New exhibits in the museum

The Vale of Rheidol Railway are pleased to announce that three new exhibits have gone on display in Aberystwyth.

Two of these are locomotives (a petrol electric loco from 1918, and a Spanish steam loco built in 1895), which are accompanied by a Directors Saloon coach.

It is very rare to see these locomotives, as they have formed part of a private collection for over the last forty years. The vehicles were saved for preservation by the late Peter Rampton, and are now on display in the new museum in Aberystwyth.

Dick Kerr petrol electric No.18 is a very early petrol-electric engine, which was built in 1918. These locomotives were built by order of the War Department in two batches (in 1916 and 1918 respectively), and would have worked on the front line carrying munitions and supplies in WW1. The engine is a very unusual survivor, and is now on public display.

Sabero No.1 was built in 1895 by Couillet, and worked on the Hulleras de Sabero railway in Spain. It was one of a group of locomotives saved for preservation by Peter Rampton: this is the first time that No. has been seen on public since it arrived in the UK in 1969.

The Hulleras de Sabero Directors Coach is a small four-wheeled carriage, with a veranda on each end and longtitudal seating on each side. It is displayed coupled to Sabero No.1, as survivors from the same railway.

All three vehicles are now on display in the new museum at Aberystwyth station. Entry is £5 adults/£3 children, or free for passengers travelling on the train.

Note that ‘Palmerson’ and Baldwin 590 are currently temporarily not on display, as they are in the railway workshops.