A Closer Look
A Closer Look
Here we take a closer look at the engine, carriages and drivers...







Photo: Off the Rails © 1967 Light Straw Archives.
| EXIT | A Closer Look | The Drivers | The Works | Off the Rails | In the Station |

I always had a fascination for the miniature railway.

Left to Right: Here we see the resident driver Mr Charlie Cheeld sitting on a wooden dining chair at the controls of Baguley 3232 in the summer of 1969. It was fun when the Irish relief driver took the controls, as on the long straight parallel to the golf course, he often engaged an extra gear to make the train go faster!

The Drivers
Mr Charlie Cheeld The Irish Driver
A dining chair provided a relatively comfortable driver's seat.
Photos: The drivers © 1969 LSA.
     

The Works
The diesel engine Two gear levers and a brake handle View into the driver's cab
     
The driver's cab was completely open, apart from the roof and the perspex windows at the front. The interior of the cab was painted a dark green colour with a multitude of pipes, cylinders and gauges which, just maybe, were a vital part of the mechanism? The gear levers were pulled across in a 'signal box style'. And the brake handle was wound clockwise or anti-clockwise.

It's surprising on how many occasions that the engine or carriages were derailed after an unscheduled excursion around the track.

Off the Rails
Jacking up the carriage Off the rails!
The sleepers were laid onto a clinker ballast.
Photos: Off the Rails © 1969 LSA.
     
In the Station
In the Station
By 1969 the smokebox had been re-painted blue, whereas in earlier photos it had been orange.
Photos: In the Station © 1971 LSA.
   

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