These locomotives were introduced in 1945 by the Southern Railway to a design by Oliver Bulleid. They were designed as a smaller version of the Merchant Navy Class. Their 18 ton axle loading enabled the class to be used almost anywhere on the Southern Region.
They incorporated the same novel features as the Merchanty Navy Class including an all-steel welded boiler, chain-driven valve-gear, inside motion enclosed in an oil bath and "air-smoothed" casing.
The early members of the class were named after locations in the West Country that were served by the Southern Railway. Later locomotives were named to commemorate the Battle of Britain. There were no design differences between the two classes. As with the Merchant Navy Class, a decision was taken to rebuild the Battle of Britain and West Country classes into more conventional locomotives. The imminent demise of Southern steam saw the rebuilding program halted with about half the locomotives rebuilt. 257 Squadron was one that escaped the rebuilding process and was also one of the few 'unrebuilt' locomotives to retain its original high-sided tender to the end. Eddystone was rebuilt at Eastleigh works in 1958.
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