The Wandsworth (Basin) to Croydon (Pitlake Mead) via Tooting Mitcham section was opened on 26th July 1803. There was a a branch of at Mitcham going to Hackbridge and Carlshalton, there was also several sidings on the line to severe the various mineral to mills and works.
The Croydon - Merstham - Godstone via Purley and Coulsdon was opened on the 24th July 1805. The line never arrived at Goldstone.  

It was a public toll railway, providing a track for independent hauliers to use their own horses and wagons. The wagons were pulled by mules walking between the tracks with average speed of about 2-3 m.p.h.

Painting (1823) of a Croydon, Merstham  & Godstone Railway 

crossing over the Chipstead Valley Road at Coulsdon 

THE FIRST LOCOMOTIVES ON

THE LONDON & BRIGHTON RAILWAY

(1837 - 1846)

The first locomotives on the London & Brighton Railway commenced in August 1838, when 
the directors met and decided to hasten up the construction by the use of steam power. The 
first locomotive was appropriately named 'Brighton (1)’ (2-2-2) which travelled south from 
the makers over the London & Birmingham Railway and reached Camden on the 8th January 1839. From Camden, horses hauled it by road to Shoreham, where it was employed on the construction of the Brighton to Shoreham railway line. The second locomotive was named 'Shoreham (2)’ (0-4-2), and reached Camden on the 6th April, 1839, and later it travelled by road onto Shoreham, where it too was used to for construction of the line. 
Three more locomotives (2-2-2) built by Sharp, Roberts & Co., were delivered ‘Merstham 
(3),’ which was delivered on the 11th July, 1839, to Merstham, this was followed by 
‘Coulsdon (4)’ August 1839, these locomotives were used in the construction of the line from London to Brighton. The third locomotive ‘Kingston (5)' was delivered in November 1839, to Worth which is about four miles north of the then uncompleted Balcombe Tunnel and the headquarters of the contractors. 

A further two locomotives were delivered, the first being ‘Eagle (6)’ which was held back for the opening of the line, and the second was 'Vulture (7)’ which was delivered on the 21st May 1840 and worked on the main line north of Brighton. One more locomotive was acquired for ‘train engines' and arrived in July 1840, this locomotive was named ‘*Venus (8)'.
During 1841 more locomotives were built at the locomotive works of Sharp & Roberts (12), 
Rennie (1) , Fairbairn (4), Bury (6) and George Forrester (3). These locomotive along with 
the original eight locomotives made up a total of thirty-four locomotives. The first six
 locomotives to arrive from the Sharp & Roberts works all carried the names only and were 
called ‘Jupiter,' "Mars,’ ‘ Saturn,’ ‘ Mercury,’ 'Orion’ & 'Sirius,' as their preceding locomotives did. It was not until sometime in mid 1841, that the London & Brighton Railway locomotives were given numbers as well as names, with the first record of numbers to be given was at the inquiry into the Copyhold Cutting accident of  October, 1841 involving a Fairbairns, locomotive No.22 & a Bury locomotive No.17.
The new Rennie locomotive ‘Satellite,' was described in the Railway Magazine of 25th 
December, 1841: 

The ‘Satellite’ Locomotive: We were on Wednesday invited to a private view of an engine, 
which has been constructed by Messrs. Rennie for the the Brighton. It is a six-wheeled engine to be worked expansively, and is named 'Satellite,’ for climbing inclines and for starting, it has hoppers, which by a lever can be made to convey dry sand to the driving wheels, thereby giving them more adhesion on the rails. As a piece of workmanship, ‘Satellite’ is the finest locomotive which has ever been turned out of a London workshop.

Between 1837 to 1847, locomotives had a dark green livery, with or without black bands. This was in general use during the London & Brighton Railway days, although some engines ran in other liveries. For instance the Bury goods locomotives entered traffic painted Indian Red. 

The locomotives on the London & Croydon Railway were painted in a Sea Green with a 
black lining with the exception of their locomotive “Hercules” which was painted in a Pale 
Chocolate. In 1846 the L.B.S.C.R. was painting their locomotives a Dark Bottle Green for the passenger locomotives, whilst their goods locomotives were painted black unless they were regularly employed within sight of passenger platforms at Brighton or London Bridge. The driver was responsible for seeing that his locomotive was smartly turned out daily before commencing work. All the bars other metal work must be brightly burnished. Apparently this green varied in hue, it being found acceptable if well applied and tastefully lined out. Some engines carried brass numerals on the chimney fronts, while others had painted figures on the buffer beams. There was a similar lack of uniformly regarding other numerals, in some cases they were painted on the footplate side-sheets and in others on the sides of the boiler barrels.

* Mars exploded in Brighton on the 17th March 1853 

The London & Brighton open a motive depot in here in 1838 and closed in 1840 and was used as a goods shed.

New Cross (1839 - 1949) 

The London & Croydon Railway opened a motive power depot and a locomotive repair 
facility here on 1st June 1839, the former of which appears to have been particularly accident prone. The original building, one of the earliest roundhouse (Octagonal), burned down on the 14th October 1844 (SEE SUB PAGE 1844). A replacement was built in 1845, and a straight shed built by the L.B.&S.C.R. in 1848 was blown down in a gale in October 1863. Two further buildings were constructed by the L.B.&S.C.R. in 1863 and 1869. By 1882 the second (1845) Croydon shed was derelict and in that year was replaced by the new shed, which was rebuilt with a new roof by the Southern Railway prior to 1929.
The various running sheds began to be run down during the 1930s as part of a re-organisation 
scheme involving new developments at Norwood Junction, but the onset of war meant that 
they were not formally closed until 1947 and were used for stabling locomotive until 1951. 
They were demolished in 1957 together with the repair workshops, and replaced by sidings 
for the storage of electric multiple units.
The locomotive workshops established by the London & Croydon Railway  continued to 
undertake minor repairs on locomotives in the London area for the L.B.& S.C.R. and the 
S.R., and also briefly for British Railway. They were closed in 1949 and demolished in 
1958/59

THE PIONEERING ENGINEMEN OF BRIGHTON

The first record of the depot establishment at Brighton Locomotive shed comes from the London Brighton and the L. B. S. C. R. records of employees which show that in 1851, there was 46 Enginemen, Fireman and Cleaners were employed there. These records also show that only 30% were Sussex-born, while over half came from distant parts of the country. 
An Engiineman was a very skilled job and so when a new line was opened during the early years of the railway building era, Enginemen were sometimes enticed from existing 
companies. 

The London & Brighton Railway acquired its first drivers in this way, only later training other men to join them. Engine drivers and firemen were required to be reliable and have stamina and aptitude rather than formal education.

The system by the 1850s a chain of recruitment had been established which involved an 
untrained recruit, usually in his teens, starting as an engine cleaner at pay 10-12s. a week. 
Then promotion to a fireman on a wage of 3s. 6d. a day (21s. per week, assuming six-day 
working). After another five years or so, a fireman might be with eventual promotion to driver at 5s. to 8s. per day depending on Seniority (30s. to 48s. per week assuming six-day working).

The London & Brighton Railway acquired a large number of its earliest Enginemen in this way, by offering very good wages for a working-class man at that time, although the long hours (10 to 12 per day) and heavy responsibilities were a drawback. 
Senior engine drivers were thus well paid and highly respected employees. 

The surname “Jackson” is quite common and there appear to be a number who worked for the L.B.& S.C.R.  including these early years making research more difficult – especially when contemporary press reports often do not quote a Christian name.

The Brian Jackson family  history includes James Jackson, his great-grand uncle, born in Little Woolton (family later moving to Roby) in Lancashire in 1814;  Roby was a station on the original Liverpool and Manchester Railway.  The Jackson Family history records that he came south with the first engine for the London & Brighton Railway bringing it down to Camden and latterly being employed on the engine for the construction of the line and then the first train to Shoreham on the opening day.  

It appears that he lived in Southwick and was married in Southwick in 1840 (the marriage certificate records his occupation as “Engineer”) where his son was born. He later moved to Brighton.   

Family history does refer to him working for the London & Birmingham Railway but we have no further details.  He was certainly involved in the Copyhold incident in 1841 plus some others, and was a passenger on one of the trains involved in the Clayton Tunnel disaster rescuing a number of passengers.  

It is thought he may have been apprenticed to one of the early Lancashire loco builders but it is not clear which.  Jones, Turner and Evans, however, were located at the Viaduct Works at Newton-le-Willows which was alongside the Liverpool & Manchester Railway line so could be a possibility.  

Although there has been some debate in the early loco histories of the L.B.& S.C.R., it now seems to be accepted that the first two London & Brighton Railway locos, “Brighton” and “Shoreham” were built by Jones Turner and Evans. 

So there is a possible link.  James Jackson did not remain in the employ of the London & Brighton Railway for that long and established his own engineering business in the London Road/Ann Street/Providence Place area of Brighton. 

His obituary in 1874 (he was killed by a falling boiler being installed in a Horsham brewery) confirms him to have been the driver of the first train to Shoreham ( Hastings and St Leonards Observer - Saturday 14 June 1873)  This also refers to his involvement in the rescue of victims of the Clayton Tunnel crash.I think it is evident that the Census were not always consistent in the recording of professions / jobs and in the early days, maybe “Engineer” and “engine driver” where not consistently stated.