When William Stroudley took up his duties as Locomotive Superintendent at the LB&SCR's Brighton railway works in 1870, he found that some locomotive components had been ordered by his predecessor, John Chester Craven. These included six sets of frames for some 2-4-0 passenger locomotives designed by Craven, and Stroudley produced a new class of that arrangement to use these frames.[1][2]
The locomotives in this class were very similar to two 2-4-0 locomotives constructed at Cowlairs railway works for the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in the early 1860s, when Stroudley was the works manager and contained many features of his later designs.[2]
Four Belgravia locomotives were constructed at Brighton in 1872, two of which were rebuilds of earlier 2-2-2 locomotives built for the LB&SCR by Robert Stephenson and Company and Brighton works.[2] The necessity to use components designed by Craven meant that the locomotives had a number of design features, such as the double frames and the 2-4-0 wheel arrangement, which were not found with Stroudley's later designs, and were the heaviest 2-4-0 locomotives of their time.[3] Two further examples later appeared, one each in 1875 and 1876, these having detail differences from the first four.[4] At first the class suffered from poor steaming,[4] but once this was rectified they went on to give reliable service on secondary passenger trains[5] as well as hauling the "business" expresses between Brighton and London Bridge until about 1881.[3]
Under Stroudley's locomotive classification scheme, the Belgravia class, being "Main Line Express" engines, were included in Class B, along with most of his 0-4-2 locomotives, and one of his 2-2-2s.[6] By the time that Class B was subdivided into B1, B2, etc. by D. E. Marsh, none of the Belgravia class remained in service.[7]
Numbering
The two rebuilds were No. 204 Westminster and No. 205 Kensington.[8] The two new engines of 1872 were No. 202 Goodwood and No. 201 Belgravia.[9] The 1875 loco was No. 206 Carisbrooke, and the 1876 loco was No. 207 Freshwater.[9] In 1897, the numbers were increased by 300; Nos. 501 and 504 were withdrawn in February 1899, but the other four had their numbers increased by a further 100 later the same year. Nos. 605–7 were withdrawn in 1901, leaving No. 602 which was withdrawn in 1902.[2] No examples have been preserved.[10]
