Lake & Elliot 1

This unusual looking locomotive was built around 1924 by the Braintree based foundry and engineering firm "Lake & Elliot" for shunting their works. It features a wagon chassis fitted with a Fordson Major tractor engine and gearbox, driving both axles by chains.

Lake & Elliot went on to market the locomotive commerically and eventually sold around a dozen in the 1920s. The commerical versions featured a canopy and went to many diverse locations including Chelmsford and Manchester.

The first locomotive remained at Braintree until the early 1970s when rail traffic ceased. It was then donated to the Colne Valley Railway. It was in quite a sorry state and remained so as it was beyond the resources available to restore it. In the early 1990s, Ford's Thameside Technical Training Centre offered to take it on as an apprentice project and restored the locomotive, including fitting a canopy of a similiar design to the commerical versions. The original engine was found to be beyond restoration so a new Ford Tractor division diesel engine was fitted whilst retaining the original engine radiator front and cover. The original gearbox was restored and a limiter has been fitted to the engine as the new engine is three times more powerful than the original and might damage the gearbox. The locomotive has 3 forward gears allowing about 8 mph, but only one in reverse (2 mph). It has a hand brake though the chain drive ensures it stops dead when the clutch is depressed.