 While to some extent his work consisted in improving the designs of his predecessors, Holden was responsible for several designs of his own.He completely reorganised Stratford Works, which, together with a considerable degree of standardisation, brought Stratford to an exceptionally high position among British locomotive works in the speed and efficiency of its locomotive production.Some of the extensively-built locomotive classes may not have been outstanding in performance on the road, or in fuel economy, but they were rugged in design and with their massive working parts were reliable and easy to maintain.