GER Class Y14
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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 ...
(GER) Class Y14 is a class of
0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
. The LNER classified them J15. The Class Y14 was designed by T.W. Worsdell for both freight and passenger duties - a veritable 'maid of all work'. Introduced in July 1883, they were so successful that all the succeeding Locomotive Superintendents continued to build new batches up until 1913 with little design change, the final total being 289. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, 43 of the engines served in
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and
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
.The Class J15 (GER Class Y14) 0-6-0 Locomotives
/ref>


Background

On 10–11 December 1891, the Great Eastern Railway's
Stratford Works Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. The original site of the works was located in the 'V' between the Great Eastern Main Line and the Stratford to Lea Bridge r ...
built one of these locomotives and had it in steam with a coat of grey primer in 9 hours 47 minutes; this remains a world record. The locomotive then went off to run on
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
coal trains before coming back to the works for the final coat of paint. It lasted 40 years and ran a total of . Because of their light weight the locomotives were given the Route Availability (RA) number 1, indicating that they could work over nearly all routes.


Accidents and incidents

*On 25 September 1900, locomotive No. 522 suffered a boiler explosion at
Westerfield Westerfield is a village in Suffolk, England. It lies about two miles north of the centre of Ipswich in the East Suffolk District, and is served by Westerfield railway station on the Ipswich–Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Amenities Westerfiel ...
,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
. Both crew members of the locomotive, driver John Barnard and fireman William MacDonald, were killed. *On 20 January 1915, locomotive No. 629 was hauling a freight train that collided with the rear of a passenger train, hauled by
GER Class T26 The GER Class T26 was a class of one hundred steam tender locomotives designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. At the 1923 grouping they all passed to the London and North Eastern Railway, who classified them E4. Eighteen survi ...
2-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and no trailing wheels. In most of North America it b ...
No. 446, at
County School railway station County School railway station is on the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Norfolk, England; it will serve the villages of North Elmham and Guist once services resume. It is 17 miles 40 chains (28 km) down the line from and is the northernmost station ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. *On 7 January 1927, locomotive No. 7613 was hauling a freight train that was in collision with a
lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructio ...
at Roudham Heath, Norfolk, on the Breckland Line due to errors by the crossing keeper. The lorry driver was killed. *On 4 October 1929, locomotive No. 7938 was hauling a freight train that departed against a danger signal at
Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and was subsequently stopped foul of a junction. Both crew abandoned the locomotive before a northbound mail train, hauled by
LNER Class B17 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class B17, also known as "Sandringham" or "Footballer" class was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for hauling passenger services on the Great Eastern Main Line. In total 73 w ...
4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...
No. 2808 ''Gunton'', collided with the rear of the freight. 18 people were injured. *In 1934, LNER No.7902 crashed into the buffer stops at Ongar Station and climbed the wall. No one was killed though the crew received a few minor injuries. *In the late 1950s, No. 65475 had to be rerailed by crane due to an unknown cause and location. *On 17 November 2018, locomotive No. 564 struck a vehicle on a level crossing near
Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is a seaside town and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District ...
in
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. The driver of the Mercedes involved in the collision ignored the warning lights at the crossing and proceeded through into the path of the oncoming locomotive, which was travelling at around 10 mph at the time. The collision reportedly occurred at around 11:30 AM.


Notable features

As built all the locomotives had a stovepipe chimney; this was replaced in LNER days by a cast chimney with a small lip. The original Worsdell and early
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...
series had three-ring boilers with the
steam dome The steam dome is a vessel fitted to the top of the boiler of a steam engine. It contains the opening to the main steam pipe and its purpose is to allow this opening to be kept well above the water level in the boiler. This arrangement acts as a ...
placed in the middle. Also the Worsdell boilers had a flat grate, however from 1890 Holden developed a boiler with a sloping grate and a two-ring telescopic barrel with the dome located well forward. The advantage of the dome position was a short 5½ inch steam pipe which limited pressure drop between the boiler and the cylinders. This boiler was adopted as standard and persisted on all Great Eastern Locomotives down to 1898; from then on it was perpetuated on the smaller locomotives as long as these remained essentially in their original configuration - which could be down to the 1960s. As with all Great Eastern classes, the Y14 had a cab with a low wooden roof covered with
canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...
sealed by a coat of
lead paint Lead paint or lead-based paint is paint containing lead. As pigment, lead(II) chromate (, "chrome yellow"), lead(II,IV) oxide, (, "red lead"), and lead(II) carbonate (, "white lead") are the most common forms.. Lead is added to paint to acceler ...
. This was replaced in LNER days by a higher arched sheet metal roof. Some engines had special side window cabs for service on the exposed
Brightlingsea Brightlingsea (, traditionally , , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the Tendring District, Tendring district of Essex, England. It is situated between Colchester and Clacton-on-Sea, at the mouth of the River Colne, Essex, River Colne, on ...
and
Colne Valley The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward towards Huddersfield. ...
branches.


Allocations

On 1 January 1923 there were 272 J15 locomotives in existence. They were allocated as follows: * Cambridge: 48 * Colchester: 14 * Ipswich: 32 * King's Lynn: 5 * Lincoln: 3 * Lowestoft: 7 * March: 17 * Norwich: 36 * Parkeston: 2 * Peterborough East: 19 * Stratford: 91 * Yarmouth: 4 In 1942 during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, six locomotives were drafted in to assist with coal traffic in South Yorkshire with three allocated to Mexborough engine shed and three to Barnsley engine shed. On 1 January 1948 when British Railways was formed, there were 127 J15 locomotives in existence. Unusually, in 1957 a couple of the class were allocated to Aylesbury and worked freight trains on the former
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
branch from Princes Risborough to Watlington before being withdrawn in 1958.


In film

In September 1936 locomotives 7541 and 7835 were withdrawn by the LNER and sold to London Film Productions for their film '' Knight Without Armour''. The two locomotives were moved to Denham film studios and underwent cosmetic modification to look more Russian as that was where the film was set. The locomotives were then sold to the War Department and worked on the
Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway The Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway was a railway running from Shrewsbury, England to Llanymynech, Wales, with a branch to Criggion. It was promoted by H. F. Stephens, Holman Fred Stephens, better known as Colonel Stephens, propriet ...
as WD221 and WD212. During their war service both were involved in incidents and returned to Stratford in 1944 and subsequently scrapped. Another member of the class appeared in the 1954 film ''Happy Ever After'' disguised as an Irish locomotive.


Preservation

Number 564/7564/65462 is preserved on the
North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage railway, heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt, Norfolk, Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned ...
and owned by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Society. In 2002 the locomotive reached the end of a major overhaul and was painted in LNER (numbered 7564) and BR black numbered 65462) liveries for the duration of its boiler ticket. It originally operated in these liveries when classified as a J15 in LNER and BR days. Following withdrawal from service in 2013, the locomotive received another overhaul (completed 2015) where it was outshopped in GER lined blue and sporting its original number of 564 and representing its days when classified as a Y14. 65469 was originally a candidate for preservation, but it was scrapped.


Models

Hornby produces a ready-to-run model of the J15 in 00 gauge (4 mm) in BR (with the rebuilt high-arched cab roof) and LNER liveries (both as-built and high-arch cab roofs). Also in 00 gauge, there are kits from Alan Gibson and Nu-Cast. Finley and Smith produce a 3 mm kit. A 7mm (O gauge) kit is made by Connoisseur Models.


References

* * * * * *


External links


Y14 Class 0-6-0 1883-1892, 1899, 1906, 1912-1913
— Great Eastern Railway Society {{LNER Locomotives 0-6-0 locomotives C n2 locomotives Y14 Railway locomotives introduced in 1883 Sharp Stewart locomotives Railway Operating Division locomotives Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Freight locomotives