Vale of Rheidol Railway

Train taking on water, Vale of Rheidol Railway

The Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) is a narrow-gauge (1 foot 11¾ inches) heritage railway that runs for 11¾ miles between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge (Welsh Pontarfynach) – in Wales, UK. It was the last steam line to be operated as part of the nationalised British Railways network.

Construction was begun in 1901 following an Act of Parliament in 1897 and the line opened for mineral traffic in August 1902; for passengers on 22 December 1902. The primary purpose of the line was to serve the mines in the Rheidol valley, carrying ore, especially lead, and timber (for pit props etc) to the sea and the main line railway at Aberystwth. It was unusual in that it developed its tourist potential by carried passengers from its opening.

On 1 July 1913 the line was absorbed by Cambrian Railways and subsequently grouped into the Great Western Railway (GWR) network in 1923 and incorporated into the nationalised network in 1948. The line was finally privatised in 1989 and still operates as a tourist railway offering an hour-long journey through spectacular mountain scenery, much of it at a gradient of 1 in 50. The headquarters of the railway are at Aberystwyth, where it shares a terminus with the standard gauge main line, trains leaving from a bay platform.

The three locomotives originally built for the line were:

two 2–6–2 side tanks built by Davies and Metcalfe of Manchester, No 1 Edward VII and No 2 Prince of Wales
a later addition, but second-hand, a smaller 2–4–0 side tank, built by Bagnall, No 3 Rheidol

When the GWR took over the line, it built at Swindon works between 1923 and 1938 and to the VoR design, three new locomotives to replace the original stock: they are still working today. They are: No 7 Owain Glyndwr; No 8 Llwelyn; and No 9 Prince of Wales. The rolloing stock has also been replaced.

There are seven intermediate stations, all request stops: Llanbadard, Glanrafon, Capel Bangor, Nantyronen, Aberffrwd, Rheidol Falls and Rhiwfron. When the lead mines were being worked there was an aerial cableway linking them with Rhiwfron.

External link

Vale of Rheidol Railway website


British Heritage and Private Railways
<p style="font-size: 90%">England:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Appleby – Avon Valley – Barrow Hill – Battlefield Line – Bideford & Instow – Birmingham Rly. Mus. – Bluebell – Bodmin & Wenford – Bowes – Bredgar & Wormhill – Buckinghamshire Rly. Centre – Bure Valley – Chasewater – Chinnor & Princes Risborough – Cholsey & Wallingford – Churnet Valley – Cleethorpes – Colne Valley – Coventry – Dartmoor – Dean Forest – Derwent Valley – Didcot – East Anglian Rly. Mus. – East Kent – East Lancs. – East Somerset – Ecclesbourne Valley – Eden Valley – Elsecar – Embsay – Epping-Ongar – Foxfield – Glos. Warks. – Great Central – Isle of Wight – Keighley – Kent & East Sussex – Kirklees – Lakeside & Haverthwaite – Lappa Valley – Launceston – Lavender – Leighton Buzzard – Lincolnshire Wolds – Lynton & Barnstaple – Mangapps Rly. Mus. – Mid-Hants – Mid-Norfolk – Mid-Suffolk – Middleton – Midland Rly. Centre – National Rly. Mus. – Nene Valley – North Norfolk – North Tyneside – North Yorkshire Moors – Northampton & Lamport – Northamptonshire Ironstone – Paignton & Dartmouth – Peak – Plym Valley – Ravenglass & Eskdale – Ribble – Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch – Rutland – Seaton – Severn Valley – Sittingbourne – South Devon – South Tynedale – Spa Valley – Swanage – Swindon & Cricklade – Telford – Walthamstow – Weardale – Wensleydale – West Somerset – Wisbech & March
<p style="font-size: 90%">Scotland:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Alford Valley – Bo'ness & Kinneil – Caledonian – Keith & Dufftown – Leadhills & Wanlockhead – Isle of Mull – Royal Deeside – Scottish Industrial Rly. Centre – Strathspey
<p style="font-size: 90%">Wales:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Bala Lake – Brecon Mountain – Bridgend Valley – Cambrian Rly. Soc. – Cambrian Rly. Trust – Corris – Fairbourne – Ffestiniog – Gwili – Llanberis Lake – Llangollen – Narrow Gauge Rly. Mus. – Pontypool & Blaenavon – Rhyl – Snowdon Mountain – Swansea Vale – Talyllyn – Vale of Glamorgan – Vale of Rheidol – Welsh Highland – Welshpool & Llanfair
<p style="font-size: 90%">Northern Ireland:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Donegal – Downpatrick – Giant's Causeway	<p style="font-size: 90%">Channel Islands: Alderney Railway
<p style="font-size: 90%">Isle of Man:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Douglas Horse Tram – Groudle Glen – IoM Steam – Manx Electric – Snaefell

Categories: Heritage railways | Pre-grouping British railway companies | Ceredigion