Highland Railway Small Bens

The Highland Railway Small Bens (1902 series) refers to the continuation of the Small Ben Class 4-4-0 design under Peter Drummond, who succeeded David Jones as Highland Railway Locomotive Superintendent in 1896. Drummond continued building locomotives to Jones's Small Ben specification with his own detail modifications, extending the class through the early 1900s to meet the HR's continuing need for secondary express 4-4-0 motive power alongside the new Castle Class 4-6-0s he was also introducing.

Drummond's Small Ben examples incorporated minor improvements to valve gear and boiler fittings consistent with his own design preferences, but retained the essential Jones Small Ben characteristics of inside cylinders, 6 ft 0 in coupled wheels, Westinghouse brakes, and the Highland mountain naming convention. The 1902 and subsequent Drummond-era Small Bens are sometimes distinguished from the original Jones examples in Highland Railway records, reflecting the detail differences introduced during Drummond's tenure.

The Drummond Small Bens gave the same reliable secondary express service as the Jones originals and passed to the LMS at the 1923 Grouping. None was preserved from either the Jones or Drummond builds.