LBSCR Stroudley Belgravia Class

The LBSCR Stroudley Belgravia Class was a series of 2-4-0 express passenger locomotives designed by William Stroudley, who served briefly as Locomotive Superintendent of the Highland Railway before moving to the LBSCR in 1870, and built during his early years at Brighton Works. Named after London districts and notable estates in Stroudley's characteristic style, the Belgravia Class was one of his earliest LBSCR express designs, predating the more celebrated Gladstone 0-4-2 and representing his transitional work as he established his design philosophy at Brighton.

Stroudley took over an LBSCR locomotive department that was in disarray after Craven's unstandardised approach, and his early years at Brighton were spent both standardising maintenance practice and introducing his own locomotive designs. The Belgravia Class 2-4-0 was one of his first attempts to give the LBSCR a capable express type, using the 2-4-0 wheel arrangement with two coupled axles for better adhesion than the single-driver while retaining adequate speed for express working on the Brighton line.

The Belgravia Class gave reliable service through the 1870s before being superseded by Stroudley's own B1 Gladstone 0-4-2 from 1882. None was preserved.