The GER Class 209 was a class of 0-4-0

0-4-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...

 saddle tank steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s of the Great Eastern Railway

Great Eastern Railway

The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...

. These locomotives were similar to the NBR G Class

NBR G Class

The North British Railway G Class is a class of 0-4-0ST steam locomotive designed for shunting. Some locomotives were equipped with small wooden tenders to carry extra coal. They were introduced in 1882 and thirty-eight entered service on the NBR between 1882 and 1899...

 but had flat-topped, instead of round-topped, tanks. A total of eight were built – four by Neilson and Company

Neilson and Company

Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland.The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines...

 in 1874 and four more by the GER's Stratford Works

Stratford Works

Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. It was opened in 1847-1848 by the GER's predecessor, the Eastern Counties Railway...

 between 1897 and 1903.

Overview

In order to shunt locations with tight curves and weight restrictions, two 0-4-0T locomotives were purchased from Neilson and Company

Neilson and Company

Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland.The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines...

 to one of that company's standard designs by the GER, and this was followed by an order for a further two locomotives in 1876. In 1894–1895 these four locos were rebuilt under James Holden

James Holden (engineer)

James Holden was an English locomotive engineer.He is remembered mainly for the "Claud Hamilton" 4-4-0, his pioneering work with oil fuel, and his unique "Decapod".- Biography :...

, the work including new boilers, steam brakes, and covered cabs.

In 1897 two new locomotives were built at Stratford Works, identical to the rebuilt 209 Class, but with slightly higher bunkers, and a further two locomotives to this new design were built, also at Stratford, in 1903.

Table of orders and numbers

Year	Order	Manufacturer	Quantity	GER Nos.	LNER Nos	Notes
1844	—	Neilson & Co. 1940	1	209	7209
1875	—	Neilson & Co.	1	210	—
1876	—	Neilson & Co. 2118, 2119	2	228, 229	07228, —
1897	G40	Stratford Works Stratford Works Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. It was opened in 1847-1848 by the GER's predecessor, the Eastern Counties Railway...	2	226, 227	—, —
1903	R55	Stratford Works Stratford Works Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. It was opened in 1847-1848 by the GER's predecessor, the Eastern Counties Railway...	2	230, 231	7230, 7231

Two locomotives, 226 and 227 were scrapped in 1911. By 1914, number 228 was placed on the duplicate list, becoming 0228; its old number being re-used by a new Class B74

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.-History:...

 (LNER Class Y4) locomotive. Number 210 was also scrapped in 1914, and 229 was sold in 1918.

The remaining four passed into London and North Eastern Railway

London and North Eastern Railway

The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

 ownership at the grouping

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...

 in 1923. Their LNER class was Y5. Number 7209 was withdrawn in 1926. Numbers 07228 and 7230 became departmental locomotives at Stratford, with the former being withdrawn in 1927, after having been used as a stationary boiler. Number 7231 had been adapted as a tram locomotive and used at Colchester, before being withdrawn in 1931.

The last member of the class left in service, 7230, was renumbered 8081 in 1944; and just survived into British Railways ownership in 1948 but was scrapped early that year before it could receive its BR number.

Preservation

One locomotive, GER no. 229, is preserved at North Woolwich Old Station Museum

North Woolwich Old Station Museum

The North Woolwich Old Station Museum was a small railway museum in East London. It was housed in what was the original Great Eastern Railway terminal station building at North Woolwich railway station. The building was in use as a ticket office until 1979 when it was replaced by a more austere...

. This is the one which was sold in 1918.

External links

• S. W. Johnson locomotives — Great Eastern Railway Society
• The Y5 (GER 209) Neilson & Co 0-4-0 Shunters — LNER Encyclopedia