LB&SCR E3

The LB&SCR E3 Class was a series of inside-cylinder 0-6-2 side-tank locomotives designed by Robert John Billinton and built at Brighton Works from 1894, designed for the heavier suburban passenger and goods work on the LBSCR's Sussex network. The 0-6-2T wheel arrangement — six coupled driving wheels and a trailing bogie — gave greater adhesion than the 0-4-4T suburban tanks for the heavier trains on some LBSCR suburban and goods routes, while the trailing bogie provided stability and supported the rear of the locomotive at moderate running speeds.

Billinton introduced the E3 Class as a more powerful complement to the suburban 0-4-4T fleet, suitable for the heavier stopping passenger trains on the busier LBSCR suburban routes and for the goods and mixed-traffic working that required more adhesion than the four-coupled types could provide. The E3 worked suburban services out of London Bridge and Victoria alongside the D3 and D4 tanks, taking on the heavier duties where the additional coupled axle was beneficial.

The E3 Class passed to the Southern Railway at the 1923 Grouping and continued on former-LBSCR secondary duties. None was preserved. The closely related E4 Class of 1897, which was a slight development of the E3, has one example preserved.