Stroudley had the “Grosvenor” built in 1784 as a prototype for a new express locomotive. However, like the entire locomotive, the driving wheel diameter of six feet and nine inches was too large. So in 1876 the Abergavenny was ordered, which had three inches smaller driving wheels and was generally lighter. Finally, 24 production machines followed, which had the wheel diameter of the Abergavenny and were again slightly heavier. All locomotives, including the prototypes, were used in front of fast trains for a long time. They were decommissioned between 1905 and 1914 after they had been replaced by locomotives with two coupled axles. The Grosvenor also reached a mileage just over a million miles. 