LB&SCR H2 class
H2 32421 'South Foreland', at Farnborough 8 July 1950
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer D. E. Marsh/L. B. Billinton Builder Brighton Works Build date 1911–1912 Total produced 6
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-4-2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Leading dia. 3 ft 6 in (1.067 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 7+1⁄2 in (2.019 m) Loco weight 69 long tons 5 cwt (155,100 lb or 70.4 t) (77.6 short tons) Fuel type Coal Boiler pressure 170 psi (1.17 MPa) 200 psi (1.38 MPa) (1938) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 21 in × 26 in (533 mm × 660 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 20,840 lbf (92.7 kN) 24,518 lbf (109.1 kN) (1938)
Career Operators London Brighton and South Coast Railway Southern Railway British Railways Class H2 Power class BR: 4P Withdrawn 1949, 1956–1958 Disposition All original locomotives scrapped, replica under construction

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway H2 class was a class of 4-4-2 steam locomotives for express passenger work. They were designed when D. E. Marsh was officially Locomotive Superintendent, and were built at Brighton Works in 1911 and 1912. As Marsh had worked on the Great Northern Railway as Chief Assistant to Henry Ivatt, the design closely followed that of the GNR_Class_C1_(large_boiler).

Background

In 1911, D. E. Marsh was on leave of absence due to sickness, and his assistant Lawson Billinton was granted authority to construct a further six 4-4-2 'Atlantic' locomotives similar to the Marsh H1 class but incorporating the Schmidt superheater.

Construction and use

The new H2 class locomotives built by Brighton railway works and introduced between June 1911 and January 1912. They were an immediate success and shared with the H1 class the London to Brighton express trains including the heavily loaded Pullman services the Brighton Limited, and the Southern Belle, which the LB&SCR described as "the most luxurious train in the World".

As with the non-superheated class they were gradually replaced on the London-Brighton express trains in 1925/6 by the "King Arthur" and "River" classes, but there was still plenty of work for them on other express services, including boat trains connecting with the Newhaven-Dieppe ferry service. At the same time they were all named after geographical features of the south coast.

Oliver Bulleid, familiar with the class from his time at the LNER, increased the boiler pressure of the H2 class from 170 psi to 200 psi starting in 1938 to match the H1.^[1]

Following the cessation of the cross-channel ferries after 1940, as a result of the Second World War, the class were left with little work to do and several were put into store or else moved to miscellaneous duties in southern England. The H2 class however returned to the boat trains after the end of the war and continued until the mid-1950s.

Withdrawal

One member of the class was withdrawn in 1949, but the remainder continued in regular use until 1956. No. 32424 "Beachy Head" was the last survivor, it was withdrawn in April 1958 and none were preserved.

Preservation

Beachy Head replica, under construction

LB&SCR H2 Atlantic No. 32424 "Beachy Head" replica under construction

No examples of the H2 class were preserved, but on 29 October 2000 the Bluebell Railway announced its intention to reconstruct a replica of SR/BR period Beachy Head. At the time of writing many surviving locomotive parts had been assembled including an ex-GNR 'Atlantic' boiler, and an ex-LB&SCR B4 class tender chassis.^[2] The boiler was tested around August 2018.

Models

Bachmann Branchline are producing an OO scale model of the class in three variations.

31-920 H2 Class Atlantic 4-4-2 No. 2421 South Foreland^[3] in Southern Railway olive green livery; 31-921A No. 32425 Trevose Head in BR black livery with early emblem.^[4] and 31-922 No. 422 in LB&SCR Lined Umber.^[5]

Locomotive Summary

H2 class fleet summary

LB&SC Number	Built	S.R. Number	Name	B.R. Number	Withdrawal	Image
421	June 1911	2421	South Foreland	32421	August 1956
422	July 1911	2422	North Foreland	32422	September 1956
423	September 1911	2423	The Needles	32423	May 1949
424	September 1911	2424	Beachy Head	32424	April 1958
425	December 1911	2425	Trevose Head	32425	September 1956
426	January 1912	2426	St. Alban's Head	32426	August 1956

Sources

External links

• -A Rail UK database, H2
• View of no. 32424 Beachy Head on a LCGB "Southern Counties Limited" special on 24 February 1957