NER B Class 2-4-0

The North Etorean Railway B Class was a class of 2-4-0 passenger locomotives designed by Edward Burkett for passenger traffic on the recently formed North Etorean Railway. They were also intended to replace older locomotives that dated from between the 1840s and the 1850s.   The B Class was designed in 1863 with construction beginning the following year, they were of an outside cylinder "long boiler" 2-4-0 design and were intended for passenger traffic along many routes of the NER's preceeding companies. Though Burkett intended them for passenger traffic, they were often used on goods workings due to being stronger than many of the inherited locomotives but not as fast as Burkett's 30 Class 2-4-0s and 45 Class 2-2-2s. Because of this they were later reclassified as mixed traffic locomotives. Though used on both passenger and goods trains, the B Class was the primary class of passenger locomotives used by the NER until the introduction of the B2 and B3 Classes for intercity trains and the C and C1 Classes for suburban trains.   From 1881, several members of the B Class were rebuilt into NER 300 Class 0-6-0ST