Bulleid like other engineers had long felt that it was not ideal to have working parts exposed to the elements where they were subject to all the grit and muck thrown up from the track. He also thought that steam engines should get nearer to the internal combustion engine which enclosed the working parts and used pump lubrication to keep it all running smoothly. Another advantage of enclosing the valve gear would be the reduced day-to-day maintenance.

What he came up with was a modified gear contained, with the inside big end, in an oil bath between the frames driven by chains from the middle-driving axle. It was called an ‘oil bath’ but the depth of the oil was only 2 inches. Reversible pumps situated at the bottom of the sump distributed filtered oil by means of pipes to the moving parts.

The final drive to the piston valves was by means of a rocker, which operated the beam between the valve heads. Because of this Bulleid decided to use outside admission as this avoided the use of high-pressure glands.

Bulleid's valve gear was very free running when well maintained. The valve events stayed the same for all cylinders when wear developed. Bulleid didn't mind valves over running slightly as long as it wasn't on just one cylinder especially after his experiences on the LNER where over-heated big ends on the middle engine were a constant problem.

A steam reverser controlled the gear and the Eastleigh drawing office specified the unsatisfactory LSWR reverser over the excellent SE&CR (Ashford) one. A case of grouping rivalry even after 20 years!