Our Carriages

The very first carriages to carry passengers on Barking Park Light Railway were on loan from Swanley New Barn Railway and were the sit in astride type. These carriages were so successful, we copied their design and made our own carriages in the 'workshop'. The Mayor of Barking, who opened our railway drove the inaugural train pulling these carriages with our Class 15 Locomotive, was hooked, (he too must have wanted to be a train driver as a boy). We had no trouble persuading him to drive that day, the only thing we had to do was try to get him off!

Our carriages follow the S.N.B.R. design very closely, we even got our bogie frames cut by their cutter. Our loading gauge, maximum size of stock, is 26", to be comfortably inside this we made the carriages 22" wide with a central padded seat. Four were made 8 foot long and two driving trucks 4 foot long, each with a bogie frame. They have been constructed to carry about 5/6 adults and as many kids as you can cram on! The only change is that we have changed the original wooden under frames for steel channel. This makes them both stronger and heavier, both of which are good for the ride and stability.