North British Locomotive Company - Steam Locomotives

Steam Locomotives

NBL built steam locomotives for countries as far afield as Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Palestine and South Africa.

The Colony of New South Wales purchased numerous North British locomotives, as did the State of Victoria as late as 1951 (Oberg, Locomotives of Australia). Western Australia also purchased many North British Locomotives, such as the WAGR P Class.

Between 1903 and 1959 NB supplied many locomotives of various classes to Egyptian State Railways. They included 40 of the 545 class 2-6-0 in 1928.

Between 1921 and 1925, NBL supplied New Zealand Government Railways with 85 AB class locomotives. The whole fleet of Ab class engines numbered 143, as built, of which 141 entered service. Two were lost at sea (see below).

In 1935 NB supplied six Palestine Railways P class 4-6-0 locomotives to haul main line trains between Haifa and the Suez Canal.

In 1939 NB supplied 40 J class to the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR); some of which were later converted to JB class oilburners. In 1951 NB supplied another 16 JA class, though these did not have the American-style streamlining of the J class. Together with the NB predecessor firms, North British supplied about a quarter of the steam locomotives used by the NZR.

In 1949 South African Railways bought more than 100 2-8-4 locomotives from NBL and these became the Class 24; some operated tourist trains on the George-Knysna line until 2000. Additionally South Africa also purchased some of its Class 25, 4-8-4 engines from the company between 1953-55. These successful engines with various in-service modifications survived until the end of steam in South Africa in 1992. NB also introduced the Modified Fairlie locomotive in 1924. In total South Africa purchased over 2,000 locomotives from the North British Locomotive Company.

In 1953, RENFE in Spain acquired 25 F class 2-8-2 locomotives from the North British Locomotive Company. One example, (1952 Works No. 26975) 141F 2111 is preserved in working order.

As of January 2010, Umgeni Steam Railway operates NBL Class 3BR engine 1486, built in Glasgow in 1912 and now named "Maureen", on the line between Kloof and Inchanga, a distance of about 23.5 kilometres (14.6 mi). She hauls vintage sightseeing trains some coaches of which date back to 1908.

Locomotives made for Britain included the LMS Stanier Class 8F, the LMS Jubilee Class, and the LSWR N15 class, the Scotch Arthurs.