Abbey Light Railway

At present I am compiling the list. I havn't got a complete list of all the details of all the wagons, but here are some pictures of the regulars.

'Man rider' A personel carrier made out of a Hudson V skip chassis and a wooden bench. Excellent for use on P'way trains, as there is room for replacement sleeper and tools under the seat

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V skip wagons. there are four of these fit for use, all painted up in some military colour scheme or another they are mostly Hudsons, built in Leeds.

Have you seen some Skip wagons around here? they blend in to the surrounding really well...

Hudson Ex-RAF amunitiion wagons. there are two of these that live outside, which are seen here stacked high with sleepers. due to being stored outside their bodywork is in bad shape, but despite this they are still very useful. Another is in original condition and has a hyraulic crane fitted. this is a very useful tool for lifting things around the workshop. the other three are converted into the coaches, and theres a 6th under the big generator.

Our ex-Welsh Highland railway slate wagon is possibly the most northernly slate wagon anywhere. it has been restored and is a handy wagon. at the moment it is loaded with tractor parts. it was used at one point, as a moving target for the army to shoot at whilst it rolled down a hill, and still has the bullet holes to prove it.

At present there are two 'troublesome trucks' on the rails as well, one is a rusty old V skip chassis, that has an old engine block loaded on it. the other is the old 'little generator', which used to power the shed lights and smaller machines until its generator packed in. it is now awaiting dismantling.

Shed Dwellers

These are the wagons that stay under cover in the shed, they are mostly P'way wagons and do not get regularly used or shunted around.

The Crane Wagon is an Ex RAF Hudson wagon, fitted with a small hydraulic crane and outriggers. it is quite useful for moving things about in the shed and out in the compound.

The stone crusher is a diesel driven crushing machine, which we use to cruch bricks to make into ballast. it sees ocasional use, and has the same type of engine as the Lister and Baguley. it is mounted on a V skip chassis.

The Air compressor is another wagon based on a V skip chassis. it is large diesel driven air compressor, which had more use when the railway was under construction, now gets rarely used and is in fact now trapped in place by the big generator.

the Big Generator is based on an RAF Hudson chassis, the same as the coaches. it rarely moves, and its exhaust is piped up to go out of the shed roof. it is regularly fired up and is used to power all the electrics at the railway and charge up No 12, the Battery Electric.

Other wagons

The flatbed wagon usually only sees action when we need to balance something on it to work on, in this case the O&K chassis.

'Platelayer' is the result of two sets of spare wheels, some plain bearings, some wood, and some paint. It is, however, useful for puting heavy things like the Muir Hill buffers on, which may be needed under the gantry crane for refitting in the not too distant future.