The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) B2 class was a class of small 4-4-0 steam locomotives intended for express passenger work on the LB&SCR London to Portsmouth line. They were designed by R. J. Billinton and built at Brighton works from 1895 to 1897. They proved to be reliable locomotives but barely adequate for the heaviest trains and acquired the nickname Grasshoppers. As a result the B3 class was developed from the B2, and the B2X class was later rebuilt from these locomotives with larger boilers.

LB&SCR B2, B2X and B3 classes
B3 class No. 213 Bessemer as built
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerR. J. Billinton
BuilderBrighton Works
Build date1895–1898
Total produced25
Rebuild date1907–1916
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte4-4-0
 • UIC2'Bn
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Leading dia.3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Driver dia.6 ft 9 in (2.057 m)
Total weightB2: 76 long tons 156 cwt (85.1 t)
B3: 78 long tons 4 cwt (79.5 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Boiler pressure160 psi (11.03 bar; 1.10 MPa)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effortB2 14,144 lbf (62.9 kN)
B2X 15,028 lbf (66.8 kN)
Career
ClassB2, B3, B2x
Withdrawn1929–1933
DispositionAll Scrapped

History

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When R. J. Billinton took over as chief mechanical engineer of the LB&SCR in 1890, following the sudden death of William Stroudley, the London to Brighton trains were adequately served by Stroudley's Gladstone class but the lighter Portsmouth expresses were beginning to struggle behind his G class singles. Billinton therefore designed a small 4-4-0, specifically for these services. However, during the course of 1892-1893 the London-to-Brighton trains began to increase in weight, and the board of governors of the railway agreed to invest money in larger turntables and so Billinton was able to enlarge his design further to make them more generally useful.[1]

Three locomotives appeared in 1895, with a further eight in 1896 and fourteen in 1897. They were named after famous politicians, bankers and railway engineers. The new design was clearly influenced by the locomotives of Samuel Waite Johnson on the Midland Railway, for whom Billinton had previously worked, and were the first LB&SCR locomotives to have leading bogie wheels. It incorporated Billinton's C2 class boiler. They proved to be adequate for the lightly loaded Portsmouth express trains but barely so for heavier trains. They also tended to ride unevenly and consequently acquired the nickname of grasshoppers by their crews.

B3 and B2X classes

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As a result of the complaints about the use of the class on the Brighton line, Billinton fitted the last locomotive in the class No. 213 Bessemer, with a larger boiler when new, which thereafter became known as the B3 class. This caused a slight improvement in performance but not one significant enough to alter the entire class at that time. However, once the original boilers were worn out, it became more of an economic proposition to do so. Thus between October 1907 and 1910, Billinton's successor Douglas Earle Marsh rebuilt the entire class (including 213 Bessemer) with the improved boiler used on his C3 class, thereby creating the B2X class.

The rebuilt locomotives were a significant improvement in both looks and performance and were used on the heaviest expresses to Portsmouth and Hastings and semi-fast trains on the Brighton line.

Post-grouping

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All 25 locomotives were still in regular use in December 1922, at the grouping of the railways of southern England to form the Southern Railway. The class continued to find useful work on secondary passenger services between London and the south coast until 1929, when the impending electrification of the Brighton line began to make them redundant. They were thus all withdrawn between June 1929 and March 1933, and none have survived in preservation.

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 9 July 1928, B2X locomotive No. B210 was in a sidelong collision with an electric multiple unit at London Bridge due to the driver misreading signals. Two people were killed and nine were injured, six seriously.[2]

Locomotive summary

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LB&SCR no. Build date Rebuilt B2x LBSCR name Renamed/date SR no. Date withdrawn
171 June 1897 August 1910 Nevill - 2171 May 1931
201 January 1897 January 1909 Rosebery - 2201 1930
202 February 1897 1909 Trevithick - 2202 September 1931
203 March 1897 February 1909 Henry Fletcher - 2203 October 1930
204 March 1897 March 1911 Telford - 2204 July 1929
205 April 1897 March 1910 Hackworth - 2205 November 1931
206 April 1897 January 1909 Smeaton - 2206 March 1933
207 June 1897 July 1909 Brunel - 2207 October 1931
208 August 1897 January 1911 Abercorn - 2208 June 1929
209 September 1897 April 1913 Wolfe Barry - 2209 September 1930
210 October 1897 February 1909 Fairbairn - 2210 July 1931
211 November 1897 June 1910 Whitworth - 2211 October 1930
212 January 1898 February 1910 Armstrong - 2212 July 1930
213 January 1898 November 1908 Bessemer - 2213 April 1932
314 June 1895 April 1911 Charles C. Macrae - 2314 April 1930
315 June 1895 March 1909 Duncannon J. Gay 2315 April 1933
316 June 1895 July 1916 Goldsmid - 2316 1930
317 June 1896 October 1908 Gerald Loder - 2317 June 1929
318 June 1896 July 1910 Rothschild - 2318 July 1930
319 September 1896 June 1914 John Fowler Leconfield 2319 April 1930
320 September 1896 July 1910 Rastrick - 2320 1932
321 September 1896 October 1907 John Rennie - 2321 September 1930
322 September 1896 September 1908 G.P. Bidder - 2322 June 1931
323 December 1896 September 1908 William Cubitt - 2323 November 1932
324 January 1897 May 1913 John Hawkshaw - 2324 1932

References

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  1. ^ Bradley, D.L. (1972). The locomotives of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway: Part 2. The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. p. 109. ISBN 0-901115-21-5.
  2. ^ Moody, G. T. (1979) [1957]. Southern Electric 1909-1979 (Fifth ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. p. 37. ISBN 0-7110-0924-4.