LB&SCR B2 class

LB&SCR B2, B2X and B3 classes

B3 class No. 213 Bessemer as built

Type and origin Power type Steam Designer R. J. Billinton Builder Brighton Works Build date 1895–1898 Total produced 25 Rebuild date 1907–1916

Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-4-0  • UIC 2'Bn Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 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 weight B2: 76 long tons 156 cwt (85.1 t) B3: 78 long tons 4 cwt (79.5 t) Fuel type Coal Boiler pressure 160 psi (11.03 bar; 1.10 MPa) Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm)

Performance figures Tractive effort B214,144 lbf (62.9 kN) B2X 15,028 lbf (66.8 kN)

Career Class B2, B3, B2x Withdrawn 1929–1933 Disposition All Scrapped

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.

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.

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 W. 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.