LNER Thompson Class B1

The London and North Eastern Railway Thompson Class B1 is a class of steam locomotive designed by Edward Thompson for medium mixed traffic work, the railway's equivalent of the Great Western Hall class and the London, Midland and Scottish Black Five. It had to be cheap because of wartime and post-war economies. The first example, No. 8301, named Springbok in honour of a visit by Jan Smuts, was introduced in 1942. Thompson also placed large orders with two outside builders, Vulcan Foundry and the North British Locomotive Company, which built 290 of them between April 1946 and April 1952. The last were withdrawn between 1962 and 1967, and two have been preserved.