I have just been given a small pamphlet style paperback book compiled and published in June 1920 by W.G. Tilling.
The featured image for this article comes from the frontispiece of Tilling’s book. It is a picture of the Class L 4-6-4T superheated large tank locomotive ‘Charles C. Macrae’. [1]
Tilling’s forward to the book states:
“For many years particulars of the locomotives running on our railway lines were difficult to obtain, but the Great Western Railway Company a year or two back broke through the usual official reticence by publishing a list of all their named engines. This was doubtless done to interest the general public in that railway, and I believe has proved a successful advertisement.
“Unofficial lists have also been published of the engines of the London and North Western Railway and a few of the smaller lines. Following these examples, I am prompted to deal with the locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. This Company’s engines have probably had a larger circle of admirers than those of any other railway of similar size. The influence on locomotive design of the genius of the late William Stroudley (locomotive superintendent from 1871 until 1889) has appealed to the technical mind; whilst many, unconnected with railways, first attracted in their boyhood to this Company’s locomotives by their bright yellow livery and the fact that nearly all bore distinctive names, continue to take a keen interest in them long after their school days; and even now, when the engines are painted in less attractive colours, and the Stroudley classes are passing to the scrapheap, I feel sure there is a sufficiently large number interested to warrant the publication of this little book, and moreover, I am sanguine enough to hope that it may be of some use to many in the Company’s service.” [1: p3]
There were six hundred and six locomotives on the company’s roster in 25 different classes at the time that Tilling was writing these were:
There were 172 tender engines and 434 tank engines (all of the side tank variety). In addition, Tilling writes, there were four tank engines attached to the Locomotive Department for shunting in the Locomotive Works and the three principal steam sheds.
Tilling continues:
“All engines are fitted with the Westinghouse brake, whilst a few running in conjunction with ‘foreign’ lines have the automatic vacuum brake in addition. These latter engines proved extremely useful during the war in dealing with the large amount of other Companies’ rolling stock that passed over the Brighton system.
“The passenger engines are painted umber colour lined out with two yellow lines with the Company’s arms in colours on the splashers and gold lettering, whilst the goods engines are painted black with red lining and gold lettering.” [1: p5]
There were seventeen Locomotive Depots on the system. …
Tilling describes the various classes of locomotive:
“CLASS A: are small six-coupled side tanks with 4-ft. wheels, usually known as ‘Terriers’. They were designed [in 1872] years ago for working passenger trains on the South London and East London lines. Fifty engines were built in all, originally Nos. 35-84; several have been sold to other Companies, others scrapped, whilst the remainder are now used on rail motor work, excepting Nos. 642 and 682, which are yard engines at Battersea shed and Brighton works respectively.
“During the war several were taken over by the Government for working on light military lines in England and Scotland, for which their light weight only 27 tons 10 cwt. in working order made them very suitable. Although the oldest class now running on the line they are still very useful little engines, and several have recently been rebuilt with new boilers, etc., and are now classed A1x.
“CLASS B: include Stroudley’s and R. J. Billinton’s four-coupled passenger express engines, subdivided into B1 (‘Gladstones’), B2 (‘Grasshoppers’), B3 (one engine only-213 ‘Bessemer’) and B4 (‘Scotchmen’). The B2 and B3 engines are now all rebuilt with larger boilers of the C3 type and classed B2x.
The Bl’s are front-coupled non-bogie engines, and they for many years worked the bulk of the express traffic between London and Brighton until superseded by the B4’s in 1901. The majority of the survivors are now employed on work usually done by tank engines, and several are now stationed at Tunbridge Wells shed. ‘Gladstone’ itself, after thirty-seven years, is still in evidence working slow trains between Brighton and the Metropolis. No. 172 is the only one of the class not fitted with Stroudley’s pumps and arrangement for utilising part of the exhaust steam to heat the water in the tender.
“The B2’s were the first express engines with a leading bogie to run on the LBS&CR. They were built to supersede the old single wheelers on the London-Portsmouth road with its many curves, and the first batch, Nos. 314-324, were all sent to Fratton shed, except No. 323, which worked from St. Leonards.
“No. 206 was badly damaged in the Wivelsfield accident of December, 1899, and also has the distinction of having worked the first sixty-minute Pullman train from Victoria to Brighton on 2nd October 1898.
“Several of the B2x’s have had wells fitted to their tenders to increase their water capacity, whilst Nos. 204, 206-209, 211, 212, 314, 323 and 324 now have the large tenders formerly on the C3 goods engines.
“The B4’s were nearly all built in Glasgow at the time of the Boer War, and many carried names reminiscent of that campaign, until Mr. Marsh, with a few exceptions, abandoned the naming of engines.
“The B4’s have been used for a number of trials at one time and another. No. 45 ran from 1902 till 1911 with a Drummond water-tube fire-box. No. 48 worked for some time early in 1905 fitted with templates over the boiler to test the clearance of the newly designed ‘Atlantics’. When Mr. Marsh decided to do away with the old yellow livery in 1905, he painted experimentally two of this class (Nos. 50 and 52) dark green. No. 52 also ran for some time in 1902/3 fitted with Holden’s oil fuel apparatus (as did also some of the B1, B2 and E5 classes). No. 53 ran for several years fitted with the Hotchkiss water circulator, whilst No. 59 worked with a ‘Phoenix’ superheater from 1912 to 1915.
“No. 54 formerly bore the name ‘Empress’, and was at one time used for all Royal specials. She carried the name ‘La France’ for a week in August, 1905, when working special trains in connection with the visit of the French fleet to Portsmouth.
“Several of this class have now been fitted with extended smokeboxes.” [1: p6-8]
Tilling next focused on Class C locomotives:
“Class C: are the tender goods engines, of which there are four varieties.
“The C1 class, when built, were amongst the largest goods engines in the country. Only two survive, No. 428 stationed at Fratton and No. 430 at Brighton. They have both recently had the Stroudley patent brake gear removed and the standard arrangement substituted, in order to cope with heavier goods trains. No. 430 in the early days of the war worked a troop special through to Doncaster.
“The C2’s were all built by the Vulcan Foundry Co. They are now being reconstructed as C2x’s, having the larger C3 boiler. Like the B4’s they have makers’ plates on the back of the tenders, but as the tenders have been interchanged at various times, the works numbers on the plates do not necessarily apply to the engines to which the tenders are now attached. Two of the C2x’s, Nos. 524 and 546, are at present (June 1920) on loan to the Great Western Railway; they are stationed at Old Oak Common depot and regularly work through onto the Brighton line.
“The C3’s are nearly all at present attached to the Horsham depot; they were an advance on the C2 class in boiler power, but the first five only had 174-inch cylinders, though the remaining five have 18 inch cylinders. They originally had 3112 gallon tenders, but latterly these large tenders have been transferred to engines of the B2x class and the C3’s now have the smaller ones formerly on the B2x engines.” [1: p8-9]
Tilling continues:
CLASS D: “The D1 class is Stroudley’s well-known front-coupled tank engine. Mr. Stroudley built no fewer than 125 of these engines, distributed over practically the whole period of his rule at Brighton. Whilst designed for the London suburban traffic they have been used on every class of work, and some of them are to be found at every shed on the system. Perhaps Fratton has seen the least of them, but Nos. 254 and 356 are there at present for working the Portsmouth-Chichester rail motor. No. 248 has side tanks with rounded ends as in the Marsh engines.
“No. 625 of this class was the first engine on this railway to be fitted with the Westinghouse brake; and 233 is noteworthy as having been for many years stationed at East Grinstead, being, in fact, the only engine ever stationed there.“The D3 class is Mr. R. J. Billinton’s four-coupled bogie tank. Having a greater coal and water capacity than the D1’s, they are used on the longer routes. The valve gear and cylinders of this class are interchangeable with those of the C2 goods engines. Two of the D3’s (Nos. 396 and 397) have been rebuilt with the larger boiler of the I2 class.” [1: p9-10]
He continues:
Class E: “The ‘E’ CLASSES are the six-coupled side tanks, the oldest being Stroudley’s E1’s. The first of these appeared in 1874, and the last were turned out in 1891 by Mr. R. J. Billinton, who fitted his own design of boiler which added slightly to the weight. No. 689 has been entirely rebuilt, having new tanks, cab and boiler.
“No. 157 differs from all the other engines of its class. It was built for, and has worked all its life on the difficult Eastbourne-Tunbridge Wells line. It has side tanks and bunker slightly larger than the other E1’s, cylinders 18.25in × 26in, motion as Classes B1 and C1, and weighs 46 tons 18 cwt. in working order.
“Several of the E1’s were condemned for scrap in 1912, and Mr. L. B. Billinton designed an entirely new class to take their place. These are the E2’s. There are ten of this series, the second five having longer side tanks than the others. For a short time, when new, Nos. 103 and 104 worked in the centre of six coaches as a rail motor between London Bridge and Crystal Palace via Forest Hill.
“When Mr. Stroudley died in December 1889, an experimental six-coupled radial tank was in hand. This engine – No. 158 – did not commence work until just two years after his death, and while it had Stroud let’s standard 18.25in × 26in cylinders, it was essentially ‘Billinton’ in appearance. This engine weighed 52 tons 14 cwt. When Mr R. J. Billinton subsequently built sixteen others, they had his standard 18in x 26in cylinders. They are Class E3.
Tilling continues:
“The E4’s and E5’s are similar to the E3’s but with larger driving wheels for mixed traffic and passenger work respectively, the capacity of the tanks is, however, larger. Twelve of the E4 class served on active service in France. They were Nos. 470, 481, 498, 504, 506, 516, 518, 562-565 and 580, and were chiefly employed banking trains on the St. Pol-Amiens line. They have all now been returned, and having been overhauled are back in service, painted black and unlined. They still bear the small plate inside the cab with which they were supplied before going overseas, to the effect that they are the property of the LB&SCR. of England. They were the only Brighton engines that were sent overseas during hostilities.
“Four engines of Class E4 have been rebuilt with the larger 12 class boiler and are now classed E4x, whilst four of the E5’s and two of the E6’s have been fitted with the larger C3 boiler and are now class E5x and E6x respectively.
No. 591, one of the E5’s, for some years regularly worked the 8.00 p.m. Grande Vitesse train from London Bridge to Newhaven; this engine is also noteworthy in having retained its name ‘Tillington’ and its yellow livery until 1917, over four years after all other ‘yellow’ engines had disappeared. Several of the E3’s and E4’s have been fitted with circular smokeboxes supported on a saddle, but when they retain the original sized boiler they are not classed E3x or E4x.” [1: p11]
Again, Tilling continues
Class H: This class “consist of the ‘Atlantics’, eleven in number. Mr. Marsh came to Brighton from Doncaster, and the first engine he designed for this railway was based on the familiar G.N. standard express type. Five were at first built by Messrs. Kitson of Leeds (Class H1). The H2’s were built at Brighton some years later; they have super-heaters which allow larger cylinders and lower boiler pressure to be used. Ten of them are stationed at Brighton and one at Eastbourne, and in conjunction with the ‘J’ and ‘L’ tanks they work all the heaviest expresses between London, Brighton and Eastbourne. No. 39 is frequently used for Royal specials, and bears the name ‘La France’. [1: p11-12]
The next class of locomotives that Tilling covers are:
Class I: “The ‘I’ class consist of the ten-wheeled tanks. The I1’s suffer from having too small boilers, but the later I3’s built for express work are very successful engines.
“No. 21 differs from the others in having 6 ft. 9 in. drivers, and the same cylinders and motion as the B4’s; it was fitted with a superheater during 1919. Twenty others of the I3’s are fitted with superheaters but have 21 in. x 26 in. cylinders.
“The I1’s are used on various local services; the I2’s and I4’s (which are the same as the I2’s, but with 20 in. cylinders and superheated) on such services as the London-Tunbridge Wells trains; whilst the I3’s work chiefly between London and the Coast on fast trains.
“No. 23 worked regularly for some weeks during 1909 in conjunction with the LNWR engine No. 7, ‘Titan’, on the ‘Sunny South Special’, running from Brighton through to Rugby one day and returning the next.” [1: p12]
Class J: “The ‘J’ Class consist of two experimental tank engines built by Mr. D. Earle Marsh for the express service between London and the Coast. They are of the ‘Pacific’ or 4-6-2 type with 21 in. × 26 in. cylinders, driving wheels 6 ft. 7 in. diameter, and superheated. No. 325 is fitted with Stephenson’s valve gear, whilst No. 326 was the first engine on this line to be fitted with the Walschaert pattern valve gear.
Tilling continues:
Class K: “The ‘K’ Class are the latest heavy goods engines designed by Mr. L. B. Billinton for the traffic between London and Newhaven. They are tender engines of the ‘Mogul’ or 2-6-0 type, superheated. The first of these was put into service in September, 1913. To meet the greatly increased goods service to Newhaven, due to the war, another five were built in 1916; they are fitted with top feed to the boilers and have Belpaire fireboxes, and having proved so successful in service others with an improved top feed system are now under construction at Brighton. No. 339, one of the earlier engines, was fitted with this new arrangement in April, 1920, and is illustrated in these pages.” [1: p13]
He also notes that in 1920 there were:
“Seven engines of the K class … under construction at Brighton, they will be numbered 347 to 353. The engines at present numbered 347 to 353 will in due course be re-numbered 214 to 220; and engines at present numbered 214, 217 and 219 will be re-numbered 618, 619 and 620.” [1: p46]
Class L: “The ‘L’ Class consist of two tank engines of the ‘Baltic’ or 4-6-4 type. These are the largest express tank engines in Britain, and were built by Mr. L. B. Billinton to work the fast non-stop service between London and the coast towns at an approximately uniform speed, and so save racing on the down grades. These engines have cylinders of 22 in. diameter and 28 in. stroke, and the boiler which is of ample capacity is fitted with a superheater. The driving wheels are 6 ft. 9 in. diameter, and sufficient water and coal is carried for the longest non-stop run between London and Portsmouth.” [1: p13]
In the years prior to 1920, the LB&SCR had locomotives not recorded by Tilling, these include:
LB&SCR Richmond class: This class was a series of 0-4-2 express passenger locomotives, designed by William Stroudley in 1877. They were a larger version of his “Lyons” class (D2) which were in turn developed from his successful ‘D-tank’ class of 1873. [2]
The six locomotives in this class were built at Brighton railway works and appeared in traffic between October 1878 and March 1880, intended to replace earlier classes designed by John Chester Craven on the heaviest express trains between London and Brighton. They performed well on these duties for a decade but were eventually replaced by Stroudley’s larger “Gladstone” class (B1). They were then transferred to Eastbourne and St Leonards to work on expresses from those towns. During the winter of 1900/01 members of the class were transferred to the duplicate list. Withdrawal commenced in April 1901 and was completed by November 1904. No examples were preserved. [2]
They were originally classified as “B class” together with the members of the larger “Gladstone class”. As all six locomotives had been withdrawn before D.E. Marsh introduced his letter/number classification scheme, they were never officially allocated a new class designation. They were, however, described as ‘D3 class’. [2]
Locomotives designed by and built during the tenure of John Chester Craven between his appointment in 1847 and his retirement in January 1870. A full list of these locomotives can be found here. [3]
The ‘Jenny Lind’: The ‘Jenny Lind’ was built in 1847 after a relatively complicated gestation by E. B. Wilson and Company. [4] But it proved to be so successful that the design was used by Wilson & Co. as their standard design and more than seventy examples were built for various railways, including twenty-four for the Midland Railway. It could be said to be the first to be mass-produced to a consistent pattern. Indeed, the manufacturers charged a hefty premium for variations, although in response to pressure, they later built a number of “large jennies”. [4]
Other manufacturers and railways also adopted the type. John Chester Craven, Kirtley’s successor at Brighton, built a class of five similar “Jenny Lind singles” from 1853 to 1854. [4] An enlarged type was also built by Beyer, Peacock and Company in 1860 for the Portuguese South Western Railway. [4]
Class G: A prototype single locomotive, No. 151 Grosvenor, was designed by Stroudley and produced by Brighton railway works in December 1874. This was extensively tested before a second, scaled down locomotive No. 325 Abergavenny, was ordered in June 1876 and completed in January 1877. Both locomotives performed adequately, but Abergavenny was significantly less powerful than Grosvenor. A modified design was developed and twelve further locomotives were built between December 1880 and November 1881. The members of this class worked express trains between London and South Coast towns such as Portsmouth, Brighton and Eastbourne, and covered large mileages. The introduction of the Billinton B2 class made the singles redundant on the Portsmouth line and so several were transferred to Tunbridge Wells. … Withdrawals began in May 1907, and the last locomotive survived until May 1914. No examples have been preserved, but there is a model of No. 331 Fairlight in the museum at Sheffield Park on the Bluebell Railway. [5]
Very Early Locomotives of the LB&SCR: Wikipedia also provides a list of all the locomotives owned by the LB&SCR from its inception (1846) until 1849. [6] That list includes a significant number of locomotives built by a series of specialist locomotive builders including: Sharp, Roberts & Co.; Jones, Turner and Evans; G and J Rennie; Edward Bury & Co.; William Fairbairn; George Forrester & Co.; Sharp Brothers; R and W Hawthorn Ltd.; Jones & Potts; John George Bodmer; Timothy Hackworth; and Stothert & Slaughter. Many of these were built for companies which formed the LB&SCR in 1846 and were built as early as 1838.
The majority of the locomotives acquired were owned or ordered by one of the three constituent railways, but some had been ordered by the Joint Committee. After the Joint Committee’s dissolution, some locomotives were ordered by John Gray, the new locomotive superintendent, from Timothy Hackworth and delivered during 1847 and 1848. Others were purchased from Stothert & Slaughter between 1847 and 1849. After this date the railway’s new locomotives were designed and built by John Chester Craven, usually at Brighton railway works. [6]
A List of Locomotive of the LB&SCR in 1920: Tilling provides a detailed list, locomotive by locomotive, of locomotives in use by the LB&SCR in 1920 to complete his book. These tables can be found here.
References
- W.G. Tilling; The Locomotives of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway; Tilling, London, 1920.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LB%26SCR_Richmond_class, accessed on 13th June 2026.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Craven_locomotives, accessed on 13th June 2026.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Lind_locomotive, accessed on 13th June 2026.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LB%26SCR_G_class, accessed on 14th June 2026.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_early_locomotives_of_the_London_Brighton_and_South_Coast_Railway, accessed on 14th June 2026.
- https://rogerfarnworthsrailways.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/lbscr-locos-1920.pdf
Roger Farnworth 
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