GER Class B74

The GER Class B74 was a class of five 0-4-0T steam locomotives designed by Alfred John Hill for the Great Eastern Railway. They all passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the 1923 grouping and received the LNER classification Y4.

GER Class B74 LNER Class Y4
Departmental (Service) locomotive No. 33 at Stratford Locomotive Depot, 18 February 1961
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer A. J. Hill Builder Stratford Works Build date 1913–1921 Total produced 5
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-4-0T  • UIC B n2t Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 3 ft 10 in (1.168 m) Wheelbase 6 ft 0 in (1.829 m) Length 24 ft 1+1⁄2 in (7.35 m) over buffers Axle load 19 long tons 1 cwt (42,700 lb or 19.4 t) Loco weight 38 long tons 1 cwt (85,200 lb or 38.7 t) full Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 0 long tons 15 cwt (1,700 lb or 0.8 t) Water cap. 750 imp gal (3,410 L; 901 US gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 13.9 sq ft (1.29 m2) Boiler LNER Diagram 40 Boiler pressure 180 lbf/in2 (1.24 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 75.1 sq ft (6.98 m2)  • Tubes 905.4 sq ft (84.11 m2)  • Total surface 980.5 sq ft (91.09 m2) Superheater None Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 17 in × 20 in (432 mm × 508 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Valve type Slide valves
Performance figures Tractive effort 19,224 lbf (85.51 kN)
Career Operators Great Eastern Railway → London and North Eastern Railway → British Railways Class GER: B74 LNER: Y4 Power class BR: 0F Nicknames Pots Axle load class LNER/BR: RA 6 Withdrawn 1955-1957 (4), 1963 (1) Disposition All scrapped

History

These locomotives had 17-by-20-inch (432 by 508 mm) outside cylinders driving 3-foot-10-inch (1.168 m) wheels. They were built to replace the older, less powerful Class 209 (LNER Class Y5). From 1914 two of the class worked the Globe Road & Devonshire Street goods yards.^[1]

Table of orders and numbers^[2]

Year	Order	Manufacturer	Quantity	GER Nos.	LNER Nos.	LNER 1944 Nos.	Notes
1913	B74	Stratford Works	1	227	7227	8125
1914	B77	Stratford Works	2	228, 226	7228, 7226,	8126, 8127
1921	A82	Stratford Works	2	229, 210	7229, 7210	8128, 8129

All were still in service at the 1923 grouping; the LNER adding 7000 to the numbers of nearly all the ex-Great Eastern locomotives, including the Class B74 locomotives. There were renumbered 8125–8129 in the 1944 renumbering scheme. At nationalisation in 1948, British Railways added 60000 to their numbers.

In 1952, number 68129 was transferred to the Service (departmental) list and renumbered 33. Withdrawals started in 1955 with 68125, with 68127 and 68128 going in 1956 and 68126 in 1957. The last to be withdrawn was 33, in 1963.

References

Notes

1. Bradley, Richard (October 2019). "Devonshire Street - birthplace of the Eastern Counties Railway". Great Eastern Journal. 180: 34.
2. Aldrich 1969, p. 108.

Bibliography

• Aldrich, C. Langley (1969). The Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway 1862–1962 (7th ed.). Wickford, Essex: C. Langley Aldrich. OCLC 30278831.
• Baxter, Bertram (2012). Baxter, David; Mitchell, Peter (eds.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 6: Great Eastern Railway, North British Railway, Great North of Scotland Railway, Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway, remaining companies in the LNER group. Southampton: Kestrel Railway Books. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-905505-26-5.
• Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Fry, E. V.; Hennigan, W.; Hoole, Ken; Manners, F.; Neve, E.; Platt, E. N. T.; Proud, P.; Yeadon, W. B. (June 1977). Fry, E. V. (ed.). Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., Part 9B: Tank Engines—Classes Q1 to Z5. Kenilworth: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-41-X.

External links

• A. J. Hill locomotives — Great Eastern Railway Society
• The Hill Y4 (GER B74) 0-4-0 Shunters — LNER Encyclopedia