Highland Railway Small Ben Class

The Highland Railway Small Ben Class was a series of inside-cylinder 4-4-0 express passenger locomotives designed by David Jones and introduced at Lochgorm Works, Inverness, in 1898, named after the smaller peaks of the Scottish Highlands. The Small Bens were Jones's penultimate express design before his retirement in 1896 — though introduced slightly after his departure, they were built to his specification — and formed a compact and capable fleet for the HR's secondary express and semi-fast passenger working alongside the larger Loch Class.

The Small Ben Class used 6 ft 0 in coupled driving wheels — slightly smaller than the Loch Class's 6 ft 3 in — giving marginally greater tractive effort suited to some of the more demanding Highland gradients where the extra adhesion of a smaller wheel was beneficial. The inside-cylinder layout and Westinghouse air brakes were consistent with Jones's established HR practice.

Named after Highland summits including Ben Alder, Ben Attow, Ben Clebrig, Ben Macdhui, Ben Mheadhoin, Ben More Assynt, Ben na Caillich, Ben Rinnes, Ben Slioch, Ben Wyvis, and others, the Small Bens gave reliable service on Highland secondary express duties through the Edwardian period. Peter Drummond continued building the class after Jones's retirement. Under the LMS from 1923 they continued on former-Highland routes until withdrawal. None was preserved.