“SECRET” LOCO REVEAL: SOTILLOS.  

We’re delighted to announce that a very special engine – hidden from public view for almost 60 years – has just gone on display at our museum in Aberystwyth. Following decades of storage, we’ve recently given it a clean and spruce-up.  

It’s an 0-6-2T built by Borsig of Berlin in 1906. Because it was bought and shipped to Surrey as soon as its railway closed down in 1967, it is essentially in the same condition as the day it hauled its last train. 

Sotillos was used on the narrow gauge mining railways of Spain. When the line that it was working on – the Sabero Railway – closed down, Sotillos and another seven engines based there suddenly became redundant, and were destined for a Spanish scrap heap.

But by unlikely chance, and in a scenario worthy of a Thomas the Tank Engine book, a wealthy British railway enthusiast called Peter Rampton learned of the closure. He immediately made an offer to buy not just Sotillos, but the entire Sabero Railway fleet. 

Scrap-man avoided, they were shipped to his farm in Surrey for safe-keeping. 

Over the next 30 years Peter travelled the world, hunting down more than 50 “engines at risk” to join his growing collection, which became legendary amongst railway enthusiasts: known colloquially as “Collection X”. After he died in 2019, most of the engines were brought here, to Aberystwyth.  

We had been building large storage sheds – and the museum – especially for this purpose.

Sotillos, sitting at the back of a shed, and Borsig being an unusual type of loco, appealed to many of our engineering team. So during May 2026, Sotillos was hauled to our workshops for a thorough clean – over a week of hard graft. Emerging briefly into proper sunshine for the first time in over 50 years, Sotillos No.7 of the Sabero Railway, has now taken pride of place in our museum… ready for its 120th birthday. Do come to see it! 

Engine Shed open daily from 9am, last entry 4pm.