Ceylon Government Railway B1-B6


The Ceylon Government Railway classes B1–B6, formerly designated as the NOA class before the reclassification of 1937, were several classes of steam locomotives of similar designs operated on the Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) for service on the Main Line. As of 2025, only certain locomotives of the B1 and B2 classes survive into preservation.

Class B1

History

The Class B1 locomotives were the last and most modern of these six locomotive classes to be constructed. A total of forty-nine were built for the Ceylon Government Railway from 1927 to 1948. This class had five subclasses apart from the standard model, namely A, B, C, D and E. These locomotives are also known as the Governor Class, as most class members were named after governors of British Ceylon. In 1936, class member no. 242 Sir Edward Paget was streamlined, but the streamlining was later removed in 1937. In the 1950s, some members of the class were converted to burn oil instead of coal.

Locomotives

NumberNameFinal SubclassFuelStatusNotes
4Sir Edward StubbsCoalScrapped
30Sir Thomas MaitlandCoalScrapped
242Sir Edward PagetCoalScrappedThe only class member to be fitted with a streamlined casing.
243Sir West RidgewayCoal, OilScrapped
244Viscount TorringtonCoal, OilScrapped
245Sir Robert ChalmersCoalScrapped
246Sir William AndersonCoalScrapped
247James MacKenzieCoalScrapped
248Sir William GregoryCoalScrapped
249Sir William AndersonACoalScrapped
250Sir Charles MacCarthyACoal, OilScrapped
251Sir Thomas MaitlandACoalPreserved
252Sir Edward BarnesACoalScrapped
253Sir Richard NorthACoalScrapped
254Sir Arthur HavelockACoalScrapped
255Sir Robert ChalmersACoal, OilScrapped
256Sir Robert HortonACoalScrapped
257Ceylon Defence ForceACoal, OilScrapped
258Sir Hercules RobinsonACoalScrapped
259ACoalScrapped
260ACoalScrapped
261Sir William ManningACoal, OilScrapped
262King George VIACoal, OilScrapped
279Sir Henry WardBCoal, OilScrapped
280BCoal, OilScrapped
281Sir Hugh CliffordBCoal, OilScrapped
282BScrapped
283Sir Thomas MaitlandBCoal, OilScrapped
284James MacKenzieBCoal, OilScrapped
285Sir Henry BlakeBCoalScrapped
286Sir Graeme ThompsonBCoalScrapped
287Sir Robert BrownriggBCoalScrapped
288Sir Herbert StanleyBCoalScrapped
289BCoalScrapped
290Sir Arthur GordonBCoalScrapped
294Sir James LongdenCCoalScrapped
295Sir Andrew CaldecottCCoalScrapped
337Sir Geoffrey LaytonCCoalScrapped
338Sir Henry MooreCCoal, OilScrapped
339DCoalScrapped
340/352Fredrick NorthDCoal, OilScrapped
341DCoal, OilScrapped
342DCoalScrapped
351ECoalScrapped
352Frederick NorthECoal, OilPreserved
353ECoalScrapped
354Sir Henry WardECoal, OilScrapped
355ECoalScrapped
356ECoal, OilScrapped

Preservation

Only two members of the class, No. 251 Sir Thomas Maitland and No. 340 Sir Frederick North, have survived into preservation. Both are currently operational and are used to haul the Viceroy Special, a chartered excursion train operated by J. F. Tours.

Class B2

History

A total of thirty-five members of this class were produced for the Ceylon Government Railway. The Class B2 also had various subclasses excluding the original from A to E.

Preservation

Only one member, No. 213, survives into preservation. It is also maintained in working order so as to haul the Viceroy Special.

Class B3

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Class B4

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Class B5

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Class B6

These were the first 4-6-0 locomotives to operate in Ceylon. They have a unique combination of both tenders and side tanks, although the side tanks were mainly to increase the adhesive weight over the driving wheels.
The main line of the Ceylon government railways starts at Colombo and originally terminated at Nanu Oya station.Beyond Nawalapitiya the line climbs at a constant 1 in 44 gradient all the way to Nanu Oya. This would have been beyond the capacity of the 4-4-0s then in service at the time the main line was extended above Nawalapitiya. Thus these new 4-6-0TT locomotives were known as the Nanu Oya class after the route on which they were intended to operate.
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