Jenny Lind was the first of a class of ten steam locomotives built in 1847 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway by E. B. Wilson and Company of Leeds. The locomotive was named after Jenny Lind, a famous Swedish opera singer of the period. It proved to be so successful that the manufacturers adopted it for use on other railways. It was also widely copied during the late 1840s, 50s, and 60s.

The new class proved to be successful and the design was used by Wilson & Co. as their standard design with more than 70 built for various railways, including 24 for the Midland Railway. It could be said to be the first locomotive to be mass-produced to a pattern and the manufacturers charged a hefty premium for variations. In response to pressure, they later built a number of ‘large Jennies’.

Other manufacturers and railways also adopted the type. John Chester Craven, Kirtley's successor at Brighton, built a class of five similar  ‘Jenny Lind singles’ from 1853 to 1854. An enlarged version was also built by Beyer, Peacock and Company in 1860 for the Portuguese South Western Railway.

These photos are from the MEWS archive taken at a Midlands exhibition of a 5” gauge model shown by N Lewis. LBSC produced a model design in 3.5” gauge.