New books of local interest now on sale

The Vale of Rheidol Railway are pleased to be able to stock two new books of local interest.

The first is ‘End of the Line – A Railway Pictorial‘ by John ‘Abergynolwyn’ Davies. The newly published book contains previously unpublished photographs of John’s time working in Aberystwyth in steam days, when he worked as a locomotive fireman at Aberystwyth shed.

The book is an essential reference for anyone interested in local and social history, as it contains John’s memories of working on steam in the local area. There are also fascinating pictures of a pannier tank derailed at Llanybyther in 1963! The cover also features No.9017 (currently on display in our Museum & Events space at Aberystwyth station) working a Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society Special along the Cambrian line in 1952.

Signed copies of the book are available in our Aberystwyth shop, as well as via our online shop. Copies of John’s other book (‘Railway Reminiscences’, published in 2023) are also available online and in the shop.

In addition, the railway is now pleased to stock copies of the eagerly anticipated book “Aberystwyth to Carmarthen – including the Newcastle Emlyn and Aberaeron branches” by Geraint Roberts. Published by Lightmoor Publications, the book contains over 300 pages of unpublished photographs and diagrams of the route. The book is up to the usual comprehensive Lightmoor standards, containing gradient profiles, signalbox diagrams and more. The large majority of the photographs are unpublished, and are taken from a variety of sources.

The book is available from our online shop, as well as in our Aberystwyth shop too. It is also planned that the author (Geraint Roberts) will be signing copies on at least one day of our ‘Rheidol Steam Festival’ event, held over the August Bank Holiday weekend (24th-26th August 2024).