R.J.Billinton LBSCR E6/E6x Class

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E6 Class is a class of 0-6-2T side tank steam locomotive designed by Robert Billinton. They were introduced in 1904 and were a development of the E5 class with smaller driving wheels and tapered chimney, intended for heavy short and medium-distance freight trains.
RJ Billinton's class E6 0-6-2 radial tank engine was introduced just before the first engine left Brighton Works, the month after his death on 7 November 1904. Very similar to his E5 class, they differed in having the steamchest under the cylinders, which were increased from 17½ ins to 18 ins in diameter and were fitted with outside brake rods. The intention was to build the last two locomotives as 0-8-0 tanks for use at Willow Walk and Brighton Lower Yard but this plan was changed, most probably due to opposition from the Civil Engineer! Nº414 Piccadilly saw the end of the habit of naming Brighton locomotives, from 415 onwards they just carried numbers with a few exceptions, such as H1 Atlantic La France.
The E3 class radial tanks were useful on all but the heaviest freight trains in congested the London area, which required rapid acceleration from signals in order to avoid holding up other traffic. Robert Billinton therefore produced a version of his successful E5 passenger tank class with smaller 4 ft 6 in (1.372 m) driving wheels for this purpose. Twelve locomotives were built by Brighton Works between December 1904 and December 1905. The last two locomotives were originally intended to be built as 0-8-0s for heavy shunting purposes but Billinton died in November 1904 before any were built and the order was subsequently changed by his successor D. E. Marsh.
The E6s were successful goods locomotives, but in 1911 407 and 411 were rebuilt with the larger C3 class boiler and a C2X class smokebox, the latter sitting on a saddle, and were re-classified E6X in line with standard Brighton practice. These two locomotives proved to be very powerful, but used significantly more fuel and no more examples were rebuilt. All survived to see British Railways service, having spent their long careers shunting and working local goods traffic.
All of the class survived the transfer to Southern Railway ownership in 1923, and British Railways ownership in 1948. Withdrawal commenced in September 1957 and was completed by December 1962.
British Railways (BR) numbers were 32407-32418. The E6X locomotives were 32407 and 32411.
The engines retained their original form to the end, even to the Billinton tapered chimney.
The first loco withdrawn was 32412 in September 1957 from Bricklayers Arms shed.
The last three locos withdrawn were 32408, 32417 and 32418 in December 1962 from Eastleigh and Brighton (2) sheds respectively.
No examples have been preserved


32409

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LB&SCR R.J. Billinton E6 Class 0-6-2T - Railway-Photography
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railway photographs from the last 100 years



32408 Bricklayers Arms shed February 1959



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LB&SCR R.J. Billinton E6 Class 0-6-2T - Railway-Photography
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railway photographs from the last 100 years
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LB&SCR R.J. Billinton E6 Class 0-6-2T - Railway-Photography
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32418

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LB&SCR R.J. Billinton E6 Class 0-6-2T - Railway-Photography
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railway photographs from the last 100 years

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LB&SCR R.J. Billinton E6 Class 0-6-2T - Railway-Photography
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railway photographs from the last 100 years
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LB&SCR R.J. Billinton E6 Class 0-6-2T - Railway-Photography
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407 Battersea shed October 1933 R.J.Billinton 0-6-2T E6x Class



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LB&SCR R.J. Billinton E6 Class 0-6-2T - Railway-Photography
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railway photographs from the last 100 years

Neil