Vale of Rheidol Railway locomotives
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The Vale of Rheidol Railway, which runs from Aberystwyth to Devil's Bridge (Wales), opened in 1902, and was later operated by the Cambrian Railway, Great Western Railway and British Rail before being 'privatised' in 1989 and run as a preserved railway operation. It is built to 1 ft 113⁄4 in (603 mm) gauge.
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[edit] Locomotive Details
The railway's locomotives may broadly be divided into four groups:
[edit] No. 1, & No. 2 (later 1212 & 1213)
The VoR commenced operations with two 2-6-2T locomotives constructed by Davies & Metcalfe of Manchester, Nos.1 and 2. These locomotives were given Nos.1212 and 1213 by the GWR when it took over the line on grouping. They were Davies and Metcalfe's first locomotives and a Great Central Railway Boilersmith, Thomas Kay, provided expertise in their construction. The contract was given to a company previously inexperienced in locomotive building (although previously they were involved in the repair of locomotives and made injectors) because Mr. Metcalfe was an Aberystwyth man.
At times in the first 30 years of the railway when there was a need for extra motive power the railway hired in Lord Palmerston, an 0-4-0 from the Ffestiniog Railway.
[edit] No. 3 (later 1198)
No. 3 was a small 2-4-0T locomotive, originally built by Bagnall of Stafford for a Brazilian cane plantation in 1896 but never delivered after the order was cancelled. Bagnall regauging the locomotive from 750 mm (2 ft 51⁄2 in) to 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) when it was sold to the Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway and named Talybont. In 1903, after the failure of the Plynlimon and Hafan, it was purchased by the VoR, regauged it to 1 ft 113⁄4 in (603 mm) and renamed Rheidol. The GWR numbered it 1198 in 1923, but it was withdrawn and scrapped the following year.
[edit] No 7, No 8, & No 9 (& re-use of '1213')
Shortly after taking control of the line, the GWR overhauled No.1212 and under the pretence of a 'heavy rebuild' actually built an entirely new 1213, the original presumably being scrapped. At the same time, two new locomotives (numbered 7 and 8) were built to the same design as the new No.1213 at the GWR's Swindon works. In 1946, the GWR undertook a renumbering of the remaining locomotives inherited from pre-Grouping companies, and this saw 1213 being renumbered 9. No.1212 had been withdrawn in the 30's and after a while scrapped as it was found three engines could quite easily cope with day to day operation of the railway. Many people still believe that No.9 is one of the original Davies & Metcalfe Locomotives, as historians and many books are incorrect on the subject, successfully hoodwinked by Swindon works. The works were very effective in their coverup, entitling the parts that made up the new No.1213 as 'spares' in the accounts book, as the GWR Board had only given them leave to build two new locomotives. A simple test to prove that No.9 is actually of the same vintage as Nos. 7 and 8 is to compare the working drawings between it and a Davies and Metcalfe locomotive- nothing of the original locomotive could possibly have fitted the new one.
Along with other ex-GWR locomotives, 7-9 retained their numbers under BR ownership. These three locos were the only steam engines to survive in BR's ownership after the end of mainline steam traction in August 1968, excluding steam powered cranes which remained in service until surprisingly recently. Under the TOPS numbering arrangements introduced at this time they were allocated Class 98 and were nominally numbered 98007-98009, but these numbers were never actually carried on the locomotives. All three locomotives carried standard British Rail rail blue livery. The rail blue livery has now gone, but these three locomotives remain in use on the VoR today, now back in private hands.
[edit] No 10 (& ancillary motive power)
The steam locomotive fleet is today supplemented by a single diesel locomotive, number 10, built by Baguley Drewery and brought to the railway by the Brecon Mountain Railway during the time when the VoR was owned by the same company.
Additionally, there is a permanent way gang powered trolley, which replaced a Wickham trolley from the 1950's.
[edit] Summary of Locomotives
The table below lists all those locomotives owned by the VoR or built to its designs:
| 'Old' VoR No. | GWR No. (1923) | GWR No. (1946) | Current No. | Name | In use? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1212 | - | - | Edward VII | No | Withdrawn and scrapped 1930's (Name removed 1923) |
| 2 | 1213 | - | - | Prince of Wales | No | Withdrawn and scrapped 1924 |
| 3 | 1198 | - | - | Rheidol | No | Withdrawn and scrapped 1924 |
| - | 7 | 7 | 7 | Owain Glyndŵr | * Yes | Name applied by BR |
| - | 8 | 8 | 8 | Llywelyn | * Yes | Name applied by BR |
| - | 1213 | 9 | 9 | Prince of Wales | * Yes | Name applied by BR in belief they were restoring original name |
| - | - | - | 10 | - | * Yes | Modern diesel locomotive |
