The London Brighton & South Coast Railway - also known as the 'Brighton Line' - was an important pre-grouping railway covering a triangular territory with London at its apex and the Sussex and Surrey coast at its base. Many of the early locomotives were acquired through amalgamations with other companies. Under a trio of chief mechanical engineers, including John Craven, William Stroudley, Robert and Lawson Billington, father and son, and Douglas Earle Marsh the company built or purchased well over 1,000 steam locomotives, many of which were handed over to the Southern Railway in the 1923 grouping of Britain's independent railway companies. To this day the former LBSCR lines form the backbone of the south east coast network. This account covers the years 1839 - 1903. This fascinating account of the LBSCR's locomotives was originally published in 1903, and is profusely illustrated with over 140 line drawings.