colossus- recreating the 15" gauge gigantic

Class 60 Project recreating “colossus” –The missing miniature link
A Small But dedicated group of engineers are presently working towards the New construction of a 15” gauge Bassett lowke class 60 pacific , the original having been cannibalised in the early 1920s to build the Ravenglass and Eskdale railways first river mite ( Articulated 4-6-0+0-6-4)
The Class 60 Was designed by Henry Greenly & Ernest W Twining using major components from the existing Class 30 Atlantic 4-4-2 tender locomotives, the sole member of the class being delivered to Capt. JEP Howey for use on his Private Railway at Staughton Manor near Northampton.
The project is very much in embryonic stages with some components being produced as and when time becomes available with some original drawings sourced and some archive photographs located as reference. Work is currently focusing on the tender and its bogies and the front leading bogie , some adjustment from the 1913 design has been required to allow the locomotive to be operated on the various 15 inch gauge railways that operate today in the 21st century without issue
Predominately a private project at present further information may become available in the future as to how others may be able to become involved once design work and the first major components are produced these being the tender chassis tank & locomotive leading bogie
Modern Manufacturing techniques will be used where possible and advice from the regulatory bodies has been sourced as a matter of course, experience in Building of a locomotive is drawn from the group being actively involved in the construction of one of the leading standard gauge New build steam locomotives presently under construction. (LMS-Patriot Project -building the Unknown warrior
We would be greatful if anyone whom is reading this article who has further information either photographic records or other reference material particularly during its operation at staughton manor.

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NB- The project is not in any way associated with the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway or Ravenglass & eskdale preservation society and is a private enterprise with the aim of recreating the missing link between the early miniature railway locomotives of Bassett Lowke and what may be considered the pinnacle of locomotive development in the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Pacific locomotives.


email –colossuslocomotive@outlook.com
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I wish this project all the best - a fantastic loco and great to bring back a 15" "missing link".

 

Ever since I bought a copy of the little giant story I've dreamt of building a class 60. Glad to see someone is finally doing it, an important missing link in the miniature railway story.

 

Great news to hear, I wish all the bestow this project, as I would love to see a Class 60 with my own eyes.

Personally I'd love this to expand and develop into a kind of "Little Giants Trust", which is dedicated to having one example of each of the designs (Classes 10, 20, 30 and 60) new build or otherwise, so that everyone can enjoy the sight and sounds of these wonderful machines. Such a shame so few of them remain, and even fewer in working order or even in this country still.

 

We are Quite fortunate to have in the UK Several of the Bassett Lowke atlantics survive ,
Class 10-
Little Giant- on display at the National Railway Museum York in restored condition
Red Dragon/Prince Edward of wales at Rhyl being returned to service with new boiler and tender
Class 20
Princess Elizabeth – Recently displayed at fairbourne, Being overhauled with new boiler at the owners private workshops
Class 30
Synolda, Operational at ravenglass and sees occasional use for family events and alike
Count Louis, Operational and seen visiting fairbourne recently,
Then theres also the two sutton atlantics and the barnes atlantics which share many similarities with the bassett lowke locomotives.
The class 60 project will fill a gap and also show development within a class of engines it could also be considered a recreation of the second pacific that was operated in the british isles,
2017 Marks 70 years since Henry greenly's Death and one has to wonder what the shape of modern miniature railways would of been without his imput

 

I am currently re-reading Humphrey Household's book on NG . Fascinating story.

 

Also Mighty Atom at Cleethorpes

 

A really great book (both volumes).

 

Often overlooked as it is a petrol loco but the 4-4-4 "Blacolvesley" built by Bassett-Lowke of 1909 is essentially part of the same family.

Owned by Dr. Bob Tebb, Blacolvesley is probably the oldest workable internal combustion locomotive in the world. It was built by Bassett-Lowke in 1909 utilising parts of Henry Greenly's Class 10 Atlantic locomotives. Originally, it was fitted with a NAG 12/14 h.p. engine, which was later replaced with an Austin 8 engine at Saltbur. However, the original transmission, gearbox and bevel drive all remain in use. It was built for Charles Bartholomew of Blakesley Hall, but the engine has had a varied history since leaving there in 1939. It was later named "Elizabeth" and was kept on the railways at Saltburn, Haswell Lodge and Lightwater Valley up until 1994, although had been inoperable since the mid-1970s. When it arrived at Ravenglass, it was successfully restarted and operated in August 1994. It is now painted in its original colours once again and operated at gala events. The locomotive celebrated its 100th birthday in 2009 and has been on static display at the Railway Museum at Cleethorpes from 2010 to present.

 

Not at Cleethorpes since 2012 when it was returned to Bob and currently in store.

 

I have a vague memory of having seen her at Ravenglass since then - did I dream it?

 

I have faint memories of hearing something about the remains of the Collosus chassis along with the same of Sir Aubrey Brocklebank - after having been modified into the power bogies for the articulated River Mite (not the current loco) - ending up with somebody somewhere near Ambergate, Derbyshire? As a former Cleethorpes driver, I'm lucky enough to have regularly driven both of the Suttons and had my hands on Synolda during a visit for a gala. Beautiful pieces of engineering, it was an honour to have driven them. I can't wait to see the recreated Collosus.

 

I have faint memories of hearing something about the remains of the Collosus chassis along with the same of Sir Aubrey Brocklebank - after having been modified into the power bogies for the articulated River Mite (not the current loco) - ending up with somebody somewhere near Ambergate, Derbyshire?


That sounds like Mark Bamford, in which case I would think all hope is lost!

 

According to The Little Giant Story the two sets of frames went to the Lakeside Miniature Railway before ultimately being cut up. However, I'm sure I have read that Sir Aubrey's tender frames still survive somewhere - if only I could remember where!

 

The reputed tender frames from Sir auberry Brocklebank are at royal Victoria railway , Southampton, however they have been butchered at some point by an individual and could be considered beyond economical repair, it would be very difficult to weld new sections in place and strengthen them to a standard where they could be used again this coupled with the asking price swung it towards building a new tender of the correct type for colossus and it works out cheaper especially in the long term.

 

The Gigantic locomotive company (association) was formed in late 2017 to Build and ultimately operate the new Bassett lowke Gigantic we are now actively looking to raise £5000 to assist the project and provide the component parts for the tender bogies Locomotive front bogie and other major component parts
the Association has gained agreement for the use of historic patterns for the Driving wheels and cylinders and other items through the kind facilitation of a private individual and the Boiler design is ongoing with discussions had regarding the modification of an existing design that is apropriate for use .

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