Now that the winter nights are drawing in, it's time to reprise some of the adventures of the past year - beginning with a little visit to the Llangollen Railway in mid-Wales to examine some vintage diesel multiple units - the trains introduced by British Railways on branch lines from the latter-1950s onwards.
Pretty Llangollen.
The whizzy 1950s interior of a Wickham- built 2-coach diesel set, recently restored to its original specification.
The First Class compartment - plenty of legroom.
Second Class non-smoking passengers.
The Wickham DMU in all its malachite green splendour.
Great Western bench and feed to put a smile on any any heffer's face.
GWR rural idyll.
The type of food railway enthusiasts eat (ocean liner enthusiasts are much more fussy).
The remarkable autotrailer train, a primitive sort of multiple unit with a steam locomotive at the centre, sandwiched between two coaches with driving cabs at each end. A system of steel bars, joined with flexible couplings, allows the driver to control the locomotive's regulator and brake, as shown below.
Inside a GWR autotrailer.
Superior fags.
Interior of a Cravens DMU (above) with wavy seat backs and oval mirrors and details of a Pressed Steel DMU (below) with some rather groovy yellow formica - and more oval mirrors.
First and Second Class in a DMU built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. This had parafin heating, which made a lovely warm oily smell inside.
DMUs in the lush mid-Wales countrside. The Llangollen Railway is delightful.
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