what is it?
The Ceylon Government Railway classes B1–B6, formerly designated as the NOA class before the reclassification of 1937, were several classes of 4-6-0 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.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 99 years ago, in 1927.
- Weighs about as much as 9 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 17.9 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1927–1948
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 49
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
- builders
- Beyer, Peacock and Company, Armstrong Whitworth, Robert Stephenson and Company
- operators
- Sri Lanka Railways
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,676 mm Indian broad gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 4-6-0
- length
- 17.9 m
- weight
- 53.1 t
- nicknames
- Governor Class
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q132477383, Wikipedia: Ceylon Government Railway B1-B6 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.