Victorian Railways B class

Victorian Railways B class
B class with original spark-arresting funnel
Type and origin Power type steam Builder R and W Hawthorn, Beyer, Peacock and Company, Phoenix Foundry Build date 1861–1881
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-4-0  • UIC 1'B2 Gauge 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Driver dia. 6 ft (1.829 m) Axle load 14.3 long tons (14.5 t; 16.0 short tons) Tender weight 26 long tons (26 t; 29 short tons) Total weight 63.1 long tons (64.1 t; 70.7 short tons) (roadworthy) Tender cap. 3.5 long tons (3.6 t; 3.9 short tons) fuel, 1,915 imp gal (8,710 l; 2,300 US gal) water Firebox:  • Firegrate area 15.27 sq ft (1.419 m2) Boiler pressure Original: 130 psi (0.90 MPa) Rebuilt: 140 psi (0.97 MPa) Heating surface 1,015.28 sq ft (94.323 m2) Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size Original: 16 in × 24 in (406 mm × 610 mm) Rebuilt: 17.5 in × 24 in (444 mm × 610 mm) Valve gear Stephenson
Performance figures Tractive effort Original: 8,875 lbf (39.48 kN) at 100lbs press MEP Rebuilt: 11,433 lbf (50.86 kN) at 80% WP MEP
Career First run 1862 Last run 1917 Disposition All scrapped

The mainline passenger locomotives later classified as B class ran on the Victorian Railways between 1862 and 1917. Utilising a 2-4-0 wheel arrangement to allow greater traction on the heavily graded new lines to Ballarat and Echuca rather than the 2-2-2 arrangement previously selected for VR's Geelong line, these highly successful passenger locomotives are regarded as the first mainline VR locomotives.

The recently formed Victorian Railways, having purchased the struggling Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company in 1856 and more recently the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company's line to Geelong in 1860, had begun the construction of two new mainlines to connect the booming gold-mining towns of Ballarat, Castlemaine and Sandhurst, as well as tap the lucrative Murray River trade at Echuca. These ambitious new railway projects, despite being engineered to very high (and very expensive) standards, traversed some difficult terrain and featured numerous gradients of up to 1 in 50. The 2-2-2 passenger locomotives VR had used to operate its relatively flat Geelong line proved to be unsuitable for heavy grades, and VR's fleet was already stretched to service the needs of its rapidly expanding network.

New locomotives were ordered in February 1861 from R and W Hawthorn in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with a layout very similar to that of a successful 2-4-0 design previously been built for the Great Northern Railway, with modifications such as the fitting of cabs and steam domes.