LB&SCR L class
Encyclopedia
The LB&SCR L Class was a class of 4-6-4
steam tank locomotive
s designed by L. B. Billinton
for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
. They were known as the "Brighton Baltics", Baltic being the European name for the 4-6-4
wheel arrangement
. Seven examples were built between April 1914 and April 1922 and they were used for express passenger services.
was undecided whether to enlarge the J1 and J2
4-6-2
tank locomotive
s designed by his predecessor D. E. Marsh
, or design an equivalent sized 4-6-0 tender locomotive
. Large tank locomotives were well-suited to the operating conditions of the railway with relatively short distances but very intensive use of the system, particularly in the vicinity of London. Billinton therefore placed an order for one 4-6-4 tank and one 4-6-0 tender locomotive from Brighton railway works
in November 1913. However, soon after the delivery of the first tank engine in April 1914 the order for the second was changed to another tank engine. The four trailing bogie
wheels were added to enable more fuel to be carried and to give additional stability when running bunker-first.
Once modified the first two locomotives proved to be most successful, but further deliveries were delayed by the onset of the First World War. Five more examples were built between October 1921 and April 1922. No. 333 Remembrance was the last new locomotive built by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
, before it became a part of the Southern Railway
on 1 January 1923. It was named in honour of the members of the railway killed in the war.
s were replaced by those of Richard Maunsell’s
design during the 1920s and 1930s, and the original LB&SCR numbers were increased by 2000. The seven members of the class were kept fully occupied on the main express services between London and Brighton
until the line was electrified in 1933. They were then transferred to Eastbourne
to work on London expresses in January 1933, but the planned electrification of that line looked set to make them redundant once again.
As the locomotives were still relatively new and performing well, Maunsell
decided to rebuild them for use on express trains on the Western section of Southern Railway
. Between December 1934 and February 1936 all seven members of the class were rebuilt as 4-6-0
tender locomotive
s, and given the new designation ‘’N15X’’. Six of the class were named after famous locomotive engineers but 2333 retained its original name.
The new class were based at Nine Elms
and were used on services to Bournemouth
and Southampton
but in their rebuilt state they did not perform as well as the existing King Arthur class
and so tended to be relegated to secondary services.
Between November 1941 and July 1943 the class was loaned to the Great Western Railway
for use on freight trains.
4-6-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...
steam tank locomotive
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
s designed by L. B. Billinton
L. B. Billinton
Lawson Boskovsky Billinton was the locomotive engineer of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway from 1912 for ten years until his retirement in 1922....
for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
. They were known as the "Brighton Baltics", Baltic being the European name for the 4-6-4
4-6-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...
wheel arrangement
Whyte notation
The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...
. Seven examples were built between April 1914 and April 1922 and they were used for express passenger services.
Background
By 1913 the LB&SCR was well supplied with modern passenger locomotives except for the heaviest express trains. L. B. BillintonL. B. Billinton
Lawson Boskovsky Billinton was the locomotive engineer of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway from 1912 for ten years until his retirement in 1922....
was undecided whether to enlarge the J1 and J2
LB&SCR J1 class
The LB&SCR J1 and J2 classes were 4-6-2 steam tank locomotives designed by D. E. Marsh for express passenger services on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway.-History:...
4-6-2
4-6-2
4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...
tank locomotive
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
s designed by his predecessor D. E. Marsh
D. E. Marsh
Douglas Earle Marsh was the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway from November 1904 until his early retirement on health grounds in July 1911.-Early career:...
, or design an equivalent sized 4-6-0 tender locomotive
Tender locomotive
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...
. Large tank locomotives were well-suited to the operating conditions of the railway with relatively short distances but very intensive use of the system, particularly in the vicinity of London. Billinton therefore placed an order for one 4-6-4 tank and one 4-6-0 tender locomotive from Brighton railway works
Brighton railway works
Brighton railway works was one of the earliest railway-owned locomotive repair works, founded in 1840 by the London and Brighton Railway in Brighton, England, and thus pre-dating the more famous railway works at Crewe, Doncaster and Swindon...
in November 1913. However, soon after the delivery of the first tank engine in April 1914 the order for the second was changed to another tank engine. The four trailing bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
wheels were added to enable more fuel to be carried and to give additional stability when running bunker-first.
Modification and further deliveries
Soon after the first two examples were introduced into traffic the class was found to be unstable at high speed and prone to derailment, due to water surging in the large side tanks. As a result the two locomotives were soon rebuilt to provide a large well tank between the axles, and to blank off the upper portion of the side tanks. This had the effect of lowering the centre of gravity of the locomotive.Once modified the first two locomotives proved to be most successful, but further deliveries were delayed by the onset of the First World War. Five more examples were built between October 1921 and April 1922. No. 333 Remembrance was the last new locomotive built by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...
, before it became a part of the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
on 1 January 1923. It was named in honour of the members of the railway killed in the war.
Post grouping
The original Robinson superheaterSuperheater
A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...
s were replaced by those of Richard Maunsell’s
Richard Maunsell
Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell held the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1913 until the 1923 Grouping and then the post of CME of the Southern Railway in England until 1937....
design during the 1920s and 1930s, and the original LB&SCR numbers were increased by 2000. The seven members of the class were kept fully occupied on the main express services between London and Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
until the line was electrified in 1933. They were then transferred to Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
to work on London expresses in January 1933, but the planned electrification of that line looked set to make them redundant once again.
N15X Class
For details of the class in their rebuilt form see SR N15X classAs the locomotives were still relatively new and performing well, Maunsell
Richard Maunsell
Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell held the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1913 until the 1923 Grouping and then the post of CME of the Southern Railway in England until 1937....
decided to rebuild them for use on express trains on the Western section of Southern Railway
Southern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
. Between December 1934 and February 1936 all seven members of the class were rebuilt as 4-6-0
4-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...
tender locomotive
Tender locomotive
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...
s, and given the new designation ‘’N15X’’. Six of the class were named after famous locomotive engineers but 2333 retained its original name.
The new class were based at Nine Elms
Nine Elms
Nine Elms is a suburb of London, situated in the far north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Wandsworth between Battersea and Vauxhall.It is primarily an industrial area, dominated by Battersea Power Station, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, railway lines, a major Royal Mail sorting office and...
and were used on services to Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
but in their rebuilt state they did not perform as well as the existing King Arthur class
LSWR N15 Class
The LSWR N15 class was a British 2–cylinder 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive designed by Robert W. Urie. The class has a complex build history spanning three sub-classes and eight years of construction from 1919 to 1926...
and so tended to be relegated to secondary services.
Between November 1941 and July 1943 the class was loaned to the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
for use on freight trains.
British Railways
All seven N15X ocomotives entered British Railways stock on 1st January 1948 and continued to used on secondary services until the mid 1950s. The first withdrawal took place in January 1955, and the last in July 1957. No examples have been preserved.Locomotive summary
| LB&SCR No. | S.R. No. | B.R. No. | LBSC Name | Date Built | Date Rebuilt | SR Name | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 327 | 2327 | 32327 | Charles C Macrae | Trevithick Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive... |
|||
| 328 | 2328 | 32328 | — | Hackworth Timothy Hackworth Timothy Hackworth was a steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.- Youth and early work :... |
|||
| 329 | 2329 | 32329 | Stephenson | Stephenson | |||
| 330 | 2330 | 32330 | — | Cudworth | |||
| 331 | 2331 | 32331 | — | Beattie | |||
| 332 | 2332 | 32332 | — | Stroudley William Stroudley William Stroudley was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers of the nineteenth century, working principally for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway... |
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| 333 | 2333 | 32333 | Remembrance War memorial locomotive A war memorial locomotive is a locomotive dedicated as a war memorial and usually given an appropriate name. The following examples come from Britain and the First World War:... |
Remembrance | |||