THE RAILWAY MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 1945

By A. B. MACLEOD

It was not until 1853 that any protection for the engine crew was considered necessary on the locomotives of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway, and a small vertical weatherboard with two glass circular windows was provided on four small 2-2-2 tender engines which John Chester Craven, the company's Locomotive Superintendent, built at Brighton in that year; they were numbered 10, 23, 38, and 41.

This feature, though protecting the driver and fireman from the wind, did not prevent the steam beating down from the safety valves when blowing off took place. Consequently, in the engines built from 2-2-2 tender express engines Nos. 172 and 1855, Craven raised the weatherboard and carried the top over in a curve to deflect the steam over the heads of the engine crew. This improvement was first introduced on the two 0-6-0 double-framed tender engines Nos. 118 and 119 built in that year.

A further improvement took place when the two small singles (2-2-2 tender) Nos. 137 and 138 made their appearance in 1859, and in this instance the weather board was turned over at the top and carried back the full length of the cab and supported on two iron pillars, thus also protecting the enginemen from vertical  rain. This arrangement appears to have been unsuccessful and too costly, as subsequent new engines had only the weatherboards slightly turned over at the top, as shown on the 2-4-0 No. 189. In some instances the turnover was also omitted, but this was usually in the case of tank engines.

In 1864, Craven evidently tried a further experiment in improving the protection of the men, as he fitted his 2-2-2 tender express engines Nos. 172 and 173 (built in 1864) with a real cab roof which extended over the weatherboard at the front and right over the back end of the frames supported on two pillars, and in this instance the roof was curved as in present-day practice. Even then he cannot have been satisfied with this modification, as in further new engines the separate roof disappeared and the old curved top weatherboard made its reappearance.

On a branch line tank engine, No. 27 of the 0-4-0 saddle-tank type, built in 1868, a long cab roof similar to those fitted to singles No. 172 and 173 already mentioned was provided, supported on four pillars, but in this case there were no weatherboards. In the same year six double-framed 0-6-0 tender engines, Nos. 249-254, made their appearance at Brighton; they were built to Craven's designs by the Avonside Engine Works, Bristol. The cabs on these engines appear to have been the first attempt, to give some slight side protection,

as the weatherboard was not only curved over the top, but also had narrow sides see 0-6-0 No. 253.

It was not until William Stroudley went to Brighton and took charge of the Locomotive Department that the cab question was tackled seriously. When his first two 0-6-0 goods tender engines, Nos. 84 and 85, were turned out in 1871, it was seen that a cab with side and roof protection had at last been provided, as shown in the view of 0-6-0 No. 96, a development of this class. He then set about rebuilding many of the old 2-2-2 and 2-4-0 tender engines of his predecessor, and in many instances fitted his improved cab. A series of 12 handsome 2-2-2 express engines had been built by

Robert Stephenson & Company of New castle in 1864 to Craven's order (Nos. 194-205), and soon after taking over at Brighton Stroudley rebuilt No. 203 with a new boiler and cab ın 1871, when the engine was named Sussex. An illustration (Fig. 4) shows this engine in the rebuilt condition, and Fig. 5 one of the class (No.195) before rebuilding.

It is interesting note that Stroudley had already used this type of cab on the two Highland Railway 2-4-0 tender engines which he had rebuilt from old single-wheelers of Inverness

& Nairn Railway origin (Raigmore and Aldourie) in 1869. The only difference was that on the H.R. the Stroudley cab was fitted with rectangular fixed cab windows. The crews of tank engines had so far received little protection from the elements, but Stroudley in his second tank engine design fitted a roof and partly filled in the sides of his cab.

These were the famous "Terrier" or "A" Class 0-6-0 tank engines of 1872). This shape of cab already had been tried successfully on his 0-6-0 tank engine No. 56 Balnain which he had built for the Highland Railway in 1869.

Though this arrangement was a vast improvement on what had gone before, the engine crew were still very conscious of a side wind round their legs, and it was not until 1892 that R.J. Billinton rectified this, when he built his "D3" Class 0-4-4 bogie tank engine Nos. 363-398, and provided them with waist-high close-fitting cab doors. He also fitted hinged circular cab windows which Turning once more to the tender could be opened for cleaning, and did not necessitate enginemen leaving the cab. It should be mentioned that the roomier cabs fitted to these engines undoubtedly had been influenced by Stroudley's L.B.S.C.R. design for an 0-6-2 tank class, the first engine of which, No. 158 West Brighton, was completed by his successor in 1891.

From 1892 right up to Grouping in 1923 the new tank engines on the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway were provided with these doors, and from the inception of Earle Marsh's 4-4-2 tank engines of 1907, wooden tip-up seats have also been fitted for the comfort of drivers and firemen. In fact, rather too much protection may have been given, as the radiated heat from condensation on the cab roof during the summer months became a definite draw- back, and, although the cab roof tops had been painted white since Stroudley's time, this was not sufficient, and in consequence.

Earle Marsh fitted the majority of his 4-4-2 tank engines with roof ventilators. After L. B. Billinton took over at Brighton, he cut a row of holes in the front and back weatherboards close to the roof, which gave adequate ventilation and allowed sufficient air to enter to cool cab doors.

Turning once more to the tender engines, we find that, though the Stroudley cabs were a great improvement, the side protection was not adequate, and in R. J. Billinton's final 4-4-0 design (" B.4 " Class Nos. 42-74) of 1899 he provided safety doors between tender and engine. Even then the rain still beat into the cab when the locomotive was travelling tender first, so that,

beginning with Marsh's rebuilds of the R. J. Billinton 4-4-0s and 0-6:0s of the "B.2 " and "C.2" classes, he extended the cab roof further towards the tender, and this feature was carried on by L. B. Billinton on his 2-6-0 "K" Class, Nos. 337-353, and rebuilds of several of his father's 4-4-0 express engines (" B4/X " Class). As these were the last tender engines rebuilt at Brighton, this completes our brief survey of the development of the driver's cab on the

London, Brighton & South Coast Railway.