The Y8 (NER K) 0-4-0 Shunters
The Y8 was T.W. Worsdell's last design, and was specifically
designed for the docks at Hull. A total of five of these tiny engines were built in 1890. These were
numbered 559-63.
All five survived into LNER ownership. However, the Depression-era reduction in dock traffic and the
increased use of Sentinel shunters led to the scrapping of three Y8s in 1936/7.
559 and 560 survived to the 1946 renumbering, and were renumbered as 8090 and 8091 respectively. Both
survived into BR ownership, but neither survived long enough to acquire an updated '60000' number plate.
8090 was withdrawn in November 1948. 8091 became Departmental Locomotive No. 55, and acquired a 50A shed plate.
This locomotive was finally withdrawn in June 1954.
With the exception of the WW1 loan of 559 for military work (Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, and
Royal Engineer work at the mouth of the Humber), all five of the Y8s remained at Hull docks until the
1936/7 withdrawals. WW2 seriously reduced the amount of traffic coming into Hull, so in 1942 No. 560
was moved to York. At the beginning of 1945, 559 was moved to Springhead.
The Y8s were originally fitted with 'marine' type boilers, ie. with a cylindrical flue into which
the grate fitted. Between 1902 and 1904, they were all re-boilered with more traditional boilers
similar to those fitted to the Y7 locomotives.
Originally, all of the Y8s were fitted with a single whistle of the bell-shaped type. 560, 561,
and 563 acquired the organ type during LNER ownership. 559 also had one of these whistles fitted, but
after 1940. In 1942, 560 acquired the chime whistle from the
Gresley A4 4469, which
was destroyed during an air raid at York. By 1946, the original organ-pipe whistle had been restored.
Technical Details
| Cylinders (x2): |
|
11x15in. |
| Boiler: |
Diameter (max): |
3ft 8in |
|
Length: |
5ft 2 1/8in |
| Heating Surface: |
Total: |
389.2 sq.ft. |
|
Firebox: |
44.5 sq.ft. |
|
Tubes: |
344.7 sq.ft. |
| Grate Area: |
|
10.27 sq.ft. |
| Wheels: |
|
3ft |
| Total Wheelbase: |
|
6ft |
| Tractive Effort: |
|
5999 lb |
| Length: |
|
17ft 10.5in |
| Weight: |
(full) |
15t 10cwt |
| Water Capacity: |
|
250 gallons |
| Coal Capacity: |
|
4cwt |
Preservation
None of the Y8s survived into preservation. However there are reports that either Beamish or the
A1 Peppercorn Trust are considering building a new Y8.
Models
Nu-Cast sell a OO gauge (4mm scale) kit of the Y8.
Ks Loco Kits have produced a kit of the Y8 for OO gauge (4mm scale), but current availability is unknown.
|
