Portrait of the SJ B Class steam locomotive #1267 in the Nora shed. 96 locomotives of this class were built for SJ by Motala Verkstad, NOHAB and Vagn och Maskinfabriken Falun between 1909 and 1919. A very successful design, the B class turned out to be highly useful for all types of traffic. They were frequently used in heavy express trains, in addition to the intended passenger and freight train services. Nevertheless, mainline electrification meant that the need for steam locomotives declined in the 1930s, making it possible to sell some B class locomotives to private railways, while some others were placed in reserve. The class remained in service with SJ until the end of steam. The need for steam locomotives declined again in the post-war era, but a large number of surplus locomotives were preserved in the strategic reserve, kept in usable condition to replace diesel-powered vehicles if the import of oil was interrupted or electric vehicles if the power supply was destroyed. The use of the reserve locomotives was mostly limited to a few trial runs, but harsh weather in the winter of 1965–1966 meant that an unusually large number of electric locomotives were out of service, and B, E and E2 class locomotives in the reserve were reactivated to haul trains on the electrified lines from Alvesta to Kalmar and Karlskrona. The B class, together with the E, E2 and E10 classes, remained in the strategic reserve after most other types had been scrapped in the 1970s. Most of the locomotives were placed in sealed plastic bags with dehumidifiers to reduce the need of maintenance. A large number of B class locomotives were preserved in that manner until all steam locomotives were removed from the strategic reserve in 1990. Source Wikipedia.
