Darjeeling Sharp Stuart B-class 0-4-0T

By John Heald, April 2010

This locomotive is well known and is the final steam engine designed to run on the 60 mile Darjeeling railway in India. The first B-class engine arrived on the railway in 1889 and was so successful that a total of 34 were built, some slightly modified by the local railway workshops. Fourteen are still in existence, one is in full working order in UK and has performed on numerous narrow gauge lines, including the Ffestiniog.

They ran on a gauge of 600mm (2') working on a maximum gradient of 1 in 19. Even so these engines could pull 50 tonnes with ease and in modern terms could even do a better job than the newly built diesels now running the full length of the 60 mile line. As these engines proved their worth, more orders were placed with Baldwin and North British locomotive works.

They could haul 840 tonnes on a level track which equates to 24 NZR passenger carriages!

This was an amazing accomplishment for such a small engine only weighing in at 17 tonnes.

The key was the design. Although it was an 0-4-0 it had a long wheel base and used the friction of both tread and flanges (on curves) to obtain the tractive effort. It had a large overhang both on the front and rear ends. This was a problem for the couplings and was remedied by having a bellcrank assembly under the front and rear buffer beams to allow the coupling link to slide sideways and remain parallel to the rails.

For extra weight and adhesion a well tank was placed between the frames which also forms part of the frame stretcher assembly. A saddle tank is also fitted forward of the front drivers and 1.5 tonne coal bunker sits astride the boiler at the cab end.

The railway came under UNESCO supervision in 2001 which has paved the way for the railway to survive both in steam and diesel for the full length of the line. UNESCO provide funds for track and building maintenance while Indian Railways look after both steam and diesel engines at the Tindharia workshops.

The British 'Darjeeling Himalayan Society' are also involved and provide monetary assistance to advance the future security of this line.

Since UNESCO became involved the Indian railways have spent large amounts of money restoring a number of B-class engines for the now ever growing tourist trade in the area.

After purchasing a DVD on this line I felt I would love to build one of these engines (it will be 1.8 metres long). In 7¼" gauge they come out to near one third full size, about the same scale as Dave Gile's Shay and the two Kerr Stuart engines I own. I managed to obtain a copy of the original plans based on a 1914 engine built by Sharp Stuart. They were very well drawn with much detail. However the thought of even tackling the cylinder blocks nearly put me off, as the steam and exhaust inlets are piped into the top of the blocks and not the sides. The steam chest was an integral part of the block with just a moulded cap on top of the chest. The first four engines delivered in 1889 had separate steam chests, however the problem with the earlier design may have been the complexity of casting these due to the ports being very much off set from the cylinder bore. With help and input from Mal Whittle and Paul Newton I now have the patterns ready for casting and drawings ready for the start of the chassis.

See the monthly news for progress on the loco.

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