LB&SCR B1 Gladstone
The LB&SCR B1 Class Gladstone was a series of 0-4-2 express passenger locomotives designed by William Stroudley, Locomotive Superintendent of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway from 1870 to 1889, and introduced in 1882 as the LBSCR's principal express type for the London Victoria–Brighton main line and the connected express services to Eastbourne, Worthing, and other Sussex coast destinations. The B1 Class became the most celebrated of Stroudley's designs and one of the most admired express locomotive classes of the Victorian era.
Stroudley named the lead locomotive of the class Gladstone after William Ewart Gladstone, then serving his second term as Prime Minister, and the locomotive became by extension the name for the entire class. The 0-4-2 wheel arrangement was unusual for express work by 1882 — the 4-4-0 was becoming the standard British express configuration — but Stroudley specified it for the LBSCR with characteristic confidence, arguing that the 6 ft 6 in coupled driving wheels gave all the adhesion required for the relatively level Brighton main line, and that the trailing axle provided adequate support for the firebox without the complication of a leading bogie.
In service the Gladstones were among the fastest and most reliable express locomotives in Britain in the 1880s and early 1890s. They worked the principal London–Brighton expresses — then among the most prestigious trains in the country — and the seaside expresses to the Sussex coast. Stroudley's characteristic Improved Engine Green livery (the distinctive yellow ochre that he applied to all his LBSCR passenger locomotives) gave the Gladstones a striking appearance that earned them widespread admiration from the railway press and the travelling public.
The lead locomotive, Gladstone itself, was preserved by the Stephenson Locomotive Society in 1927 and is now at the National Railway Museum in York, making it one of the oldest surviving British express locomotives.
Design and development
Stroudley's 1882 express design rejected the prevailing British move towards 4-4-0s in favour of an unusual 0-4-2 layout: a single trailing axle behind the firebox supporting a small parallel boiler, with two coupled axles at the front and inside cylinders driving the leading axle (an arrangement uncommon in British practice). The layout was extremely successful for the LBSCR's relatively easy gradients, and the Gladstones were both fast and economical.
Service and withdrawals
The Gladstones worked LBSCR Brighton expresses from 1882 until progressively superseded by Marsh's 4-4-2s and Atlantics from 1905 onwards. The class survived in secondary service into the 1930s. The prototype, Gladstone, was withdrawn in 1927 and saved by the Stephenson Locomotive Society — the first British preservation purchase by a society — and is now on permanent display at the NRM York, finished in Stroudley's Improved Engine Green.
Identification features
Distinctive 0-4-2 layout with two coupled axles at the front and a trailing carrying axle behind the firebox; inside cylinders driving the front axle (unusual); polished brass dome, polished brass safety-valve casing, polished copper-capped chimney, and Stroudley's elaborate yellow livery with red, black and green lining.
Numbers and names
Named locomotives (outside the listed ranges)
- 214 — Gladstone
36 locomotives, all named. No. 214 Gladstone preserved at NRM York.
Notable locomotives
- 214 Gladstone (1882, National Railway Museum)
Allocations and regions
Brighton Works and Brighton depot for London Victoria–Brighton main-line express working; also New Cross Gate for some Victoria workings.
