London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

2025-08-19T07:18:54Z

217.165.159.77:

{{short description|British pre-grouping railway company}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}

{{Infobox rail
| railroad_name = London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
| image = Plaque on the (western) railway bridge over Battersea Park Road, SW8 (cropped).jpg
| caption = The LB&SCR armorial device<ref group="note">The ''cross and sword'' (top) represents London, the ''two dolphins'' (bottom) Brighton, the ''three [[dimidiation|half-lions half-ships]]'' (right) the Cinque Ports, and the ''star and crescent'' (left) Portsmouth.</ref>
| gauge = {{Track gauge|4 ft 8 1/2 in}}
| length = {{convert|457|mi|20|chain}} (1919)<ref name="RYB">{{Cite book |title=The Railway Year Book for 1920 |publisher=The Railway Publishing Company Limited |year=1920 |location=London |pages=189}}</ref>
| tracklength = {{convert|1264|mi|32|chain}} (1919)<ref name="RYB" />
| system_map = Map_of_London,_Brighton_and_South_Coast_Railway_1920.jpg
| map_caption = 1920 map of the railway
}}

The '''London, Brighton and South Coast Railway''' ('''LB&SCR''' (known also as '''the Brighton line''', '''the Brighton Railway''' or '''the Brighton''')) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of [[Sussex]] as its base, covering a large part of [[Surrey]]. It was bounded on its western side by the [[London and South Western Railway]] (L&SWR), which provided an alternative route to [[Portsmouth]]. On its eastern side the LB&SCR was bounded by the [[South Eastern Railway (England)|South Eastern Railway]] (SER)—later one component of the [[South Eastern and Chatham Railway]] (SE&CR)—which provided an alternative route to [[Bexhill-on-Sea|Bexhill]], [[St Leonards-on-Sea]], and [[Hastings]]. The LB&SCR had the most direct routes from London to the south coast [[seaside resort]]s of [[Brighton]], [[Eastbourne]], [[Worthing]], [[Littlehampton]] and [[Bognor Regis]], and to the ports of [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]] and [[Shoreham-by-Sea]]. It served the inland towns and cities of [[Chichester]], [[Horsham]], [[East Grinstead]] and [[Lewes]], and jointly served [[Croydon]], [[Tunbridge Wells]] (preserved as the [[Spa Valley Railway]]), [[Dorking]] and [[Guildford]]. At the London end was a complicated suburban and outer-suburban network of lines emanating from [[London Bridge station|London Bridge]] and [[London Victoria station|Victoria]], and shared interests in two cross-London lines.

The LB&SCR was formed by a merger of five companies in 1846, and merged with the L&SWR, the SE&CR and several minor railway companies in southern England under the [[Railways Act 1921]] to form the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]] from 1 January 1923.

[[File:LBSCR map Victoria.jpg|thumb|280px|A map of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway at [[London Victoria station]]]]

==Origins of the company==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = London and Brighton Railway Act 1846
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to consolidate and unite the London and Brighton and the London and Croydon Railway Companies and the Undertakings belonging to them.
| year = 1846
| citation = [[9 & 10 Vict.]] c. cclxxxii
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 27 July 1846
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
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The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) was formed by an [[act of Parliament (UK)|act of Parliament]], the '''{{visible anchor|London and Brighton Railway Act 1846}}''' ([[9 & 10 Vict.]] c. cclxxxii), on 27 July, through the amalgamation of a number of railway companies:
*The [[London and Croydon Railway]] (L&CR), created in 1836 and opened in 1839.
*The [[London and Brighton Railway]] (L&BR), created in 1837 and opened in 1841.
*The [[Brighton and Chichester Railway]], created in 1844 and opened in stages between November 1845 and June 1846, with an extension to [[Havant]] under construction at the time of amalgamation.
*The [[Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway]], created in February 1844, opened in June 1846.
*The [[Croydon and Epsom Railway]], created in July 1844, under construction at the time of amalgamation.
Only the first two were independent operating railways: the Brighton and Chichester and the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings had been purchased by the L&BR in 1845,<ref>White (1961), pp. 84, 99.</ref> and the Croydon and Epsom was largely owned by the L&CR.)

The amalgamation was brought about, against the wishes of the boards of directors of the companies, by shareholders in the L&CR and L&BR who were dissatisfied with the early returns from their investments.<ref>Turner (1977), pp. 253–71.</ref>

The LB&SCR existed for 76 years until 31 December 1922, when it was wound up as a result of the [[Railways Act 1921]] and merged with the [[London and South Western Railway]] and the [[South Eastern and Chatham Railway]] to form the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]].

===Original routes===
(Dates of opening from F. Burtt ''The Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1839–1903''.<ref>Burtt (1975), 19.</ref>)

At the time of its creation the LB&SCR had around {{convert|170|rtmi|0}} in existence or under construction, consisting of three main routes and a number of branches.

The [[Brighton Main Line|main line to Brighton]] from London Bridge opened in 1841. The sections between Corbett's Lane ([[New Cross]]) and [[London Bridge railway station|London Bridge]] and between Croydon and [[Redhill railway station|Redhill]] were shared with the [[South Eastern Railway (England)|South Eastern Railway]] (SER). There were two branch lines under construction at the time of the amalgamation: the [[Sutton & Mole Valley Lines]] from Croydon to [[Epsom railway station|Epsom]] (opened 10 May 1847), and the [[Arun Valley Line]] from {{Stnlnk|Three Bridges}} to {{Stnlnk|Horsham}} (opened 14 February 1848).

The [[West Coastway Line|West Sussex coast line]] originated with a branch line from Brighton to [[Shoreham-by-Sea|Shoreham]], opened 12 May 1840. This had been extended to [[Chichester]] by the time of the amalgamation, and a further extension to [[Havant]] was under construction (opened 15 March 1847), with the ultimate aim of extending the line to Portsmouth.

The [[East Coastway Line|East Sussex coast line]] from Brighton to [[Lewes]] and [[St Leonards-on-Sea]], with running powers over the SER to [[Hastings]], opened 27 June 1846, one month before the amalgamation, with branches to [[Seaford Branch|Newhaven]] (opened 8 December 1847), [[Eastbourne]] and [[Hailsham]] (opened 14 May 1849). A connecting spur from the Brighton main line at Keymer Junction near [[Haywards Heath]] to the Brighton–Lewes line was under construction at the time of amalgamation, opening in October 1847.
[[File:Bricklayers Arms & New Cross, Midhurst RJD 91.jpg|thumb|250px|A 1908 [[Railway Clearing House]] map of lines around Bricklayers Arms and London Bridge station, as well as surrounding lines. LB&SCR lines are shown in green.]]

A short line from [[New Cross]] to [[Deptford Wharf]], proposed by the L&CR, was approved in July 1846, shortly before amalgamation, but was not opened until 2 July 1849. The use of this line for passengers would have contravened the recently negotiated agreement with the SER that the LB&SCR would not operate lines to the east of its main line, and it was restricted to goods.<ref>Turner (1978), p. 34.</ref> A short branch from this line to the nearby [[Surrey Commercial Docks]] in [[Rotherhithe]] opened in July 1855.<ref>Turner (1978), p. 65.</ref>

===London stations===
The main London terminus was the L&CR station at [[London Bridge railway station|London Bridge]], built by the [[London and Greenwich Railway]] (L&GR) in 1836, and exchanged for the original L&CR station in 1842. For the first few years of its existence, LB&SCR trains used the L&GR lines from Corbett's Lane into London, but by 1849 the [[London Bridge – Greenwich Railway Viaduct|viaducts]] had been widened sufficiently for its own tracks.<ref>Turner (1978), p. 23.</ref>

The LB&SCR inherited from the L&CR running powers to the smaller SER passenger terminus at [[Bricklayers Arms railway station|Bricklayers Arms]]. Poorly sited for passengers, it closed in 1852 and was converted into a goods station.

The LB&SCR owned three stations at Croydon, later [[East Croydon station|East Croydon]] (former L&BR) [[Central Croydon railway station|Central Croydon]] and [[West Croydon station|West Croydon]] (former L&CR).

===Atmospheric lines===
The L&CR had been partially operated by the [[atmospheric railway|atmospheric principle]] between [[Croydon]] and [[Forest Hill railway station|Forest Hill]], as the first phase of a scheme to use this mode of operation between London and [[Epsom]]. However, following a number of technical problems, the LB&SCR abandoned atmospheric operation in May 1847. This enabled it to build its own lines into London Bridge, and have its own independent station there, by 1849.

The history of the LB&SCR can be studied in five distinct periods.

==Relations with neighbouring railways, and the beginnings of expansion 1846–1859==
The LB&SCR was formed at the same time as the bursting of the [[railway mania]] investment bubble, and so it found raising capital for expansion extremely difficult during the first years of its operation, other than to complete those projects that were already in hand. The L&BR had experienced difficult relations with the SER where the companies shared facilities, notably at [[Redhill railway station|Redhill]] and [[Hastings railway station|Hastings]] and on the approaches to [[London Bridge railway station|London Bridge]]. In October 1849 the SER acquired the new Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR) [[North Downs Line|line]], which the LB&SCR regarded as a major incursion into its territory. However, the LB&SCR had one important playing card not available to the L&BR—control of the SER main line between New Cross and Croydon. In 1849 the LB&SCR appointed a new and capable chairman, [[Samuel Laing (science writer)|Samuel Laing]], who negotiated a formal agreement with the SER that would resolve their difficulties for the time being and would define the territories of the two railways. Under this agreement the LB&SCR would have free access to London Bridge, Bricklayers Arms station and goods yard, and Hastings. The SER would have free use of the New Cross to Croydon line, and receive revenues from passengers at intermediate stations, but would not make or work competing lines to Brighton, Horsham, Chichester or Portsmouth.<ref>Sekon (1895), pp. 12–14.</ref>

In 1847 the naval dockyard of [[Portsmouth]] was being approached by two equally indirect routes from London, both under construction: a L&SWR route via [[Fareham railway station|Fareham]] and the former Brighton and Chichester Railway route from [[Havant railway station|Havant]]. The two companies entered into an agreement in that year to share a line from [[Cosham railway station|Cosham]] on the mainland to [[Portsea Island]], ending at the centre of [[Portsmouth & Southsea railway station|Portsmouth town]]. Further progress towards the dockyard was prevented by [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]] objections.<ref name=Turner29>Turner (1976), p. 29.</ref> The LB&SCR began its services between Chichester and Portsmouth, on 14 June 1847, and the L&SWR from Fareham in October 1848.

In 1853 the [[Portsmouth Direct line|Direct Portsmouth Railway]] gained parliamentary authority to build a line from [[Godalming railway station|Godalming]] to Havant with the intention of the company selling itself either to the L&SWR or the LB&SCR. This scheme would provide a far more direct route to Portsmouth but involved sharing the LB&SCR tracks for the {{convert|5|mi|spell=in|sigfig=1}} between Havant and the joint line to Portsea.<ref>Turner (1976), pp. 79–82.</ref> The LB&SCR objected to the scheme but the L&SWR negotiated with the new company and in December 1858 sought to operate a train over the new route. The LB&SCR attempted to prevent the use of its tracks and the so-called [[Portsmouth Direct line#The battle of Havant|'battle of Havant']] ensued. The matter was eventually resolved in the courts in August 1859, and relations between the railways were formalized in agreements of 1860 and 1862.<ref>Turner (1976), 82–84.</ref>

Samuel Laing had also approved a modest degree of expansion elsewhere, most notably the acquisition of a [[Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line|branch line]] from the main line at Three Bridges to the market town of [[East Grinstead]] in July 1855.<ref name=Turner29 />

===Crystal Palace Branch===
Some of the directors of the LB&SCR were closely involved with the company that purchased [[The Crystal Palace]] after the completion of [[The Great Exhibition]] in October 1851 and arranged for its removal to a site on [[Sydenham Hill]], close to the London to Brighton main line, which they purchased from [[Leo Schuster]]. The Crystal Palace became a major tourist attraction and the LB&SCR built a branch line from [[Sydenham railway station (London)|Sydenham]] to the new site, which was opened in June 1854, and enlarged London Bridge station to handle the additional traffic. The attraction proved to be an enormous success with 10,000 passengers conveyed daily to and from the new branch.<ref>Turner (1978), p. 51.</ref> On one day in 1859, 112,000 people were conveyed to Crystal Place by train, 70,000 of which from London Bridge.<ref>Jackson (1978), p. 101.</ref>

==Rapid expansion 1856–1866==
Samuel Laing retired as chairman at the end of 1855 to pursue a political career, and was replaced by the [[merchant banker]] [[Leo Schuster]], who had previously sold his {{cvt|300|acre|adj=on}} estate on Sydenham Hill to the new Crystal Palace Company.<ref>Turner (1978), p. 37.</ref> Schuster instituted a policy of rapidly expanding the route mileage of the railway with new routes throughout south London, Sussex, and east Surrey. Some of these were financed and built by the LB&SCR, others by independent local companies set up with the intention of connecting a town to the railway network with the intention of sale or lease to the LB&SCR. Schuster accelerated the rate of mileage increase after appointing [[Frederick Banister]] as Chief Engineer in 1860. As a result, a further {{convert|177|mi}} were constructed or authorised between 1857 and 1865.<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 253–71.</ref>

===West End of London===
[[File:Croydon, Norwood & Woodside RJD 53.jpg|thumb|250px|A 1908 [[Railway Clearing House]] map of lines around the [[Brighton Main Line]] between South Croydon and Selhurst]]

Schuster also encouraged an independent concern, the [[West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway]] (WEL&CPR), to construct a new line extending in a wide arc round south London from the LB&SCR Crystal Palace branch to [[Wandsworth]] in 1856 and to [[Battersea]] in 1858 with a temporary terminus at Battersea Pier. Shortly after this line was completed, the LB&SCR leased it from the WEL&CPR and incorporated it into its system.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = {{visible anchor|Croydon and Balham Hill Railway Act 1860}}
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to authorize the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company to make a Railway from the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway in the Parish of Croydon to the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway near Balham Hill, all in the County of Surrey, with a Branch Railway connected therewith; and for other Purposes.
| year = 1860
| citation = [[23 & 24 Vict.]] c. cix
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| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 3 July 1860
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Between 1858 and 1860 the LB&SCR was a major shareholder in the [[Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway]] (VS&PR), together with the [[East Kent Railway]] (later the [[London Chatham and Dover Railway]] (LC&DR)), the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR) and the [[London and North Western Railway]] (LNWR). This enterprise constructed the [[Grosvenor Bridge]] over the [[River Thames]] at Battersea and the line to the [[Victoria Station (London)|Victoria Station]], thereby creating a through (albeit roundabout) route from its main line near Croydon to a terminus in the West End of London. Following the acquisition of the WEL&CPR, a new 'cut-off' line between [[Norwood Junction railway station|Windmill Bridge Junction (Norwood)]] and [[Balham]] was constructed during 1861 and 1862, which had the effect of reducing the distance from East Croydon to Victoria.

===New lines in South London===
The VS&PR line was also connected with another joint venture the [[West London line|West London Extension Joint Railway]], jointly financed by the LB&SCR, L&SWR, GWR and the L&NWR, to permit goods transfers between the companies and cross-London passenger trains. This line was opened in 1863, and in the same year the LB&SCR and L&SWR jointly opened a large interchange station named [[Clapham Junction railway station|Clapham Junction]]. The LB&SCR also operated passenger trains between Clapham Junction and [[Kensington Olympia railway station|Addison Road]].
[[File:Clapham Junction, Stewarts Lane, Lavender Hill & Longhedge RJD 17.jpg|thumb|250px|A 1912 [[Railway Clearing House]] map of lines around Clapham Junction and the approaches to Victoria]]

The [[West Croydon to Wimbledon Line]] was built as an independent railway joining the LB&SCR and the L&SWR main lines and opened in October 1855. For a few months it was operated under contract by its engineer [[George Parker Bidder]] but in 1856 it was leased to the LB&SCR who purchased it in 1858.<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 61–65.</ref>

At the same time, the LB&SCR was cooperating with the LC&DR to create the [[South London line]] between its terminuses at London Bridge and Victoria. The LC&DR was used from Victoria to [[Brixton]], followed by new construction by the LB&SCR through [[Denmark Hill railway station|Denmark Hill]], and [[Peckham Rye railway station|Peckham]] to the main line to London Bridge at [[South Bermondsey railway station|South Bermondsey]].<ref>Turner (1978), p. 126.</ref>

===New lines in Sussex===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1864
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to enable the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company to make new Lines of Railway in the Counties of Surrey and Sussex; to acquire additional Lands; and to acquire the Undertakings of certain other Companies; and for other Purposes.
| year = 1864
| citation = [[27 & 28 Vict.]] c. cccxiv
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During 1858, a [[Wealden Line|branch line]] was built from Lewes to [[Uckfield]], extended to Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells in 1868. In 1864 the Newhaven branch was extended to [[Seaford, East Sussex|Seaford]]. The East Grinstead line was extended in 1866 to [[Groombridge]] and [[Tunbridge Wells]]. A large area in East Sussex between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne remained without railways, and the {{abbr|LB&SCR|London, Brighton and South Coast Railway}} was anxious in case the SER should venture into this territory. As a result, in 1864 it sought powers to build a line between these two towns, which were granted in the '''{{visible anchor|London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1864}}''' ([[27 & 28 Vict.]] c. cccxiv). It also obtained powers for the [[Ouse Valley Railway]], from the south of [[Balcombe railway station|Balcombe]] and north of [[Haywards Heath railway station|Haywards Heath]] on the Brighton main line to Uckfield and [[Hailsham]]; an extension to St Leonards was also approved in May 1865. However, some work had been carried out by the end of 1866, but not completed.

In West Sussex the [[Arun Valley Line|Horsham branch]] was extended to [[Pulborough]] and [[Petworth]] in 1859. In 1861 a line was built from near Horsham to [[Shoreham-by-Sea|Shoreham]], providing a direct link to Brighton. Branches were built from the West Sussex coast line to [[Littlehampton]] in 1863, to connect with a new cross-channel ferry service, to [[Bognor Regis]] in 1864, and to [[Hayling Island]] in 1867.<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 85–88.</ref> The line from Havant to Hayling had been built by the [[Hayling Railway]], but it was leased to the {{abbr|LB&SCR|London, Brighton and South Coast Railway}} in 1874.{{sfn|Awdry|1990|p=187}}

Following the 1862 agreement with the L&SWR, a line was built from near Pulborough to a junction with the [[West Coastway Line|West Sussex coast line]] near [[Ford railway station|Ford]] in 1863. This provided a shorter {{abbr|LB&SCR|London, Brighton and South Coast Railway}} route from London to Portsmouth via Three Bridges and Horsham.<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 98–100.</ref>

===New lines in Surrey===
The [[Sutton & Mole Valley Lines|Epsom and Leatherhead Railway]] was an independent line from the L&SW main line at Wimbledon through Epsom and [[Leatherhead]] towards [[Guildford]]. The LB&SCR entered into an agreement to share its station at Epsom and to use the line as far as Leatherhead. The line opened in August 1859 and in 1860 this portion was transferred to the joint ownership of the LB&SCR and the L&SWR. The LB&SCR then bought the Banstead and Epsom Downs Railway, which was building a [[Epsom Downs Branch|branch line]] from [[Sutton, London|Sutton]] to [[Epsom Downs]] for [[Epsom Downs Racecourse]], opened in May 1865.

The LB&SCR wished to connect [[Horsham]] with significant towns in Surrey, and in 1865 it opened a line between [[Christ's Hospital railway station|West Horsham]] and the L&SWR near Guildford. It constructed a line from Leatherhead to [[Dorking]] in March 1867, continued to Horsham two months later. This enabled alternative LB&SCR routes from London to Brighton and the West Sussex coast and further reduced the distance of its route from London to Portsmouth.

The LB&SCR supported the independent [[Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway]], which obtained powers in July 1865 to build a line from Croydon to Tunbridge Wells via [[Oxted]], to be worked by the LB&SCR. The involvement of LB&SCR directors in this scheme was interpreted by the SER as a breach of the 1849 agreement, and in retaliation the SER and LC&DR obtained the [[South Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover (London, Lewes and Brighton) Railways Act 1866]] ([[29 & 30 Vict.]] c. cccxviii) for a rival 'London, Lewes and Brighton Railway', which would undermine the profitable LB&SCR monopoly to that town.<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 170–71.</ref> Neither scheme was proceeded with.

===Newhaven Harbour===
Following the opening of the branch from [[Lewes]] to [[Newhaven, East Sussex#Port|Newhaven]], the LB&SCR sought to develop a shorter Continental route from London to Paris via [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]], in competition with the SER routes from [[Dover]] to [[Calais]] and [[Folkestone]] to [[Boulogne]]. The LB&SCR built its wharf and warehousing facilities on the east side of the river, with [[Newhaven harbour railway station|Newhaven Harbour station]]. It funded the dredging of the channel and other improvements to the harbour between 1850 and 1878, to enable it to be used by larger cross-channel ferries,<ref>Pratt (1921), pp. 1032–33.</ref> and in 1863 the LB&SCR and the [[Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest]] introduced the Newhaven–Dieppe passenger service.<ref name="Jordan">Jordan (1998).</ref> In 1878 the railway formed and underwrote the Newhaven Harbour Company and thereafter delegated responsibility for its operation to it.<ref>Marx (2007), p. 49.</ref>

===Growth of the London suburbs===
[[File:Streatham & Tulse Hill Hastings & St Leonards RJD 100.jpg|thumb|250px|A 1908 [[Railway Clearing House]] map, showing the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines though South London]]

Largely as a result of the railway, the rural area between [[New Cross]] and Croydon rapidly became built up, and the population of Croydon increased 14-fold, from 16,700 to 233,000, during the LB&SCR's existence. During the 1860s the LB&SCR began to develop new traffic from the growing number of middle-class [[commuters]] who were beginning to live in the south London suburbs and working in central London.

As part of its suburban expansion, the LB&SCR built a [[Sutton & Mole Valley Lines|line]] from [[Peckham Rye railway station|Peckham Rye]] roughly parallel to the main line, through [[East Dulwich railway station|East Dulwich]], [[Tulse Hill railway station|Tulse Hill]], [[Streatham railway station|Streatham]] and [[Mitcham railway station, London|Mitcham]] to [[Sutton railway station (London)|Sutton]] and [[Epsom Downs railway station|Epsom Downs]], which opened in October 1868.

===Deterioration of relations with the SER===
Relations between the LB&SCR and the SER and the interpretation of the 1848 agreement continued to be difficult throughout the 1850s and 1860s. They reached a low point in 1863 when the SER produced a report for its shareholders outlining a long list of the difficulties between the two companies, and the reasons why they considered that the LB&SCR had broken the 1848 agreement.<ref>Eborall and Smiles (1867).</ref>

The main areas of disagreement listed were at [[Hastings railway station|Hastings]], allowing the LC&DR to use its lines to [[London Victoria railway station|Victoria]], a proposed LB&SCR branch to [[Bromley]], the new LB&SCR line to [[Dorking]], LB&SCR opposition to the SER attempts at building a line to the [[West End of London|west end]], the LB&SCR agreement to let the LC&DR use its goods facilities at [[Bricklayers Arms railway station|Bricklayers Arms]], and the perennial problem of the shared main line between [[Redhill, Surrey|Redhill]] and [[Croydon]].

The most flagrant example of the lack of cooperation between the two companies, however, was with respect to the independent [[Caterham Line|Caterham Railway]], which ran in South Eastern territory, but joined the Brighton mainline at the LB&SCR [[Purley railway station|Godstone Road]] station (later renamed Caterham Junction). Both companies objected to the other operating the branch line, which resulted in a delay of a year between the completion of the work and the opening of the line in 1856. Their failure to agree on such matters as through ticketing quickly drove the independent company into bankruptcy. Even after the SER took over running of the branch in 1859, the squabbling and bloody mindedness continued to the great detriment of the passengers. Eventually the matters reached the leader columns of ''The Times'' newspaper in 1862 before the companies would negotiate with one another.<ref>Spence (1952), pp. 27–59.</ref>

The chronic congestion over the shared line between [[East Croydon railway station]] and [[Redhill railway station|Redhill]] eased after 1 May 1868 when the route ceased to be on the [[South Eastern Main Line]] to Dover following the opening of the 'Sevenoaks cut off' line between [[St Johns railway station|St Johns]] and [[Tonbridge railway station]].<ref>White (1961), p. 44.</ref> A ten-year agreement between the SER and the LB&SCR over the use of the station and lines to Coulsdon was signed 1 February 1869 and renewed ten years later.<ref name=Turner112>Turner (1977), pp. 112–13.</ref>

==1867 financial crisis and its impact==
[[File:Havant & Portsmouth RJD 11.jpg|thumb|250px|A 1910 [[Railway Clearing House]] map, showing part of the lines around Portsmouth]]

The collapse of the bankers [[Overend, Gurney and Company]] in 1866 and the financial crisis the following year brought the LB&SCR to the brink of bankruptcy.<ref>Turner (1978), p. 262</ref> A special meeting of shareholders was adjourned, and the powers of the board of directors were suspended pending receipt of a report into the financial affairs of the company and its prospects.<ref>London Brighton & South Coast Railway (1867).</ref> The report made clear that the LB&SCR had overextended itself with large capital projects sustained by profits from passengers, which suddenly declined as a result of the crisis. Several country lines were losing money – most notably between Horsham and Guildford, East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells, and Banstead and Epsom – and the LB&SCR was committed to building or acquiring others with equally poor prospects.<ref>London Brighton & South Coast Railway (1867), Appendix C.</ref> The report was extremely critical of the policies of Schuster and the company secretary, Frederick Slight, both of whom resigned. It did however point out that these lines had been built or acquired as a means for preventing competition from neighbouring railways. The committee recommended the abandonment of several projects, and that the LB&SCR should enter into a working agreement with the SER.

The new board of directors accepted many of these recommendations, and they managed to persuade [[Samuel Laing (science writer)|Samuel Laing]] to return as chairman. It was through his business acumen and that of the new secretary and general manager J. P. Knight that the LB&SCR gradually recovered its financial health during the early 1870s.<ref>Heap and van Riemsdijk (1980), p. 89.</ref>

As a result, all construction of lines was suspended. Three important projects then under construction were abandoned: the [[Ouse Valley Railway]], its extension to St Leonards, and the [[Oxted line|Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway]]. The [[Cuckoo Line|line]] between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne was shelved until the financial situation improved.<ref>Turner (1979), pp. 3–14.</ref> For the next decade, projects were limited to additional spurs or junctions in London and Brighton to enhance the operation of the network, or small-scale ventures in conjunction with other railway companies. The latter included a short line from [[Streatham]] through [[Tooting]] to [[Wimbledon, London|Wimbledon]] in 1868, and a connection from [[Portsmouth & Southsea railway station|Portsmouth Town]] to [[Portsmouth Harbour railway station|Portsmouth Harbour]] in 1876, both jointly with the L&SWR.

The proposed 'working cooperation' with the SER never took effect but remained under active consideration by both parties, and later involved the LC&DR.<ref>'Railway amalgamation', (1875), pp. 430–31.</ref> It was not until 1875 that the idea was dropped, after the SER pulled out of negotiations due to the conditions imposed by Parliament on the proposed merger. The LB&SCR continued as an independent railway but the SER and LCDR eventually formed a working relationship in 1899 with the formation of the [[South Eastern and Chatham Railway]].

One new line to which the LB&SCR was committed was the [[East London Railway]], a consortium of six railway companies: the Great Eastern Railway (GER); the LB&SCR; the LC&DR; the SER; the Metropolitan Railway; and the District Railway. It sought to reuse the [[Thames Tunnel]], built by [[Marc Brunel|Marc]] and [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] between 1825 and 1843. A line was therefore built between the LB&SCR at [[New Cross]] and [[Wapping]] with a link to the GER main line, in March 1869. It was primarily intended for goods transfer between these railways, but the LB&SCR introduced a passenger service between [[Liverpool Street Station]] and Croydon.

==Later 19th century==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = {{visible anchor|London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway (Various Powers) Act 1878}}
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to confer further powers upon the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company, and to enable them to purchase the Hayling Bridge and Causeway.
| year = 1878
| citation = [[41 & 42 Vict.]] c. lxxiv
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 17 June 1878
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
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By the mid-1870s the LB&SCR had recovered its financial stability through a policy of encouraging the more intensive use of lines and reducing operating costs. Between 1870 and 1889 annual revenue rose from £1.3 million to £2.4 million, whilst its operating costs rose from £650,000 to just over £1 million.<ref>Lawson (1891), p. 91.</ref> The LB&SCR was able to embark upon new railway building and improvements to infrastructure. Some new lines passed through sparsely populated areas and merely provided shorter connections to towns that were already on the railway network, and so were unlikely to be profitable, but the LB&SCR found itself under pressure from local communities wanting a rail connection, and was frightened that they would otherwise be developed by rivals.

The main reason for the financial recovery lay in the exploitation of London suburban traffic. By the late 1880s the LB&SCR had developed the largest suburban network of any British railway, with {{convert|68|mi|km|adj=pre|route}} in the suburbs in addition to its main lines, in three routes between London Bridge and Victoria:<ref>Lawson (1891) pp. 6, 91.</ref> the [[South London line]], the outer South London Line and the [[Crystal Palace railway station|Crystal Palace lines]], and the LB&SCR was earning more from season tickets than any other British railway. Thus an official return showed that the railway had operated more than 100,000 passenger trains from April to June 1889, more than any other company operating only in southern England.<ref>'Return of Running of Passenger Trains on Main and Branch Lines of London, Brighton and S. Coast, London, Chatham and Dover, London and S.W. and S.E. Railways, April–June 1889,' House of Commons Papers, 1889.</ref>

===New routes and station improvements===
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway (Croydon, Oxted, and East Grinstead Railways) Act 1878
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to enable the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company to complete and construct Railways between Croydon, Oxted, and East Grinstead, and to acquire the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway; to confer powers on the South-eastern Railway Company; and for other purposes.
| year = 1878
| citation = [[41 & 42 Vict.]] c. lxxii
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| theyworkforyou =
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The scheme to link Eastbourne with Tunbridge Wells was revived in April 1879 with the opening of a line connecting the Hailsham branch to [[Heathfield (Sussex) railway station|Heathfield]], completed the following September from Heathfield to [[Eridge railway station|Eridge]], and later known as the [[Cuckoo Line]].

In 1877 authority was granted to the Lewes and East Grinstead Railway (L&EGR), roughly parallel to the 'Cuckoo Line',<ref>Awdry (1990), pp. 189–90.</ref> sponsored by local landowners, including the Earl of Sheffield, and including a branch from [[Horsted Keynes]] to [[Haywards Heath]] on the Brighton main line. A year later the '''{{visible anchor|London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway (Croydon, Oxted, and East Grinstead Railways) Act 1878}}''' ([[41 & 42 Vict.]] c. lxxii) enabled the LB&SCR to acquire and operate lines, opened in August 1882 and September 1883. The East Grinstead–Lewes line subsequently became known as the 'Bluebell line' and, following its closure in 1958, the section between {{Stnlnk|Horsted Keynes}} and {{Stnlnk|Sheffield Park}} was taken over by the [[Bluebell Railway]] Preservation Society.

The LB&SCR in West Sussex was largely complete by 1870 except for a link between [[Midhurst]] and [[Chichester]], delayed by the financial crisis of 1867; this was revived and opened in 1881. Minor improvements around [[Littlehampton]] were made, and a branch to [[Devil's Dyke, Sussex|Devil's Dyke]] opened in 1887, built by and owned by an independent company but operated by the LB&SCR. In Hampshire the LB&SCR leased the [[Hayling Island branch line]] from 1874,<ref>Turner (1979), p. 66.</ref> opened in 1865 as an independent concern.<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 137–40, 244–45.</ref> The LB&SCR and the L&SWR jointly built a {{convert|1+1/4|mi|0|adj=on}} [[Southsea Railway|branch]] from a new station on their existing joint line at [[Fratton railway station|Fratton]] to [[East Southsea railway station|East Southsea]] in 1887, but early in the 20th century had to compete with a tramway, and it was closed at the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914.<ref>Robertson (1985).</ref>

Although the proposed Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway had been abandoned in 1867, there remained a demand from Croydon to towns such as East Grinstead, Tunbridge Wells and the East Sussex coast. The SER was looking for a relief route in the same general direction for its [[Tonbridge railway station|Tonbridge]] and [[Hastings railway station|Hastings]] services, and the two railways collaborated in a joint line between [[South Croydon railway station|South Croydon]], on the main Brighton line, and [[Oxted railway station|Oxted]]. Beyond Oxted, the LB&SCR would build its own lines to link with the Bluebell line at East Grinstead and its line to Tunbridge Wells. SER trains would join the line between Redhill and Tonbridge. Authority was granted in 1878 and they opened in 1884.

[[Brighton railway station]] was rebuilt and extended in 1882–83 with a new single roof, and [[Eastbourne railway station|Eastbourne]] was rebuilt in 1886 to cope with additional traffic.
[[File:Purley, Red Hill & Stoats Next RJD 130.jpg|thumb|150px|1905 Map showing the LB&SCR "Quarry line" and the original SER line]]

===Congestion and slow trains===
With the steady growth of traffic in the South London suburbs during the 1880s and early 1890s, the LB&SCR was the subject of press criticism for poor timekeeping and slow trains,<ref>{{cite book| last = Ahrons| first = E.L.| title = Locomotive and train working in the latter part of the nineteenth century |volume=5 | publisher = Heffer and Sons | date = 1953| location = Cambridge| pages = 87–8}}</ref> although it was never subjected to the levels of press and public obloquy accorded to the SER. Two of the reasons for poor timekeeping were the volume of traffic generated and the complexity of the LB&SCR network north of [[Redhill railway station|Redhill]] with large numbers of junctions and signals.<ref>Turner (1979), pp. 64-67.</ref> A further complication was that both the LB&SCR and the SER shared the {{convert|11|mi}} of track between Redhill and [[East Croydon station|East Croydon]]. This part of the line was owned by the SER, which (according to Acworth) gave its trains precedence through the junctions at Redhill,<ref name=Acworth97>Acworth (1888), p. 97</ref> but the LB&SCR paid an annual fee of £14,000 for its use. Relations with the SER began to deteriorate once more and eventually both companies appointed [[Henry Oakley]] general manager of the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] as an independent assessor in 1889. Oakley supported the LB&SCR right to use the line but increased the annual payment to £20,000.<ref name="Turner112" /> However this did not solve the problem and an 1896 study of LB&SCR passenger services, by J. Pearson Pattinson described the {{convert|8+1/4|mi}} of shared track between Redhill and Stoats Nest (Coulsdon) as being 'in a state of the utmost congestion, and detentions of the Brighton expresses, blocked by South Eastern stopping trains, are as constant as irritating.'<ref>Ellis (1971), p. 172. quoting J. Pearson Pattinson, ''The London, Brighton & South Coast Railway, its Passenger Services, Rolling Stock, Locomotives, Gradients and Express Speeds,'' (Cassell, 1896).</ref>

====Quarry line====
Ultimately the only solution was for the LB&SCR to build its own line between [[Coulsdon North railway station|Coulsdon North]] and [[Earlswood (Surrey) railway station|Earlswood]], bypassing Redhill, which became known as the 'Quarry line'. Plans were drawn up by [[Charles Langbridge Morgan (engineer)|Charles L. Morgan]], the Chief Engineer.<ref>Dendy Marshall (1968), p. 237.</ref> Authority was granted by Parliament in July 1896, and construction took place in 1898–99.<ref>Turner (1979), p. 118.</ref> The line involved substantial civil engineering works including the excavation of new tunnels at [[Merstham tunnels|Merstham]] and [[Redhill tunnel (Surrey)|Redhill]], cuttings, embankments and a covered way at [[Cane Hill Hospital]]. The line opened on 8 November 1899 (1 April 1900 for passengers).

==20th century==
During its last 20 years the LB&SCR opened no new lines, but invested in improving its main line and London terminals, together with the electrification of its London suburban services.

[[File:Lbscr1922.jpg|thumb|Sketch map of LB&SCR routes in 1922]]
Following the completion of the ''Quarry line'', the bottleneck on the heavily used [[Brighton Main Line|main line]] moved further south. Plans were drawn up for the quadrupling throughout, but only the {{convert|16|mi}} from Earlswood to [[Three Bridges railway station|Three Bridges]] were completed, between 1906 and 1909. A fifth track was laid between Norwood Junction and [[South Croydon railway station|South Croydon]] in 1907–08. Extension beyond Three Bridges would have involved heavy engineering at [[Balcombe tunnel]], over the [[Ouse Valley Viaduct]] and through the South Downs. The required capital expenditure was diverted to extending the electrification programme.

Unlike other mainline railway companies, the LB&SCR had to share both its London termini with its rivals, [[London Bridge railway station|London Bridge]] with the SER and [[London Victoria railway station|Victoria]] with the LC&DR. The rapid increase in commuting towards the end of the 19th century created an urgent need to expand the cramped and limited facilities at Victoria. During the first decade of the new century the line between [[Grosvenor Bridge]] and Victoria was widened and the station rebuilt on a much larger scale. A new turntable and locomotive servicing facilities enabled the use of more powerful locomotives. During the same period LB&SCR facilities at London Bridge were enlarged, but since the station had been rebuilt so many times it remained a 'sprawling confusion'.<ref>Heap and van Riemsdijk (1980), p. 78.</ref>

===Motive power shortage===
Between 1905 and 1912 the LB&SCR suffered an increasingly serious motive power shortage due to the inability of [[Brighton railway works|Brighton Works]] to keep pace with the volume of repairs and new construction required. By 1910 30% of the locomotive stock was unusable due to delays and inefficiencies at the works,<ref>Marx (2007), p. 9.</ref> leading to the sickness and retirement of the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent [[D. E. Marsh]]. The problem was solved by the establishment of [[Lancing Carriage Works]] and the reorganisation of Brighton Works by Marsh's successor [[L. B. Billinton]].

===The First World War===
[[File:London Victoria First World War railway war memorial 4.jpg|thumb|150px|The LB&SCR War Memorial, London Victoria Station]]
With other British railways the LB&SCR was brought under government control during the [[First World War]]. Until then it had carried relatively little heavy goods, but this changed dramatically at the outbreak of war.<ref>Pratt (1921), pp. 1032–41.</ref> The LB&SCR was responsible for carrying the bulk of the [[materiel|stores and munitions]] delivered to the British troops on the continent, principally through its port of [[Newhaven, East Sussex#Port|Newhaven]] This included nearly 7 million tons of goods, including 2.7 million tons of explosives. It necessitated an additional 53,376 goods trains over the four years of the war.<ref name="Pratt 1921, pp. 1038–39">Pratt (1921), pp. 1038–39.</ref>

Newhaven harbour also received casualties landing in hospital ships, with the railway providing ambulance trains.<ref>Marx (2007), 55.</ref> There were several army camps within the territory of the LB&SCR which therefore provided 27,366 troop trains.<ref name="Pratt 1921, pp. 1038–39"/> Army horses awaiting shipping to France were stabled at Farlington Racecourse.<ref>Marx (2007), 46.</ref>

At the outbreak of hostilities the area surrounding Newhaven Port was requisitioned and the [[Newhaven Harbour railway station|Harbour station]] closed. From 22 September 1916 Newhaven became a special military area for handling Government traffic under the Defence of the Realm Regulations.<ref>Marx (2007), 49–51.</ref>

This additional traffic required substantial improvements to infrastructure, notably at Newhaven harbour, where additional warehousing, new sidings and signalling constructed and electric lighting was installed. When Newhaven became overwhelmed the tidal port of [[Littlehampton]] was rebuilt and pressed into service.<ref>Marx (2007), 55–6.</ref> Inland, a much enlarged goods [[Classification yard|marshalling yard]] was established at Three Bridges, which was chosen as a nodal point for handling War traffic. At [[Gatwick Airport railway station|Gatwick]] and [[Haywards Heath railway station|Haywards Heath]], passing loops were constructed so that the frequent passenger trains would not be impeded by slower goods trains and to hold munitions trains during air raids. Some munitions trains were routed to Newhaven via the [[Steyning Line]] to Brighton to avoid congesting the part of the Brighton main line which had only two tracks.
Between 1914 and 1918, 5,635 members of LB&SCR staff joined the forces, creating staff shortages at all levels (including the Chief Mechanical Engineer who was called up for service in Russia and Romania).<ref>Marx (2007), Chapter 5.</ref> This necessitated the employment of female labour in clerical grades and for carriage cleaning.<ref>Marx (2007), 75–77.</ref> The railway erected a [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway War Memorial|War Memorial]] at London Bridge in 1920 honouring the 532 staff who had lost their lives. Likewise, in April 1922, the last locomotive to be constructed by the company, [[LB&SCR L class|4-6-4T 'L' Class]] No. 333, was named 'Remembrance' and carried a memorial plaque.<ref>Ellis, (1960), 209.</ref>

===LB&SCR at Grouping===
By 31 December 1922, when the LB&SCR ceased to have an independent existence, it had {{convert|457|mi}} of route. Of these, {{cvt|100|mi|0}} was single track, {{cvt|357|mi}} double track, {{cvt|47|mi}} triple track, and {{cvt|49|mi}} four or more tracks. Sidings had a total length of {{convert|355|mi}}.<ref>Marshall (1963), p. 248.</ref> According to Bonavia, 'the Brighton was a highly individual line in its strengths and weaknesses, it was to experience drastic changes under Southern [Railway] management which older members of the staff would not always accept gracefully.'<ref>Bonavia (1987), p.19.</ref>

==Train services==
The LB&SCR was essentially a passenger-carrying concern, with goods and mineral traffic playing a limited role in its receipts. As originally envisaged the railway was a trunk route, conveying passengers (and to a lesser extent goods) between London, Croydon and the south coast, with relatively little traffic to and from stations in between. However, the railway's existence began to generate new goods and passenger traffic at towns and villages on or near the main line, such as [[Reigate]], [[Crawley]] and [[Haywards Heath]]. This also applied to [[Sussex]] and [[Surrey]] market towns such as [[Lewes]], [[Horsham]], [[East Grinstead]] and [[Dorking]] as soon as these were connected to the rail network. After 1870 the development of the London suburbs south of the Thames had a profound effect on the nature of the railway. The development of [[Newhaven, East Sussex#Port|Newhaven harbour]] was also a stimulus to the development of both categories of traffic.

The speed and punctuality of many LB&SCR passenger services was the subject of widespread criticism in the technical and popular press during the 1890s.<ref>Ahrons (1953), vol. 5, pp. 62–65.</ref> This was in part due in part to the complexity of the system between London and Croydon, with a large number of signals and junctions, the sharing of stretches of line with the SER, and the relatively short routes, which gave little opportunity to make up for lost time. The LB&SCR gradually began to rebuild its reputation during the 20th century through improvements to mainline infrastructure and electrification of suburban services.

===Express passenger services===
The company had no long-distance express trains, with a maximum journey length of {{convert|75|mi}}. Nevertheless, frequent express passenger services ran to the most important coastal destinations from both London Bridge and Victoria. Season ticket revenue, particularly from Brighton to London, was the backbone of the LB&SCR's finances for most of the 19th century.<ref>Acworth (1888), p. 91.</ref> The morning [[rush hour]] business services were among "the heaviest express services in the world" in the 1880s, with loads of 360 tons.<ref name=Acworth97 />

Individual [[Pullman train (UK)|Pullman]] cars were introduced to Britain on the [[Midland Railway]] in 1874, followed by the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] soon after and the LB&SCR in 1875.<ref>Burtt and Beckerlegge (1948).</ref> The LB&SCR pioneered all-Pullman trains in England, the ''Pullman Limited Express'' on 5 December 1881. It consisted of four cars built at the Pullman Car Company workshops in [[Derby]], ''Beatrice'', ''Louise'', ''Maud'' and ''Victoria'', the first electrically lit coaches on a British railway. The train made two down and two up trips per day, one each way on Sundays. It was renamed the ''Brighton Pullman Limited'' in 1887, and first-class carriages were attached. A new train was built in 1888: three Pullmans were shipped over in parts from the Pullman Palace Car Company in America, and assembled by the LB&SCR at Brighton.

The ''Brighton Limited'' was introduced on 2 October 1898. It ran only on Sundays, and not in July–September. It was timed to make the journey from Victoria in 60 minutes: "London to Brighton in one hour" was the advertisement used for the first time. On 21 December 1902 it made a record run of 54 minutes. It hit the headlines again when, faced with the threat of a competing electric railway being built from London to Brighton, it ran to Brighton in 48 minutes 41 seconds and the return to London in 50 minutes 21 seconds, matching the schedule put forward by the promoters of the electric line. [[Southern Belle (LBSC)|The ''Southern Belle'']], introduced 8 November 1908, was described as "the most luxurious train in the World." By 1910 two trips each way were running every day; later three were run on Sundays. Third-class Pullman cars began running on Sunday 12 September 1915 from Victoria to Brighton and [[Eastbourne railway station|Eastbourne]].

===Stopping trains===
Slower passenger services between London and the south coast often divided at East Croydon to serve both the London termini, and combined there for down trains, so East Croydon had an important nodal function in the system.<ref>Ahrons (1953), vol. 5, p. 47.</ref> After 1867, following the opening of the direct line to Horsham, Sutton acted as a similar node for passenger trains between London and Portsmouth.

===Slip coaches===
The LB&SCR appears to have invented the practice of [[slip coach|slipping]] coaches from the rear of express trains at intermediate stations for onward transmission to branch lines or smaller stations on the main line. The earliest recorded example was at [[Haywards Heath railway station|Haywards Heath]] in February 1858, where coaches for [[Hastings]] were slipped from a London–Brighton express.<ref>Ellis (1979), pp. 98–99.</ref> The slipping was coordinated by a series of communication bell signals between the guards on the two portions of the train and the locomotive crew.<ref>Rich (1996), 118.</ref>

Before 1914, twenty-one coaches were slipped each day on the Brighton main line.<ref>Gray (1977), pp. 86–87.</ref> Coaches were slipped at [[Horley railway station|Horley]] and [[Three Bridges railway station|Three Bridges]] for stations to [[East Grinstead railway station|East Grinstead]], [[Forest Row railway station|Forest Row]] and [[Horsham railway station|Horsham]], or at [[Haywards Heath]] for stations to [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]] and [[Eastbourne railway station|Eastbourne]]. The practice continued until the electrification of the main line in 1932.<ref>Fryer (1997).</ref>

===London suburban traffic===
After 1870, the LB&SCR greatly encouraged commuters into London by reducing the prices of season tickets and introducing special [[Cheap Trains Act 1883|''workmen's trains'']] for manual workers in that year.<ref>Kidner (1984), p. 3.</ref> By May 1890 the company was operating 10,773 trains into its London termini each month, more than any other company.<ref>'Return from Great Northern, Great Eastern, London and N.W., Great Western, Midland, S.E., London, Chatham and Dover, London, Brighton and S. Coast, and London and S.W. Railway Companies of Arrival at London Stations of Passenger Trains, as shown in Time-Tables, 1890', House of Commons. Papers Number: 151, 1890.</ref> This growth changed the character of the railway and had a profound influence upon its [[Locomotive|motive power]] policy and passenger train services. In the 1870s and 1880s it led to the building of new standard [[tank engine]] classes such as the [[LB&SCR A1 class|''Terrier'']] and [[LB&SCR D1 class|D1]] classes under [[William Stroudley]]. [[R. J. Billinton]] replaced these with the [[LB&SCR D3 class|D3]], [[LB&SCR E3 class|E3]], [[LB&SCR E4 class|E4]], and [[LB&SCR E5 class|E5]] classes designed for London suburban services, during the 1890s. When steam locomotives became unable to cope with the increased suburban traffic and competition from electric trams in the early 20th century, it resulted in the electrification of the London suburban network.

===Excursion and holiday traffic===
[[File:LBSCR poster3.jpg|thumb|150px|A LB&SCR poster advertising the Isle of Wight]]
[[Excursion train]]s from London to the South Coast and the Sussex countryside had been introduced in 1844,<ref>Turner (1977), p. 187.</ref> and were a feature of the LB&SCR throughout its existence. Special fares to Brighton and other south coast resorts on summer Sundays and at bank holidays were regularly advertised in the press. Likewise, special trains serving the regular fetes and exhibitions at Crystal Palace during the summer months.

After 1870 the LB&SCR sought to develop the holiday and excursion trade and market other south coast resorts such as [[Hayling Island]] and the [[Isle of Wight]] as holiday destinations, by publishing a range of attractive posters. On the Isle of Wight the LB&SCR and the L&SWR jointly took over the ferry service from Portsmouth and built new pier at [[Ryde Pier Head railway station|Ryde]] with a short line to the station at [[Ryde St John's Road railway station|St John's Road]] in 1880. During the 1900s the company ran special Sunday trains to enable London cyclists to explore the Sussex and Surrey countryside.<ref>'The London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company Ran Its First Special Sunday Cycle Train to Horley, Three Bridges, and East Grinstead This Week'. Illustrated London News (London, England), Saturday, 11 May 1901; 698.</ref> By 1905 the railway was offering day trips to [[Dieppe]] and circular tickets, valid for a month, to enable Londoners to explore towns along the South Coast.<ref>'In the Tourist and Excursion Programme of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company Will Be Found Announced Cheap Week-end Tickets to Be Issued on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to Tall Places on the South Coast from Hastings to Portsmouth Inclusive, and to All Places in the Isle of Wight, Also to Dieppe, the Parisian's Favourite Seaside Resort.' Illustrated London News (Saturday, 15 July 1905) 106.</ref>

In 1904 the Great Western Railway inaugurated holiday trains during the summer months from [[Birkenhead]] to Brighton and Eastbourne, in conjunction with the LB&SCR. The following year LB&SCR and L&NWR jointly operated the ''Sunny South Special'' from [[Liverpool]] and [[Manchester]] to these destinations. These trains operated via the [[West London line]]s, with the LB&SCR responsible for their operation from Kensington or Willesden.<ref>Dendy Marshall (1968), p. 240.</ref>

The LB&SCR served important [[Horse racing]] tracks at [[Brighton Racecourse|Brighton]], [[Epsom Downs Racecourse|Epsom]], [[Gatwick Racecourse|Gatwick]], [[Goodwood Racecourse|Goodwood]], [[Lewes#Sport|Lewes]], [[Lingfield Park Racecourse|Lingfield]] and [[Plumpton Racecourse|Plumpton]], and [[Farlington Halt railway station|Portsmouth Park (Farlington)]]. Race day special trains were an important source of revenue during the summer months.<ref>Riley (1967), p. 8.</ref>

[[File:LBSCR poster.jpg|thumb|1906 poster advertising rail motor services]]

===Rail motor services===
During the first few years of the 20th century the LB&SCR, in common with other railways, became concerned about losses on branch and short-distance passenger services, particularly in winter. The L&SWR and the LB&SCR boards decided to investigate the use of steam powered [[railcar]]s on the {{convert|1+1/4|mi|0|adj=on}} joint branch line between Fratton and East Southsea, in June 1903. The locomotive and carriage units were both built by the L&SWR, but one of the carriages was painted in the LB&SCR livery. The two vehicles had to be quickly withdrawn as they were found to be chronically underpowered, but were rebuilt with larger boilers and thereafter gave adequate service. However, their use did not stem the loss of traffic to the roads and in 1914 the branch was closed.<ref>Bradley (1974), pp. 60–61.</ref>

Nevertheless, the LB&SCR directors asked the Chief Mechanical Engineer, [[R. J. Billinton|Robert Billinton]], to investigate the use of steam or petrol [[railcar]]s on lightly used services. Billinton died in 1904, before examples could be acquired, but in 1905 his successor [[D. E. Marsh|Douglas Earle Marsh]] acquired two steam railcars from [[Beyer, Peacock and Company]] and two petrol railcars from [[Dick, Kerr & Co.]] These were compared with small steam locomotives of the Stroudley [[LB&SCR A1 class|A1]] and [[LB&SCR D1 class|D1]] classes fitted for "motor train" or "[[Push-pull train|push-pull]]" working.<ref>Bradley (1974), pp. 62–68.</ref> Neither type of railcar was successful, being inadequate to cope with traffic fluctuations between winter and summer, but the "motor trains" could be adapted by the addition or removal of extra coaches. As a result, the experiment provided a new lease of life for the Stroudley tank classes, which continued to be used on branch lines for many years after their withdrawal from suburban services. The [[British steam railcars#London Brighton and South Coast Railway|steam railcars]] were sold in 1919, and the petrol railcars were used for departmental (non-revenue-earning) purposes during the erection of the catenary for the [[Overhead lines|overhead electrification]] of the London suburban lines.<ref>Ellis (1971), p. 199.</ref>

During the experiments relating to railcars and ''motor trains'', the LB&SCR constructed unmanned halts, such as [[Ifield railway station|Lyons Crossing Halt]] and [[Littlehaven railway station|Littlehaven Halt]] on the [[Arun Valley Line]], in an attempt to increase passenger revenue.

===Freight services===
Freight represented a relatively small part of the LB&SCR's finances during its first half century. Agricultural goods and general merchandise were carried, together with wine, foodstuffs and manufactured goods imported from France. During the 1870s the pattern of goods services slowly began to change, leading to rapid growth in the 1890s, 'caused by the transport of raw materials and finished products of entirely new industries such as petroleum, cement, brick and tile manufacture, forestry and biscuit making.'<ref>Marx (2008), p. 19.</ref> This resulted in the construction of 55 goods locomotives of the [[LB&SCR C2 class|C2 class]]

There were no coal mines within LB&SCR territory, and so it had to pay substantially more for its fuel than most other companies.<ref name=Acworth98>Acworth (1888), p. 98</ref> The bulk of its coal was brought in {{convert|800|LT|t}} trains from Acton yard on the [[Great Western Railway]] to [[Three Bridges railway station|Three Bridges]] for redistribution, and the LB&SCR kept two goods locomotives at the GWR Westbourne Park Depot for this purpose.<ref>Marx (2008), pp. 21–22.</ref> In 1898 there was a scheme to develop Deptford Wharf for the landing of coal by sea.<ref>Marx (2008), pp. 98–99.</ref> The additional fuel costs were partially offset by the sale of shingle for rail ballast from Pevensey.<ref>Turner, J.T. Howard (1978), p. 175.</ref>

The main London goods depot was at 'Willow Walk', part of the [[Bricklayers Arms railway station|Bricklayers Arms]] complex, where the LB&SCR established its facilities in 1849.<ref>Turner (1978), p. 22.</ref> These were enlarged in 1854 after it entered into an agreement with the [[London Chatham and Dover Railway|LC&DR]] to handle its goods traffic.<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 121, 232.</ref> Further extensions were built in 1865 and 1902.<ref>Turner, J.T. Howard (1978) p. 241 and Turner (1979), p. 154.</ref> There were also freight handling facilities at [[Battersea]] and [[Deptford Dockyard|Deptford]] Wharves, and [[New Cross Gate railway station|New Cross]] in London and the railway constructed a [[marshalling yard]] to the south of [[Norwood Junction railway station|Norwood Junction]] during the 1870s, extended in the early 1880s.<ref>Turner (1979), p. 76.</ref> Other freight handling facilities outside London were at: [[Brighton]] (where there was a separate goods station at, adjacent to the passenger station), Eastbourne, Hastings, Littlehampton, Portsmouth, Newhaven, Seaford, and Three Bridges.

==Electrification==
[[File:London, Brighton and South Coast Railway - construction of overhead electrical lines.jpg|thumb|Construction of overhead electrical lines, {{circa|1908}}]]
[[File:Elevated Electric Train at Wandsworth c 1909.jpg|thumb|An SL Class train on the [[South London line]] at Wandsworth Road station, about 1909]]
Proposals for a ''London and Brighton Electric Railway'' made to Parliament in 1900 failed to proceed, but caused the LB&SCR to consider [[railway electrification system|electrification]].<ref>Moody (1968).</ref><ref name="grant">The Electrified Electrification: a Pictorial View of Construction; Grant, S; Noodle Books, Southampton; {{ISBN|978-1-906419-65-3}}</ref> Also, competition from the introduction of trams in London meant that annual traffic over the circuitous {{convert|8+1/2|mi|0|adj=on}} route between Victoria and London Bridge stations had dropped from 8 million to 3 million journeys by 1908.<ref>Sherrington (1928), vol. 2 p. 235.</ref> Because of the nature of its traffic with a very large number of commuter journeys over relatively short distances, the railway was an obvious candidate for electrification, and had sought powers for suburban lines in 1903. Third and fourth rail [[direct current]] electrification had been chosen for the underground tube railways and the [[Metropolitan Railway]] and [[District Railway]] in London, the [[Mersey Railway]] in Liverpool and the [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]] [[Liverpool Exchange railway station|Liverpool]] to {{stnlnk|Southport}} line. However the LB&SCR foresaw electrification of its main line, and ultimately to Portsmouth and Hastings, and therefore decided on a high-tension overhead supply system at 6,600 volts [[alternating current|AC]] 25 Hertz.

Although the [[Midland Railway]] line from [[Lancaster, England|Lancaster]] to [[Morecambe]] and [[Heysham]] had been the first to use [[overhead line]]s, the LB&SCR lines covered a far greater length of track. This system was of German origin and the contractor for the electrical equipment was [[AEG (German company)|Allgemeine Elektricitäts Gesellschaft]] of Berlin, while the main contractor was Robert W Blackwell & Co Ltd. Power supply was from the London Electric Supply Corporation (LESCo) at [[Deptford Power Station|Deptford]].<ref name="grant"/><ref>Marshall, (1963), p. 1.</ref>

The first section was the [[South London line]] connecting London Bridge with Victoria via [[Denmark Hill railway station|Denmark Hill]], opened on 1 December 1909. It was marketed as 'The Elevated Electric' and was an immediate success.<ref>Moody, (1968) pp. 6–7.</ref> Traffic on the line grew from 3 to 10 million journeys per year.<ref>Sherrington (1928), vol. 2, p. 236.</ref> Other routes followed: on 12 May 1911 Victoria–[[Crystal Palace railway station|Crystal Palace]] via [[Balham railway station|Balham]] and [[West Norwood railway station|West Norwood]], followed on 3 March 1912 by the line from [[Peckham Rye Railway station|Peckham Rye]] to West Norwood. Repair shops were established at Peckham Rye, and carriage sheds at [[Norwood Junction railway station|Norwood Junction]].

At opening the rolling stock consisted of 16 motor coaches these were supplemented by an additional of 30 motor coaches in 1911.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last= Dawson |first= Philip |date=24 March 1911 |title= The electrification of a portion of the suburban system of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway |magazine= The Electrical Review |volume= 68 |issue= 1739 |pages= 495-496 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_electrical-review_1911-03-24_68_1739/page/494/mode/2up |publisher=St. John Patrick Publishers |language=English}}</ref>

Continued success and profitability of its earliest projects caused the LB&SCR to decide to electrify all remaining London suburban lines in 1913. However, the outbreak of [[World War I|war]] the following year delayed what was planned to have been considerable further mileage of electrified line. By 1921 most of the inner London suburban lines were electrified, and during 1922 lines to [[Coulsdon North railway station|Coulsdon]] and [[Sutton railway station (London)|Sutton]], opened on 1 April 1925. During 1920 plans were drawn up to extend the 'Elevated Electric' to Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Newhaven and Seaford, and to Epsom and Oxted, but these were overtaken by the Grouping.<ref>Dawson (1921).</ref>

The 'Elevated Electric' proved to be a technical and financial success,<ref>Richards (1923), p. 32.</ref> but was short-lived since the [[London and South Western Railway|L&SWR]] had adopted the third-rail system: its mileage far exceeded that of the LB&SCR. In 1926 the Southern Railway announced that, as part of a huge electrification project, all overhead lines were to be converted to [[third rail]], thus bringing all lines into a common system. The last overhead electric train ran on 22 September 1929.<ref name="grant"/><ref>Moody, (1968), p. 25.</ref>

==Accidents and signalling control==
Semaphore [[Railway signalling|signalling]] and [[Signalling control|signal boxes]] were first introduced on the L&CR and had been adopted by the L&BR as early as the 1840s. There were a number of serious accidents in the early years of the LB&SCR, some due to failures in communication.<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 16–18, 292–95.</ref> The LB&SCR began to improve its safety record in the 1860s with the introduction of [[interlocking]],<ref>Turner (1978), pp. 285–88.</ref> and the early introduction of [[Westinghouse Air Brake Company|Westinghouse air brakes]]. Given the large number of junctions and the intensive use of its system, the LB&SCR maintained a good safety record during the last half century of its existence.

The following accidents occurred on the LB&SCR:
*On 6 June 1851, there was a [[derailment]] at [[Falmer railway station|Falmer Bank]], [[East Sussex]] due to an object on the line.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=1782|title=Accident Archive:Accident at Falmer on 6th June 1851|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*On 27 November 1851, passenger train from Brighton ran into the eighth wagon of a goods train that had just left {{stnlnk|Ford}}, station, West Sussex, due to the passenger train [[Signal passed at danger|passing a signal at danger]].<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=3838|title=Accident Archive:Accident at Ford on 27th November 1851|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*On 17 March 1853, the boiler of locomotive No. 10 [[Boiler explosion|exploded]] at [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]], East Sussex.<ref name=Hewison>{{cite book |first=Christian H. |last=Hewison |title=Locomotive Boiler Explosions |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot |year=1983 |isbn= 0-7153-8305-1 |pages=37–38 }}</ref>
*On 27 August 1853, confusion over a warning signal at [[New Cross]] caused a goods train to collide with an empty passenger train, resulting in the death of a fireman<ref>{{cite web|title=Death on the tracks: A 19th century train crash|url=http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/social-economic-history/death-on-the-tracks-19th-century-train-crash|website=OpenLearn|publisher=The Open University|access-date=7 September 2016}}</ref>
*On 21 August 1854, there was an accident at {{rws|East Croydon}}, Surrey due to numerous causes, resulting in three fatalities and eleven injured.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=1976|title=Accident Archive: Accident at Croydon on 21st August 1854|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*On 3 October 1859, the boiler of a locomotive exploded at Falmer Incline.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=2382|title=Accident Archive: Accident at Falmer Incline on 3rd October 1859|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*On 25 August 1861, in the accident known as the [[Clayton Tunnel rail crash]], an excursion train ran into the rear of another inside [[Clayton Tunnel]], West Sussex due to a combination of the failure of an automatic signal to return to 'danger' and culpable operating errors. At the time, this was the deadliest accident up to that time in the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] with 23 people killed and 176 people injured.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=27|title=Accident Archive: Accident at Clayton Tunnel on 25th August 1861|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*On 29 May 1863, there was a derailment at [[Streatham Common railway station|Streatham Common]], [[Surrey]]. Four people (including the driver) were killed 59 people were injured.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=2588|title=Accident Archive: Accident at Streatham on 29th May 1863|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*On 23 June 1869, two trains collided at [[New Cross Gate railway station|New Cross Gate]], Surrey due to driver error, excessive speed and guard error, injuring 91 people.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=3010|title=Accident Archive: Accident at New Cross on 23rd June 1869|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*On 27 September 1879, the boiler of a locomotive exploded at {{rws|Lewes}}, East Sussex. One person was killed and two were injured.<ref name=Trevena2>{{cite book |last=Trevena |first=Arthur |title=Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. |year=1981 |publisher=Atlantic Books |location=Redruth |isbn=0-906899-03-6 |page=4 }}</ref>
*On 1 May 1891, in the accident known as the [[Norwood Junction rail accident]], a [[cast-iron]] bridge collapsed under a train at Norwood Junction, Surrey. Six people were injured.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=59|title=Accident Archive: Accident at Norwood Junction on 1st May 1891|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*On 23 July 1894, a [[brake van]] next to the engine hauling the 6.35pm from {{rws|Havant}} derailed at [[Farlington Halt railway station]] and the first two coaches overturned.<ref name="scorer">{{cite magazine |department=The Why and Wherefore |title=Accident at Farlington, 1894 |magazine=Railway Magazine|date=November 1977|volume=123|issue=919 |page=571}}</ref> The guard on the train was killed and seven passengers were injured.
*On 1 September 1897, a passenger train derailed near [[Heathfield (Sussex) railway station|Heathfield]], East Sussex. One person was killed.<ref name=Trevena>{{cite book |last=Trevena |first=Arthur |title=Trains in Trouble: Vol. 1. |year=1980 |publisher=Atlantic Books |location=Redruth |isbn=0-906899-01-X |pages=14, 20–21 }}</ref>
*On 23 December 1899, a Brighton train passed a signal at danger and ran into the back of a boat train express in thick fog at Keymer Junction, West Sussex. There were six fatalities and 20 injured.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Railway Archive|url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=6172|title=Accident Archive: Accident at Keymer Junction on 23rd December 1899|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref>
*In 1904, a freight train hauled by [[LB&SCR D1 class|D1 class]] No. 239 ''Patcham'' was derailed at [[Cocking, West Sussex]].<ref name=Trevena/>
*On 29 January 1910, an express passenger train became divided and was derailed at [[Coulsdon North railway station#1910 accident|Stoat's Nest]], Surrey due to a defective wheelset on a carriage. Seven people were killed and 65 were injured.<ref name=Earnshaw6>{{cite book |last=Earnshaw |first=Alan |title=Trains in Trouble: Vol. 6 |year=1990 |publisher=Atlantic Books |location=Penryn |isbn=0-906899-37-0 |page=11 }}</ref>
*On 21 October 1913, seven labourers were working a night shift at [[London Bridge station]], scraping and cleaning the cradles and insulator fittings of the overhead line equipment. The wire brush of one of the men, labourer Amos Boniface, touched one of the electrical wires and he suffered severe burns. Boniface died 19 days later from his injuries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Esbester |first=Mike |date=15 October 2018 |title=Burns Awareness – past & present |url=https://www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk/burns-awareness-past-present/ |access-date=12 March 2024 |website=Railway Work, Life & Death}}</ref>
*On 3 April 1916, a passenger train was derailed between {{rws|Crowborough & Jarvis Brook}} and {{rws|Buxted}} stations, East Sussex.<ref name=Hoole3>{{cite book |last=Hoole |first=Ken |author-link=Ken Hoole |title=Trains in Trouble: Vol. 3 |year=1982 |publisher=Atlantic Books |location=Redruth |isbn=0-906899-05-2 |pages=2, 19, 22 }}</ref>
*On 18 April 1918, a freight train became divided, the rear part coming to rest inside [[Redhill Tunnel]], Surrey. Due to a signalman's error, another freight train ran into the wagons and was derailed. A third freight train ran into the wreckage.<ref name=Hoole3/>

===Signalling and signal boxes===
[[File:Signal Box at Crawley (geograph 551375).jpg|thumb|The signal box at Crawley built by Saxby and Farmer in 1877]]
The LB&SCR originally used semaphore for home signals and 'double disc' for distant signals, but after 1872 semaphore signals were used for both purposes.

The LB&SCR was using primitive interlocking between signals at some junctions by 1844.<ref name="Httpwwwsignalboxorggallerylbschtm">[http://www.signalbox.org/gallery/lbsc.htm Signal Boxes of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway]</ref> In 1856, [[John Saxby]], an LB&SCR carpenter, patented a form of manual [[interlocking]] of the points and signals, first tried at Bricklayers Arms that year.<ref>Marshall (1978), p. 189.</ref> The first fully interlocking frame was installed by Saxby at Keymer Junction near [[Haywards Heath]] in 1860, where he built a small workshop to undertake private work. He left the company and in 1862 formed [[Saxby & Farmer]] signalling contractors. Thereafter the LB&SC patronised Saxby & Farmer for most of its signalling until circa 1880.<ref name="Httpwwwsignalboxorggallerylbschtm"/> Thereafter it adopted the [[William Robert Sykes#Lock and block|Sykes 'Lock and block']] system used on the LC&DR.<ref>Turner (1978), p. 99.</ref>

The LB&SCR inherited the world's first signal boxes, at Bricklayers Arms Junction and Brighton Junction (Norwood). After 1880 it gradually developed its own architecture for signal boxes, using home-produced and contractor-built frames. J. E. Annett, the inventor of [[Annett's key]] in 1875, a portable form of interlocking, was a former LB&SCR employee.

During the remodelling of [[London Victoria Station|Victoria Station]] between 1898 and 1908 it was resignalled using the [[William Robert Sykes|Sykes electromechanical method]] for controlling points and signals, allowing for more compact signal boxes.<ref>Gordon (1910), pp. 159–60.</ref>

==Rolling stock==
For the greater part of its existence the LB&SCR relied upon [[steam locomotives]] for [[propulsion system|motive power]], and it owned no [[diesel locomotive|diesel]] or [[electric locomotive|electric]] locomotives. The electrified lines were worked by [[electric multiple units]] for passenger traffic and by steam for freight. It experimented with two petrol [[railcar]]s in 1906 and 1907, but these proved to be underpowered and highly unreliable and were soon taken out of traffic.<ref>Bradley (1974), pp. 64–65.</ref>

The LB&SCR under Stroudley was one of the first railways in Britain to adopt the [[George Westinghouse|Westinghouse]] [[railway air brake|air brake]] after 1877<ref>Bradley (1969), p. 173.</ref> in preference to the far less effective vacuum brakes employed by its neighbours.

===Steam locomotives===
The LB&SCR inherited 51 steam locomotives from the [[Brighton, Croydon and Dover Joint Committee]], and it built or purchased 1,055 locomotives.<ref>Baxter (1977), pp. 69–72.</ref> Of these, 620 were handed over to the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923.

The LB&SCR achieved early fame as the first railway to use the ''[[Jenny Lind locomotive|Jenny Lind]]'' {{whyte|2-2-2}} locomotive in 1847, designed by [[David Joy (engineer)|David Joy]], the Chief Draughtsman of the [[E. B. Wilson and Company]] of [[Leeds]], later widely used by other railways. The policy of [[John Chester Craven]], [[Locomotive Superintendent]] from 1847 to 1869, was to design locomotives for each task or type of traffic. Many of his designs were capable locomotives, but with 72 different classes in use at the time of [[William Stroudley]]'s appointment in 1870, the policy was hopelessly uneconomic.

Stroudley reduced this to 12 main classes, many with interchangeable parts, by 1888.<ref name="Acworth98" /> He introduced a number of extremely successful and long-lived designs, notably the [[LB&SCR A1 class|A1 ('Terrier')]] and [[LB&SCR E1 Class|E1 classes]] {{whyte|0-6-0|T}}, and the [[LB&SCR D1 class|D1 class]] {{whyte|0-4-2|T}}, the powerful [[LB&SCR G class|G class]] {{whyte|2-2-2}} 'singles' and the [[LB&SCR B1 class|B1 'Gladstone' class]] {{whyte|0-4-2}} express passenger locomotives. Less successful were his [[LB&SCR C class|C]] and [[LB&SCR C1 Class|C1]] {{whyte|0-6-0}} classes of 1871 and 1882 respectively, both of which proved to be underpowered as the volume of freight traffic grew towards the end of the century. Stroudley's locomotives were all limited to six wheels, and he never used [[bogie]]s largely because of the limitations imposed by [[Turntable (rail)|turntable]]s, notably at Victoria. The high price of coal encouraged him to experiment with [[Condensing steam locomotive|condensing apparatus]].<ref>Ellis (1979), p. 104.</ref><ref>Acworth (1888), p. 99.</ref>

Stroudley's successor [[R. J. Billinton]] continued the process of standardisation of locomotive parts until his death in 1904, thereby reducing maintenance costs. He introduced eight-wheeled designs in the form of {{whyte|4-4-0}} express locomotives of the [[LB&SCR B4 Class|B4 class]] and the [[LB&SCR D3 class|D3]] class {{whyte|0-4-4|T}}, for use on London suburban services. He also introduced a very successful and versatile series of four {{whyte|0-6-2|T}} tank engine classes with [[radial axle]]s for both passenger and freight duties. Of less success was his {{whyte|0-6-0}} freight locomotives of the [[LB&SCR C2 Class|C2 class]].

[[D.E. Marsh]] continued the process of building larger locomotives with the [[LB&SCR H1 class|H1 class]] of {{whyte|4-4-2}} express passenger locomotives of 1905, based on a former Great Northern railway design. A [[superheater|superheated]] version was introduced in 1911. Marsh was also responsible for the design of four of {{whyte|4-4-2|T}} classes (I1-I4) but of these, only the [[LB&SCR I3 class|I3 class]] were successful, being described by Klaus Marx as 'wonder engines'.<ref>Marx (2005), 46.</ref> This class was also instrumental in demonstrating the benefits of superheating to locomotive engineers in Britain. Marsh also designed a [[LB&SCR J1 class|class]] of [[4-6-2]] [[tank engine]]s, and a very poor [[LB&SCR C3 class|C3 class]] of {{whyte|0-6-0}}, freight locomotives, which proved to perform worse than the locomotives they were due to replace. However, he found that by rebuilding Billinton's unsuccessful C2 class with his newly designed C3 boiler he was at last able to produce a successful freight design for the railway in the form of the [[LB&SCR C2 class|C2X class]].

The last [[Chief Mechanical Engineer]] was [[L.B. Billinton]], who designed the powerful [[LB&SCR K class|K class]] {{whyte|2-6-0}} [[mixed-traffic locomotive]]s and the [[LB&SCR E2 class]] in 1913, and the [[LB&SCR L class|L class]] [[4-6-4]] tanks of 1914. All of these designs were successful but his career was cut short by the [[First World War]] and the grouping of British railways. According to D.L. Bradley, the railway handed over "a nicely balanced stock of locomotives well-suited to the demands of the Brighton section" to the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]] at grouping in 1923.<ref>Bradley (1974), p. 126.</ref>

LB&SCR locomotive designs had little impact on the locomotive policy of the Southern Railway after 1923 because they were built to a more generous [[loading gauge]] and had Westinghouse air brakes unlike the two other main constituent companies. Although the designs were not perpetuated, the originals proved to be particularly long-lived. 62.8% of locomotives inherited by the Southern Railway were still in use at the nationalisation of [[British Rail]]ways in 1948, compared with 57.9% for the L&SWR and 56.8% for the SE&CR.<ref>Riley (1967), p. 10.</ref>

===Electric traction===
The electrified lines were operated by [[electric multiple units]]. These were originally three-car units, with a trailer sandwiched between motor cars, later converted into two-car units with one driving motor car and one [[Control car (rail)|driving trailer]]. New classes of multiple unit were developed for each electrified line, known as the [[SR Class SL|South London stock]] and the [[SR Class CP|Crystal Palace stock]]. A third type, the [[SR Class CW|Coulsdon and Wallington stock]] was planned by the LB&SCR but introduced by the Southern Railway. {{See also|SR multiple unit numbering and classification}}

===Coaching stock===
[[File:LBSC 661.JPG|thumb|LB&SCR coach no. 661 at Horsted Keynes, Bluebell Railway]]
The jobs of [[Locomotive Superintendent]] and Carriage and wagon superintendent were combined until the retirement of [[D. E. Marsh]] in 1911. As a result, the LB&SCR was never at the forefront of carriage development for its ordinary [[Passenger car (rail)|coaching stock]],<ref>Cooper (1990), p. 46.</ref> and as late as the mid-1860s was still building open-side 3rd class carriages.<ref name="Ellis">Ellis (1979), p. 69.</ref> Stroudley introduced four-wheeled and later six-wheeled designs which lasted for 40 years, and shortly before his death in 1889 he introduced a few [[bogie]] carriages for the main business trains.<ref>Gray (1977), p. 123.</ref> Stroudley was a pioneer of [[dynamo]]-driven [[electric lighting]]<ref>Acworth (1888), pp. 92–93.</ref> and [[communication cord]]s.<ref name="Ellis"/> The LB&SCR introduced breakfast cars to its main business trains.

The appointment of Albert Panter as Carriage and Wagon Works Manager under [[R. J. Billinton|Robert Billinton]] in 1898 (Carriage and Wagon Superintendent from 1912) led to the introduction of [[bogie]] carriages for mainline trains in 1905,<ref>Ellis (1979), p. 200.</ref> but suburban services were operated by six-wheeled "block trains" with solid wooden [[Buffer (rail transport)|buffers]], permanently tight coupled in sets of ten or 12.<ref>Acworth (1888), p. 94).</ref> Many of these were still in use at grouping in 1923. Better vehicles appeared early in the 20th century with the 'Balloon stock' and electric stock.<ref>Bonavia (1987), pp. 16–17.</ref>

Sixteen carriages of LB&SCR origin have been preserved, including one luxurious "Directors' saloon" of 1914: these are principally on the [[Bluebell Railway]] and the [[Isle of Wight Steam Railway]].<ref>Cooper (1990,) pp. 46–54.</ref> A number of grounded carriage bodies used as holiday homes survive.

===Wagons===
Sixteen wagons formerly in LB&SCR ownership now survive, largely because the Southern Railway transferred them to the [[Isle of Wight]], where they remained in use until the 1960s.<ref>Cooper (1990), pp. 55–64.</ref>

===Liveries===
After 1870 the LB&SCR was renowned for the attractiveness of its locomotives and coaching stock and condition of its country stations. "No company, even [[London and North Western Railway|the North-Western itself]] turns out smarter looking trains than the Brighton main line expresses and even some of the suburban trains."<ref>Acworth (1888), pp. 91–92.</ref>

Between 1846 and 1870 passenger locomotives were painted [[hunter green]] with some having black lining. Frames were red, and wheels were black; [[buffer beam]]s were the regulation 'signal red'. Goods locomotives were black with red and white lining, except those operating into [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]] or [[London Bridge railway station|London Bridge]], in passenger livery. Some engines had [[boiler]]s lagged with wooden strips. These were either highly polished [[mahogany]] with [[brass]] fixings or were painted in alternating stripes of dark green and [[vermilion]]. The main shade of green used gradually became darker. By the time [[William Stroudley|Stroudley]] became Locomotive Superintendent the colour had become a variant of [[Brunswick Green]] used by many other companies. [[Carriage]]s were painted [[sea green]] or varnished wood, the latter mainly first class stock.

[[File:B2 Bessemer.jpg|thumb|B2 Class 213 ''Bessemer'' 1897, in Stroudley's "Improved Engine Green"]]
From 1870 to 1905 the livery was Stroudley's famous {{anchor|Improved Engine Green}}'''Improved Engine Green''', a golden [[ochre]] very similar to that used by his former employer, the [[Highland Railway]]. On passenger locomotives Improved Engine Green was finished with [[olive green]] borders lined with black, red and white. Frames and buffer beams were [[carmine]] red, lined with yellow and black. The wheels were Improved Engine Green with red lining. Cab roofs were white. Goods engines were all-over [[olive green]] with black borders, similar to the pre-1870 colours. If fitted with [[Westinghouse Air Brake Company|Westinghouse]] brakes the black borders were edged with red lines. Locomotives with names had the name applied in [[gold leaf]] to the tank side on [[tank locomotives]], to a wheel splasher on tender locomotives. The letters were edged with a thin red line and given depth with black shading. This livery was one of the most ornate and distinctive used on British locomotives, and is remembered with nostalgia. Carriages were all [[mahogany]] in colour, with white roofs and black chassis gear. Initially the wood of the body was varnished, but as it became harder to maintain a high-quality varnish finish and it was painted in a similar-coloured [[paint]]. Panel lining and other details were picked out with [[gold leaf]].

From 1905 to 1923 front-line express locomotives were a dark shade of [[umber]]. Lining was black with a [[Gilding|gilt]] line either side. Cab roofs remained white. Frames were black, wheels umber, and buffer beams returned to signal red. The company's initials were painted on the tender- or tank-sides (initially 'L.B.& S.C.R.', but after 1911 the [[ampersand]] and the R were removed) in gilt. Secondary passenger locomotives had the same livery, but instead of gilt lining [[chrome yellow]] paint was used. Goods engines were gloss black with double vermilion lining. Names and numbers were in white letters with red shading. Carriages were initially all olive green with white lining and detailing. From 1911 this changed to plain umber with black lettering picked out with gold shading.

==Ferry services and ships==
{{further|List of LB&SCR ships}}

[[File:LBSCR ferries.jpg|thumb|250px|A map showing the main LB&SCR ferry routes in 1888]]

The LB&SCR invested in cross-channel ferry services, initially from Shoreham to Dieppe. Following the opening of the line to [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]] in 1847, it improved [[Port of Newhaven|Newhaven harbour]], building a wharf and dredging the channel. A Newhaven–Dieppe service was established in 1847, but discontinued soon afterwards.<ref name="measomvi">Measom (1852), p. vi.</ref> In 1850 it established a Newhaven–[[Jersey]] ferry service, and in 1853 it reinstated the Dieppe service.<ref name="measomvi"/>

The [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (New Lines) Act 1862]] ([[25 & 26 Vict.]] c. lxviii) gave the LB&SCR power to own and operate its own steam vessels,<ref>25 & 26 Vict. c. lxviii 30 June 1862,</ref> so it instructed Chief Engineer [[Frederick Banister]] to greatly expand the port and its facilities. In 1863 the [[Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest]] in France agreed to operate the Newhaven–Dieppe passenger service jointly, advertised as the "shortest and cheapest" route to [[Paris]],<ref>Acworth (1888), p. 101.</ref> but never the quickest because of the much longer time taken at sea than the rival [[Dover]] to [[Calais]] route. (Newhaven harbour was taken over by the military authorities and the ferries requisitioned for the duration of the [[First World War]].)

In 1863, the LB&SCR transferred the Jersey service to Littlehampton and soon afterwards established another between Littlehampton and [[Honfleur]].

By 1880 lines connected the [[Ryde]] Pier and the Portsmouth Harbour ferry terminals. It was therefore a natural progression for the companies to acquire the ferry routes. To do this the LB&SCR and the L&SWR formed the South Western and Brighton Railway Companies Steam Packet Service (SW&BRCSPS), which bought the operators.<ref name="Jordan"/>

In 1884 the Isle of Wight Marine Transit Company started a goods rail ferry between the [[Hayling Island Branch Line]] at [[Langstone, Hampshire|Langstone]] and the Bembridge branch line at [[St Helens, Isle of Wight|St Helens]] quay. The rail ferry [[TF Carrier|PS ''Carrier'']], designed to carry railway trucks, was moved from Scotland. The project was unsuccessful and, despite being acquired by the LB&SCR in 1886, ended in 1888.<ref>Acworth (1888), p. 105.</ref>

The LB&SCR operated a significant number of ships in its own right, jointly with [[Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest]], and as a part of the SW&BRCSPS.

==Structures, buildings and civil engineering==
The LB&SCR inherited significant structures, buildings and other civil engineering features, including:
*Bridges and viaducts – the [[Ouse Valley Viaduct]], [[London Road viaduct]], the Lewes Road viaduct [[Moulsecoomb]].
*The [[Norwood Junction railway station|Norwood Junction flyover]], the world's first railway [[overpass]].
*Tunnels – [[Merstham tunnels|Merstham]], [[Balcombe tunnel|Balcombe]], [[Haywards Heath Tunnel|Haywards Heath]], [[Clayton Tunnel|Clayton]] and [[Patcham Tunnel|Patcham]], Ditchling Road (Brighton) and [[Falmer]]
*Stations – Modular station buildings at [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]], [[East Croydon railway station|Croydon]], [[Redhill railway station|Redhill and Reigate Road]], [[Horley railway station|Horley]], [[Three Bridges railway station|Three Bridges]] and [[Hassocks railway station|Hassocks]], designed by [[David Mocatta]].
[[File:Horsted Keynes station - geograph.org.uk - 702114.jpg|thumb|200px|The entrance to [[Horsted Keynes railway station]] typical of several late Victorian LB&SCR country stations in Sussex]]

===Stations===
The LB&SCR inherited or built 20 termini, the most significant at {{Stnlnk|London Bridge}}, [[London Victoria railway station|Victoria]], {{Stnlnk|Brighton}}, [[Portsmouth Harbour railway station|Portsmouth Harbour]] and [[Eastbourne railway station|Eastbourne]]. Stations at major junctions included [[Clapham Junction railway station|Clapham Junction]], {{Stnlnk|East Croydon}}, {{Stnlnk|Three Bridges}}, [[Horsham railway station|Horsham]], and {{Stnlnk|Lewes}}.

The use of Mocatta's modular station designs was not perpetuated. During the 1850s and 1860s most stations were constructed according to one or two stock designs prepared by the Chief Engineers, [[Robert Jacomb-Hood]] (1822–1900) and [[Frederick Banister]] (1860–1895). Banister had a love of [[Italianate architecture]], meaning that during the 1880s the LB&SCR produced elaborate decorated architecture for many country stations, notably on the Bluebell and Cuckoo Lines.<ref>Hoard (1974), p. 22.</ref> The architect was Banister's son-in-law, [[Thomas Myres]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Green|first=Alan H. J.|title=The railway buildings of T. H. Myres|journal=Newsletter of the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society|date=July 2013|issue=159|page=12}}</ref>

===Workshops and motive power depots===
The L&BR established a repair workshop at [[Brighton railway works|Brighton]] in 1840. Between 1852 and 1957 more than 1,200 steam locomotives and prototype diesel electric and electric locomotives were constructed there, before closure in 1962. It had small locomotive repair facilities at [[New Cross Gate railway station|New Cross]] and [[Battersea Park railway station|Battersea Park]] Depots in London.

By the first decade of the 20th century, Brighton works could no longer cope with the repair and building of both locomotives and rolling stock. In 1911 the LB&SCR built a carriage and wagon works at [[Lancing Carriage Works|Lancing]], which operated until 1965. A marine engineering workshop was established in the mid-1870s at [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]].<ref>Cooper (1981), p. 58.</ref>

There were [[motive power depot|engine sheds]] at [[Battersea Park railway station|Battersea Park]], [[Brighton railway station|Brighton]], [[Bognor Regis railway station|Bognor]], [[Coulsdon North railway station|Coulsdon]], [[West Croydon railway station|Croydon]], [[Eastbourne railway station|Eastbourne]], [[Epsom railway station|Epsom]], [[Fratton railway station|Fratton]] (joint) [[Horsham railway station|Horsham]], [[Littlehampton railway station|Littlehampton]], [[Midhurst railway station|Midhurst]], [[New Cross Gate railway station|New Cross]], [[Newhaven Town railway station|Newhaven]], [[St Leonards West Marina railway station|St Leonards]], [[Three Bridges railway station|Three Bridges]] and [[Tunbridge Wells West railway station|Tunbridge Wells West]].<ref>Hawkins (1979).</ref>

The headquarters and main offices were at [[Brighton railway station]] from 1846 until 1892, when they were transferred to the former ''Terminus Hotel'' at [[London Bridge railway station|London Bridge]]

===Hotels===
The LB&SCR opened the ''Terminus Hotel'' at [[London Bridge station|London Bridge]] and the ''Grosvenor Hotel'' at [[London Victoria station|Victoria]] in 1861. The first of these was not successful due to its site on the south bank and was turned into offices for the railway in 1892. It was destroyed by bombing in 1941. The ''Grosvenor Hotel'' was rebuilt and enlarged in 1901.<ref>'Reconstruction of the Grosvenor Hotel' (1901).</ref> The LB&SCR acquired the ''Terminus Hotel'' next to Brighton station in 1877,<ref>Mitchell and Smith (1983), picture no. 5.</ref> and operated the ''London and Paris Hotel'' at Newhaven.<ref>London Brighton and South Coast Railway Official Guide (1912), p. 262.</ref>

==The LB&SCR as an investment==
The 1867 report by the railway found that there had been 'a reckless disregard for shareholders' interests for many years.'.<ref>Ottley (1965) item 6741.</ref> As a result, the company policies were several times subjected to criticism in pamphlets published during the 1870s and 1880s.<ref>Ottley (1965) items 6742, 6745–6748.</ref> The matter was settled in 1890 when the economist and editor of the [[Financial Times]], William Ramage Lawson, conducted a detailed analysis of the financial performance and prospects of the LB&SCR, comparing it with other British railways. He concluded that the ''Brighton Deferred stock'' 'combined the highest return on investment, with the best prospect of future appreciation and the smallest risk of retrogression.'<ref>Lawson (1891), p. 3.</ref> Among the reasons given for this opinion were:
*Well established route and freedom from competition
*Varied and well distributed sources of traffic
*Moderate working expenses due to high quality construction of the original route and good maintenance.
*Energetic and prudent management

From 1870 the LB&SCR appears to have been a well-run, enterprising and profitable railway for its shareholders.

==Notable people==

===Chairmen of the board of directors===
*[[Charles Grenfell (1790–1867)|Charles Pasco Grenfell]] (1846–1848)
*[[Samuel Laing (science writer)|Samuel Laing]] (1848–1855)
*[[Leo Schuster]] (1856–1866)
*Peter Northall Lawrie (1866–1867)
*[[Sir Walter Barttelot, 1st Baronet|Sir Walter Barttelot]] (April – July 1867)
*Samuel Laing (again, 1867–1896)
*[[Thomas Fremantle, 2nd Baron Cottesloe|Lord Cottesloe]] (1896–1908)
*[[Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough|Earl of Bessborough]] (1908–1920) – died in office
*Charles C. Macrae (1920–1922)
*[[Gerald Loder, 1st Baron Wakehurst|Gerald Loder]] (December 1922)

===Members of the board of directors===
*John Pares Bickersteth<ref name=BSG-1905-187>{{cite book|title=Bradshaw's Railway Manual, Shareholders' Guide and Official Directory for 1905 |location=London |publisher=Henry Blacklock & Co. Ltd. |page=187}}</ref>
*Rear-Admiral The Hon. Thomas S. Brand<ref name=BSG-1905-187/>
*Major [[Philip Cardew]]<ref name=BSG-1905-187/>
*[[Dudley Docker]]
*Sir [[Julian Goldsmid]]
*William Milburn<ref name=BSG-1905-187/>
*[[Henry Nevill, 3rd Marquess of Abergavenny|Lord Henry Nevill]]<ref name=BSG-1905-187/>
*John Nix
*[[Sir Arthur Otway, 3rd Baronet]] – Deputy-Chairman in 1905<ref name=BSG-1905-187/>
*Sir [[Spencer Walpole]]<ref name=BSG-1905-187/>

===Managers===
*Peter Clarke(1846–1848) – Manager
*George Hawkins (1849–1850) – Goods Manager
*? Pountain (1849–1850) – Non Goods Manager
*George Hawkins (1849–1850) – Traffic Manager
*[[John Peake Knight]] (1869–1870) – Traffic Manager
*[[John Peake Knight]] (1870–1886) general manager
*Sir Allen Sarle (1886–1897) general manager
*John Francis Sykes Gooday (1897–1899) general manager
*[[Lt Col Forbes|William de Guise Forbes]] (1899–1922) general manager

===Secretaries===
*T.J. Buckton (1846–1849)
*Frederick Slight (1849–1867)
*Sir Allen Sarle (1867–1898) from 1886 to 1898 also general manager
*J.J. Brewer (1898–1922)

===Chief engineers===
*Robert Jacomb-Hood (1846–1860)
*[[Frederick Banister]] (1860–1895)
*[[Charles Langbridge Morgan (engineer)|Charles Langbridge Morgan]] (1895–1917)
*J.B. Ball (1917–1920)
*O.G.C. Drury (1920–1922)

===Locomotive superintendents===
*[[John Gray (locomotive engineer)|John Gray]] (1846–1847)
*[[Thomas Kirtley]] (February–November 1847) – died in office
*[[John Chester Craven]] (1847–1870)
*[[William Stroudley]] (1870–1889) – died in office
*[[R. J. Billinton]] (1890–1904) – died in office
*[[D. E. Marsh]] (1905–1911)
*[[L. B. Billinton]] (1912–1922)

===Carriage and wagon superintendent===
*Albert Panter (1912–1922)

===Fireman===
*[[Curly Lawrence]] known as LBSC, one of Britain's most prolific and well known model or scale-steam-locomotive designers, was employed as a fireman on the LB&SCR as a young man, and took the shortened version of its initials as his pseudonym.

==Industrial relations==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Pensions) Act 1899
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to provide for the establishment and regulation of a Pension Fund for officers and servants of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway Company.
| year = 1899
| citation = [[62 & 63 Vict.]] c. liv
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 13 July 1899
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date =
| amends =
| replaces =
| amendments =
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation =
| status =
| legislation_history =
| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/62-63/54/pdfs/ukla_18990054_en.pdf
| revised_text =
| use_new_UK-LEG =
| UK-LEG_title =
| collapsed = yes
}}
For its time, the LB&SCR was regarded as a good employer. In 1851 it created a benevolent fund for staff who had become incapacitated, and from 1854 operated a savings bank. In 1867 there was a two-day strike involving the [[Railroad engineer|drivers and firemen]] over their working hours, resolved by negotiation.<ref>'Termination of the strike on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway' (1867).</ref> In 1872 a [[superannuation]] fund was established for higher grades of staff, extended to become a pension fund for all staff in 1899 under the '''{{visible anchor|London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Pensions) Act 1899}}''' ([[62 & 63 Vict.]] c. liv).<ref>''The London Brighton and South Coast Railway Co. 1846–1922'' (1923), p. 14.</ref>

Labour relations between the railway management, locomotive crews and Brighton works staff declined markedly in the period 1905 and 1910 leading to several strikes and sackings.<ref>Marx (2005), 109–138.</ref> This was partly due to increased union militancy and to the intransigency of the Locomotive Superintendent [[D. E. Marsh|Douglas Earle Marsh]]. This situation improved under Marsh's successor.

==See also==
*[[List of early British railway companies]]
*[[Locomotives of the Southern Railway#London, Brighton and South Coast Railway|Locomotives of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]]
*[[List of LB&SCR ships]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Acworth, W.M. "The London and Brighton Railway". ''Murray's Magazine'' 4 (19) (July 1888). London: John Murray.
*Ahrons, Ernest L. (1953). ''Locomotive & Train Working in the Latter Part of the Nineteenth Century''. Cambridge: Heffer. {{OCLC|11899921}}
*{{cite book |last=Awdry |first=Christopher |authorlink=Christopher Awdry |year=1990 |title=Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies |location=Sparkford |publisher=Patrick Stephens |isbn=1-85260-049-7 }}
*Baxter, Bertram; Baxter, David (1977). ''British Locomotive Catalogue, 1825–1923''. Buxton: Moorland. {{ISBN|978-0-903485-50-0}}.
*Bonavia, Michael R. (1987). ''The History of the Southern Railway''. London: Unwin Hyman. {{ISBN|0-04-385107-X}}.
*Bradley, Donald Laurence (1969). ''Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway: Part 1''. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society.
*Bradley, D.L. (1972). ''Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway: Part 2''. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society.
*Bradley, D.L. (1974). ''Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway: Part 3''. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society.
*Burtt, Frank (1975) ''The locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1839-190'', 2nd edition, 3.Branch Line
*Burtt, Frank; Beckerlegge, W. (1948). ''Pullman and Perfection''. London: Ian Allan. {{OCLC| 316139331}}
*Cooper, B.K. (1981). ''Rail Centres: Brighton''. Nottingham: Booklaw. {{ISBN|1-901945-11-1}}.
*Cooper, Peter (1990) ''LBSCR Stock Book''. Cheltenham: Runpast. {{ISBN|1-870754-13-1}}.
*Dawson, Philip, (1921). ''Report by Sir Philip Dawson on Proposed Substitution of Electric for Steam Operation for Suburban, Local and Mainline Passenger and Freight Services''. London Brighton and South Coast Railway.
*Dendy Marshall, Chapman Frederick; Kidner, Roger Wakely. ''A History of the Southern Railway''. 2nd edition. London: Ian Allan 1963. Originally published 1936. {{oclc|315039503}}
*Eborall, C.W.; Smiles, S. (1863). ''Report of the General Manager and Secretary on the Relations of the South Eastern and Brighton Companies''. London: South Eastern Railway.
*Eddolls, John (1983). ''The Brighton line''. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. {{ISBN|0-7153-8251-9}}.
*Ellis, C. Hamilton (1960). ''The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway: A Mechanical History of the London and Brighton, the London and Croydon, and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railways from 1839 to 1922''. London: Ian Allan. {{oclc|500637942}}
*Fryer, C.E.J. (1997). ''A History of Slipping and Slip Carriages''. Usk: Oakwood Press. {{ISBN|978-0-85361-514-9}}
*Gordon, W.J. (1910) ''Our Home Railways''. London: F.J. Warne.
*Gray, Adrian (1997). ''The London to Brighton Line 1841–1977''. Blandford Forum: Oakwood Press. {{oclc|4570078}}
*Hawkins, Chris; Reeve, George (1979). ''An Historical Survey of Southern Sheds''. Oxford: Oxford Publishing. {{ISBN|0-86093-020-3}}.
*Haworth, R.B. [http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz/ship/list?search_op=OR&IDNo=1079175 Miramar Ship Index] (Requires Login). Wellington, New Zealand.
*Heap, Christine; van Riemsdijk, John (1980). ''The Pre-Grouping Railways part 2''. H.M.S.O. for the Science Museum. {{ISBN|0-11-290309-6}}.
*Hoare, John (1974). {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110827063456/http://sias.pastfinder.org.uk/sih_1970_2008/06-1974.pdf Railway Architecture in Sussex]}}. ''Sussex Industrial History'', Sussex Industrial History Society, 6.
*Jordan, S. (1998). ''Ferry Services of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway''. Usk: The Oakwood Press. {{ISBN|0-85361-521-7}}.
*Jackson, Alan A. (1978). ''London's Local Railways''. Newton Abbott, David & Charles. {{ISBN|0-7153-7479-6}}
*Kidner, R.W. (1984). ''Southern suburban steam 1860–1967''. The Oakwood Press. {{ISBN|0-85361-298-6}}.
*Lawson, W.R. (1891). ''The Brighton Railway: Its Resources and Prospects''. London: "Financial Times" Office. {{oclc|55652812}}
*''London Brighton and South Coast Railway Official Guide''. (1912), LB&SCR.
*''The London Brighton and South Coast Railway Co. 1846–1922''. (1923) London Brighton and South Coast Railway.
*London Brighton & South Coast Railway (1867). ''Report of the Committee of Investigation''. LB&SCR.
*{{Cite book| last= Dendy Marshall | first= C.F. | year=1968| title= History of the Southern Railway | publisher=[[Ian Allan Publishing|Ian Allan]] | isbn= 0-7110-0059-X}}
*Marx, Klaus (2005). ''Douglas Earle Marsh: His Life and Times''. Oakwood Press, {{ISBN|978-0-85361-633-7}}.
*Marx, Klaus (2007). ''Lawson Billinton: A Career Cut Short''. Oakwood Press, {{ISBN|978-0-85361-661-0}}.
*Marx, Klaus (2008). ''Robert Billinton: An Engineer Under Pressure''. Usk: The Oakwood Press, {{ISBN|978-0-85361-676-4}}.
*[[George Samuel Measom|Measom, George S.]] (1863). ''The Official Illustrated Guide to the Brighton and South Coast Railways and All Their Branches''. London: Collins. {{oclc|55653470}}
*Mitchell, Vic and Smith, Keith (1983) ''South Coast Railways p- Brighton to Worthing''. Middleton Press.
*Moody, George T. (1968). ''Southern Electric 1909–1968''. London: Ian Allan. {{ISBN|978-0-7110-0017-9}}.
*Ottley, George (1965). ''A Bibliography of British Railway History''. London: George Allen & Unwin.
*Pratt, Edwin A. (1921). ''British railways and the Great War''. London: Selwyn & Blount. {{OCLC|1850596}}
*"Railway amalgamation", (1875) ''Saturday Review''. 3 April pp. 430–31.
*Rich, Frederick 'Yesterday once more: a story of Brighton stea', Bromley, P.E. Waters & Associates, 1996.
*Richards, Henry Walter Huntingford (1923). "Twelve years' operation of electric traction on the London Brighton and South Coast Railway", ''Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Session 1922–1923''. London: Institution of Civil Engineers.
*"Reconstruction of the Grosvenor Hotel", (1901), ''British Architect''. 4 January, p. 17.
*{{cite book | last = Riley | first =R.C. | title =Brighton Line Album | publisher = Ian Allan | year =1967 | location =London | page =8 | isbn =0711003939}}
*{{cite book | last =Robertson| first =K. | title = The Southsea Railway | location =Southampton | publisher = Kingfisher | year = 1985 | isbn =0-946184-16-X}}
*Searle, Muriel V. (1986). ''Down the Line to Brighton''. Baton Transport. {{oclc|60079352}}
*Sekon, G.A. (1895). ''History of the South Eastern Railway''. Economic Printing and Publishing Co.
*Sherrington, C.E.R. ''The Economics of Rail Transport in Great Britain''. London, Edward Arnold & Co., 1928.
*Spence, Jeoffry (1952). ''The Caterham Railway: The Story of a Feud and Its Aftermath''. Oakwood Press.
*Swiggum, S.; Kohli, M. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120616103216/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/feederswest.html The Ships List]. ''London, Brighton & South Coast Railway Company''.
*"Termination of the strike on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway". ''Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle''. 30 March 1867.
*Turner, John Howard (1977), ''The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1 Origins and Formation''. Batsford, {{ISBN|0-7134-0275-X}}
*Turner, John Howard (1978), ''The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 2 Establishment and Growth''. Batsford, {{ISBN|0-7134-1198-8}}
*Turner, John Howard (1979), ''The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 3 Completion and Maturity''. Batsford, {{ISBN|0-7134-1389-1}}.
*White, H.P. (1961). ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: II. Southern England''. Phoenix House.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.lbscr.org/ LB&SCR enthusiast site]
*[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=49781 English Heritage ''Survey of London: volume 26'' 1956]
*[http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/time-travel-a-journey-through-the-timetables-of-the-london-brighton-and-south-coast-railway-1860-1901/ Tony Wakeford, 'Time travel: a journey through the timetables of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway 1860–1901']

{{Big Four pre-nationalisation British railway companies}}
{{LB&SCR locomotives}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:London, Brighton And South Coast Railway}}
[[Category:London, Brighton and South Coast Railway| ]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1846]]
[[Category:Pre-grouping British railway companies]]
[[Category:Rail transport in East Sussex]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Surrey]]
[[Category:History of East Sussex]]
[[Category:History of Surrey]]
[[Category:Transport in Brighton and Hove]]
[[Category:History of rail transport in London]]
[[Category:1846 establishments in England]]
[[Category:British companies established in 1846]]
[[Category:1846 mergers and acquisitions]]

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London, Brighton and South Coast Railway