This fine London Brighton & South Coast Railway 4-4-0 Class B4 express passenger locomotive was built in 5” gauge by Lionel Woodhead and completed in 1987 with some help from grandson, Giles, who is now the owner. It was Lionel’s final engine, is very easy to drive and is said will run on a candle flame! It was scratch built from works drawings and was displayed at Guildford in 2015.

The B4 class was designed by R J Billinton, LBSCR locomotive superintendent from 1890 to 1904, and the model is based on one built in Glasgow by Sharp, Stewart & Co in 1901 and scrapped 50 years later. Sadly none of these locomotives survived into preservation.

The B4 class successfully hauled the heaviest express trains on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway until around 1912 when they were gradually replaced by the larger H1, H2, J1 and J2 classes. They were later regularly used on slower and lighter services.

In total 33 of the successful B4s were built and weighed in at more than 86 tons. Driving wheels were 6’9” dia. Boiler pressure was 180psi. Twelve members of the class were rebuilt from 1922–1924 by Billinton with a larger boiler, cylinders and a superheater. The rebuilt locomotives were classified B4X.