03 March 1954	B17/6	01959-02 February 1959
2850	61650	Grimsby Town	01936-03 March 1936	01955-02 February 1955	B17/6	01958-09 September 1958
2851	61651	Derby County	01936-03 March 1936	01953-06 June 1953	B17/6	01959-08 August 1959
2852	61652	Darlington	01936-04 April 1936	01948-03 March 1948	B17/6	01959-09 September 1959
2853	61653	Huddersfield Town	01936-04 April 1936	01954-05 May 1954	B17/6	01960-01 January 1960
2854	61654	Sunderland	01936-04 April 1936	01948-04 April 1948	B17/6	01959-11 November 1959
2855	61655	Middlesbrough	01936-04 April 1936	01950-07 July 1950	B17/6	01959-04 April 1959
2856	61656	Leeds United	01936-05 May 1936	01953-11 November 1953	B17/6	01960-01 January 1960
2857	61657	Doncaster Rovers	01936-05 May 1936	01950-10 October 1950	B17/6	01960-06 June 1960
2858	61658	Newcastle United (The Essex Regiment from June 1936)	01936-05 May 1936	01950-09 September 1950	B17/6	01959-12 December 1959
2859	61659	Norwich City (East Anglian from September 1937)	01936-06 June 1936	01949-07 July 1949	B17/6	01960-03 March 1960
2860	61660	Hull City	01936-06 June 1936	—	—	01960-06 June 1960
2861	61661	Sheffield Wednesday	01936-06 June 1936	01955-08 August 1955	B17/6	01959-07 July 1959
2862	61662	Manchester United	01937-01 January 1937	01955-03 March 1955	B17/6	01959-12 December 1959
2863	61663	Everton	01937-02 February 1937	01951-11 November 1951	B17/6	01960-02 February 1960
2864	61664	Liverpool	01937-01 January 1937	01943-10 October 1943	B17/6	01960-06 June 1960
2865	61665	Leicester City	01937-01 January 1937	01949-08 August 1949	B17/6	01959-04 April 1959
2866	61666	Nottingham Forest	01937-02 February 1937	01947-12 December 1947	B17/6	01960-03 March 1960
2867	61667	Bradford	01937-04 April 1937	—	—	01958-06 June 1958
2868	61668	Bradford City	01937-04 April 1937	01949-06 June 1949	B17/6	01960-08 August 1960
2869	61669	Barnsley	01937-05 May 1937	01949-09 September 1949	B17/6	01958-09 September 1958
2870	61670	Manchester City (Tottenham Hotspur from May 1937) (City of London from September 1937)	01937-05 May 1937	01951-04 April 1951	B17/6	01960-04 April 1960
2871	61671	Manchester City (Royal Sovereign from April 1946)	01937-06 June 1937	01948-08 August 1948	B2	01958-09 September 1958
2872	61672	West Ham United	01937-07 July 1937	01950-09 September 1950	B17/6	01960-03 March 1960

Preservation

Several were named after football clubs. None of the class has survived into preservation but a few of the football clubs were presented with the name plates after the locomotives were scrapped.

However, according to Steam Railway Magazine issue 349 a new build project to build 2 B17's is under way. One will be named after a football club of which negotiations and the other will be 61600 Sandringham however one will be a static exhibit at an East Anglian location while the other will be main line registered. (On 1 May 2008 NBLPG launched a unique project to build not just one but two LNER B17 CLASS 4-6-0s. One locomotive will be completed to full main line specifications whilst the other will be for exhibition and display for fund raising purposes.)

Modelling

For 2010 Hornby has announced plans to produce a model of B17/1 Sandringham in both DCC ready and fitted guises.

In N Gauge Dapol do a model of a B17.^{[citation needed]}

References

• Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Fry, E. V.; Hennigan, W.; Hoole, Ken; Manners, F.; Neve, E.; Platt, E. N. T. et al (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. 
• Yeadon, Willie (1993). Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives Vol.5: Gresley B17 and Thompson B2 Classes. Irwell Press. 

External links

• The Sandringham Locomotive Company Ltd
• LNER encyclopedia
• Railuk B17/1 B17/2, B17/3, B17/4, B17/5 and B17/6