To overcome the expected heavy wear on the leading wheel flanges, Stroudley introduced steam-jet lubrication to the front tyres as well as increasing the cone on the tread to 1 in 32. Together with modified springing, Stroudley was attempting to obtain express passenger engine characteristics from a shorter and more compact design, partly to save construction costs in expanding locomotive premises in the London area. During the years that the 'Gladstones' were the prime choices for express passenger trains, their maintenance costs were much higher than the equivalent locomotives on other lines, particularly the neighbouring lines of the SER and LSWR with their 4-4-0s. These high maintenance costs were in addition to the already-known much higher construction costs of these and many Brighton locomotives.

Despite the above drawbacks, six more of the class were ordered in 1887 and a further six in 1888, as Stroudley was well satisfied with his Gladstone class of express locomotives. So between 1889 and 1890 a further twelve entered traffic. But for Stroudley's untimely death in Paris in December 1889 yet another twelve 'Gladstones' would have been built. Billinton cut this number back to six, making a total of 36 in the class. The names used were a mixture of prominent politicians and statesmen and a continuation of the Brighton practice of using town and village names within its territory.

While Billinton was not in favour of express locomotives without leading bogies, the company was well-stocked with express passenger locomotives and it took Billinton five more years to introduce a 4-4-0, the B2. These were of no real improvement on the 'Gladstones', and it wasn't until the B4s were introduced in 1899 that the 'Gladstones' were relegated to secondary services. Through the years various upgrades, such as new boilers and working pressure changes, were implemented, but by 1910 wear and tear meant that ten of the class were scrapped within two years, with all usable parts salvaged for re-use on the remaining locomotives of the class. The outbreak of WWI gave the remaining 26 of the class a further lease of life and all these entered Southern Railway stock in 1923. However, with the surplus of secondary passenger locomotives as a result of electrification and changing traffic patterns, withdrawal started again in 1925, so that by 1932 only 3 were left in service, and these had been withdrawn within a year.

In 1927, the Stephenson Locomotive Society had made representation to the Southern Railway to preserve the old N°214, now N°618, Gladstone. For a cost of £140 it was restored closely to Stroudley condition, with the addition of various period fittings. The intention was to place it on permanent exhibition in the Science Museum in London, but this was impracticable at the time and it ended up at York in May 1927, where it now remains in a much enlarged National Railway Museum.