A little preserved steam railway in Bedfordshire, all 2ft gauge of it, researched its history by interviewing retired employees from the days when it was an industrial line carrying sand.
From this it was discovered that, in order to maintain and repair the mining equipment in the deep, hostile pits, one company, Garside’s, issued motorcycles to its maintenance staff.
The Leighton Buzzard Railway and motorcycles have quite a history: the very first recorded accident on an LBR level crossing was on Hockliffe Road at 10am on Tuesday, September 14, 1920, about a year after the railway opened.
The rider of a brand new two-speed 500cc Triumph single had been looking at some cows in a field as he passed them when he suddenly became aware of a sand train crossing the road in front of him.
Read more in the March issue of OBM
