Auto Ward no.3 capstan lathe

What do you guys think about these lathes? I don't know much about them and they say the one I am looking at is plug programmed? What exactly does that mean? From the pictures that i have it looks like a turret lathe, is there something different about the operation of these that I should know? Any help would be appreciated!

I used to maintain a row of about 10 of these about 30 yrs ago, both AutoWard 2's and 3's. The early one's were a real pain ( we had some of the very first on the market )fault finding was a nightmare, but they got a lot better with the later models which were actually quite a good lathe.
The plugboard was mounted on top of the headstock and was an early form of N.C., it was about as big as a t.v. set and all the functions were controlled by placing special pins in the plugboard matrix ,i.e. if you wanted the spindle to run at say 600rpm you put your pin in the hole in line with the 600rpm selector.
It would be absolutely essential to have the all the handbooks for this machine ( I have pristine copies of the Operators Manuals you could have with pleasure),you would especially need the Maintenance/Fault Finding Manual ( which I don't have any more).
H.W.Ward was a major machine tool maker who made thousands of rugged ,durable capstan and turret lathes that are still in use all over the world but the AutoWard wasn't one of their better efforts. They are now a small time operation just making a living selling spares, draw your own conclusions. They went down the hydraulic drive road when the smart money was on stepping motors, timing belts and ballscrews.
If someone gave me one of the later ones I might be interested but I'd be loathe to spend any money one, I suppose it all depends what you want to do with it. If you need any more advice feel free to ask. Regards Tyrone.

Tyrone,
Thanks for the quick help, and your opinion, it is really appreciated. I have a chance to pick one up reasonably cheap but I think it would end up being one of those things that would end up in the corner and never used. I don't honestly think I have the patients to deal with a machine like this from what you have said.
Thanks!

You're a wise man msmco, not worth the trouble in my opinion. The Ward manual machines were another kettle of fish though, well designed and well made, I'd recomend any of them. They just let the Japanese sneak up on their blind side with the first N.C. machines. They then made all the wrong decisions in a panic to compete and paid the price.
Good luck in your search for something more suitable. Regards Tyrone.