The only surviving locomotive to be designed by
Robert Billinton, "Birch Grove" is a Mixed traffic locomotive, they were equally
at home on local passenger workings as branch-line goods services. Although
almost the oldest, the E4s were amongst the last of the Brighton Radials to
survive.
Remarkably "Birch Grove" retains her original
boiler, number 891, fitted new in July 1898. It had been passed to various other
Brighton tanks of classes D3, E3 and E4 before being refitted to Birch Grove in
1960.
Birch Grove was repainted from LBSCR livery
into BR lined black in February 2005, and it is intended that it will
subsequently carry SR olive green (after about a year).
