Hanomag 1927 built NG/G13 Garratt No.60 – Drakensberg
The Vale of Rheidol Railway has completed the commissioning of Hanomag 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt NG/G13 works number 10551 built in 1927. The ex-South African Railway’s locomotive No. 60, named Drakensberg, will be available to haul VoR passenger trains in 2022 in addition to the line’s iconic 2-6-2Ts. The German-built NG/G13 ceased work in South Africa in…
Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway’s No.822 – The Earl
The heavy overhaul of No.822, The Earl, from the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway was completed during 2021 within our workshop at Aberystwyth and it has now returned to its home railway and begun to haul passenger trains, upon completion of testing. During May, June and July 2021 there was a big push within our…
Project Phase 4 – New Booking Office
Phase 4 of our project, the building of a brand new booking office, has also started simultaneously as phase 3. The overall look of the building is designed to match the style of our workshop built in 2012 with various features from our history as well as that of the Great Western Railway, including original…
Project Phase 3 – Multi Function Display Space – July 22
Phase 3 of our Wales to the World project has begun. It is the overhaul of the former standard gauge engine shed to turn it into a display space suitable for the display of engines from our collection. After emptying the building and removing the track, the interior was sandblasted to clean it and remove…
Various Projects – July 2022
Our engineers have had a wheely good time lately, working on wheel sets for us and others. For ourselves, there was the culmination of a 10 year project to overhaul and modify the bogies from our carriages to improve the ride for our visitors. All 32 carriage bogies are now rebuilt and 30 are in…
Carriage No.12 – July 2022
With the completion of Carriage 11 work has begun in earnest on Carriage 12. So far the carriage has been stripped, the framework modifications are complete, the roof has been completed, the ceiling has been formed and the centre panels have been sent away to artist Terence Lambert for painting in the theme of flight,…
Baldwin No.44699 – July 2022
Work on the Baldwin has been continuing steadily. The tanks were temporarily refitted to the frames prior to removal for painting to begin, and vacuum brake pipes have been made and fitted. The iconic ‘water lifter’ pipe work has been manufactured and fitted. A lot of work has taken place on the motion and valve…
Queen’s Jubilee Baton Visit
Thursday 30th June saw the Queens Jubilee Baton Relay visit Aberystwyth and we had the honour of carrying it for part of its journey. Our nominated baton carrier was Hawys Richards, the daughter of one of our engineers. She was selected for her achievements in the sport of cycling, finishing 2nd in her group at…
New First Class Carriage Launched
New Lighting at CaFriday 20th May 2022 saw the official launch into service of our new first class carriage. The carriage has cost £120,000 to rebuild. The work has included the manufacture of custom designed and produced seating with a moquette chosen by our late chairman Mr. Peter Rampton. The woodwork in the carriage has…
New Lighting at Capel Bangor & Aberffrwd
Both Capel Bangor and Aberffrwd stations now boast full length platform lighting after extra lamp posts have been installed this year. The lamp posts used originally stood on our old platform at Aberystwyth, as our new Aberystwyth platform received a different type of lantern top, which are replicas of GWR lanterns. They are wired into…
New Lineside Fencing
During the winter closed period, a major project began to renew our lineside fencing. This work was subcontracted as our permanent way team was very busy renewing track and altering the track layout at Devil’s Bridge. The renewed fencing adds to the lovely clean look of our lineside and not only improves the visual appearance…