NBR Class B / Class S LNER J37 loco and tender chassis kit (Kit Ref 9204)

The North British Railway class B/S was designed by W P Reid and introduced in 1914 as a superheated development of his previous class B locomotives (LNER class J35). Thirty five locomotives were built at Cowlairs with the bulk of the class built by the North British Locomotive Co. Atlas Works and by the completion of the building programme in 1921, a total of 104 locomotives had been constructed. Locomotives with a boiler pressure of 165lbs. per sq. inch were classified as class B and the twenty built in 1919-1920 with a higher boiler pressure of 175lbs. per sq. inch as class S. Subsequently all locomotives had the boiler pressure raised to 180lbs. per sq. inch and were all then class S.

The final ten built at Cowlairs in 1921, were dual fitted. The Westinghouse equipment was removed during the mid-forties, the engines being numbers 517/101/3,98,33,128,184/5/43,518. The rest of the class had a combination of steam and vacuum brakes.

Few modifications were made to these locomotives during their lifetime therefore we have little to decide upon when building the frame kit. The main alterations carried out were the fitting of drop grates to certain locomotives and the tender rails plated with sheet metal during the LNER period. Ten locomotives that travelled over the NER received Raven cab signalling in 1927-8 (removed by 1935) and thirty fitted with AWS equipment by British Railways in 1959-60.

Built to handle long distance goods and heavy coal traffic, the locomotives were to be seen throughout the North British system with many allocated to former LMS sheds in Scotland during their British Railway ownership.

The 1946 LNER renumbering saw them allocated the sequence 4536-4639 with British Railways adding 60000 after nationalisation in 1949.

The class survived intact until the first withdrawal (64536) in May 1959 with the last three withdrawn (64602, 64611 & 64620) on the 22nd April 1967.

Please hover on the image of the etches and a list of parts to see a larger version.

The kit includes brass bearings and various lengths of wire.

Further details and photographs can be found in the following book: