The GER Class B74 was a class of five 0-4-0T steam locomotives designed by

Alfred John Hill Alfred John Hill (1 January 1862–1 January 1927) was Chief Mechanical Engineer at the Stratford Works of the Great Eastern Railway from 1912 to 1922. His best-known design is probably the GER Class L77 0-6-2 tank locomotive which was perpetua ...

for the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

. They all passed to the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

at the

1923 grouping The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...

and received the LNER classification Y4.

History

These locomotives had outside cylinders driving 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. 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 The last to be withdrawn was 33, in 1963.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

Bibliography

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External links

A. J. Hill locomotives
— Great Eastern Railway Society
The Hill Y4 (GER B74) 0-4-0 Shunters
— LNER Encyclopedia {{LNER Locomotives B74 0-4-0T locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1913 Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Shunting locomotives