The E3 class radial tanks were useful on all but the heaviest freight trains in the congested London area, which required rapid acceleration from signals in order to avoid holding up other traffic. Robert Billinton therefore produced a version of his successful E5 passenger tank class with smaller driving wheels for this purpose. Twelve locomotives were built by Brighton Works between December 1904 and December 1905. The last two locomotives were originally intended to be built as 0-8-0s for heavy shunting purposes but Billinton died in November 1904 before any were built and the order was subsequently changed by his successor D. E. Marsh.
