List of Vale of Rheidol Railway rolling stock
This is a list of past and present rolling stock used on the Vale of Rheidol Railway, a narrow gauge heritage railway, opened in 1902, that runs for between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge in the county of Ceredigion, Wales.
The railway was later operated by the Cambrian Railways, Great Western Railway and British Rail before being 'privatised' in 1989 and run as a heritage railway operation.
When first opened, the railway owned two steam locomotives, No 1 Edward VII and No 2 Prince of Wales, along with a third contractor's locomotive No 3 Rheidol. In 1922 the Great Western Railway took over the running of the line and over the next two decades invested heavily in new locomotives and replacement rolling stock.
Locomotives
Steam locomotives
The railway has four steam locomotives for use on passenger trains, three of which were built for the Vale of Rheidol line and have operated on the line ever since.A Garratt locomotive arrived in 2017 for use on passenger trains and is not prototypical for the line historically.
| Image | Number | Name | Builder | Wheel arr. | Year built | Notes | In traffic? |
| 7 | Owain Glyndŵr | Great Western Railway | 1923 | Hauled the last steam service under British Rail ownership of the line. Withdrawn from traffic in 1997 pending overhaul. Returned to service in October 2018. Carries British Railways Lined Green Livery. | In Traffic | ||
| 8 | Llywelyn | Great Western Railway | 1923 | Carries British Railways black livery with 'cycling lion' emblems and 'Llywelyn' nameplates. | In Traffic | ||
| 9 | Prince of Wales | Great Western Railway | 1924 | Numbered 1213 from delivery until gaining the No 9 in 1948. Put through Swindon works as an overhaul of the original No 2, but is in fact a complete new locomotive. Carries British Rail Lined Blue Livery. | In Traffic | ||
| 60 | Drakensberg | Hanomag | 1927 | NG G13 Garratt locomotive. Arrived at the railway from Schinznacher Baumschulbahn, Switzerland in 2017, and has since undergone overhaul, including the fitting of air brakes. Entered passenger service in 2022. | In Traffic |
Diesel locomotives
The steam locomotive fleet is today supplemented by a number of diesel locomotives. Although they lack the power of the steam locomotives, they are available for shunting duties or works trains. No 10 can also operate light passenger trains.| Image | Number | Name | Works number | Builder | Wheel arr. | Year built | Notes | In traffic? |
| 10 | - | BMR002 | Baguley-Drewry / Brecon Mountain Railway | 1987 | Built out of parts from Baguley-Drewry engineering | In Traffic | ||
| 11 | - | DM1366 | Hudswell Clarke | 1965 | Built for National Coal Board. Rebuilt at Bredgar and Wormshill Railway in 2012 and named Wormshill. Acquired by Vale of Rheidol in 2021 | In Traffic | ||
| NG 52 | - | 721 | Andrew Barclay | 1987 | Built for Ministry of Defence. Previously at Eastriggs. | In Traffic - Works Use Only | ||
| RPM No. 9 | - | 3124 | W. G. Bagnall | 1957 | Built for Rustenburg Platinum Mines, South Africa. | Under Overhaul |
Self propelled engineering plant
The railway has a number of vehicles for permanent way maintenance.| Image | Works Number | Name | Builder | Wheel arr. | Year built | Notes | In Traffic? |
| DX68804 | Thunderbird 4 | Permaquip | 2w-2DMR | 1985 | This light vehicle conveys a team of staff in comfort along with all the tools and equipment required for maintenance work. The vehicle can also be rotated through 180 degrees by means of a hydraulic lift, allowing the P-Way team to turn it so that the cab is always at the front when in motion. | In Traffic | |
| UGT1 | - | Plasser | 1986 | Plasserail ballast tamper, built in South Africa and moved to the Vale of Rheidol Railway in 1991. | In Traffic | ||
| 7495 | - | Hunslet / Aberystwyth Locomotive Works | 1977. Rebuilt 2007 | Rail mounted self-propelled vehicle used to clear lineside vegetation. Designed by Llŷr ap Iolo and built from chassis components from ex MOD Hunslet 4w diesel locomotive No 7495, originally built 1977 2'6" gauge. The McConnel flail head has a purpose built turntable and has a reach of 15 feet and a maximum speed of 7.5 mph. | In Traffic |
Former locomotives
No 1, & No 2 ''(later 1212 & 1213)''
The VoR commenced operations with two 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 because Mr. Metcalfe was an Aberystwyth man. The design draws inspiration from the Manning Wardle s on the then-newly opened Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, to which they bear some resemblance. This may be because the Szlumper family was heavily involved in both railways' design and construction.No 3 ''(later 1198)''
No. 3 was a small locomotive, originally built by Bagnall of Stafford for a Brazilian sugar cane plantation in 1896 but never delivered as the order was cancelled, Bagnall regauging the locomotive from to 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 to and renamed Rheidol. The GWR numbered it 1198 in 1923, but it was withdrawn and scrapped the following year, having never carried its GWR number.No 4
In 1902 the railway's Directors temporarily hired a locomotive from the Ffestiniog Railway. The locomotive sent was Ffestiniog No 4 Palmerston. The following year VoR locomotive No 3 Rheidol was acquired, but a need for a fourth locomotive was still discerned. Palmerston No 4 was therefore hired again from Ffestiniog, and became the regular fourth locomotive for the next twenty years, being hired for several long periods, interspersed with brief home visits to Ffestiniog. The locomotive carried fleet number '4' in reference to its position on its home railway, although the number also matched its position on the Vale of Rheidol, as the fourth locomotive. When the line was acquired by the Great Western Railway, the leased locomotive was no longer required and was returned to Ffestiniog. Palmerston was built in 1864 by George England of New Cross, the fourth of the original four Ffestiniog Railway locomotives and was named after the Prime Minister, Viscount Palmerston. Palmerston returned to the Vale of Rheidol in 2014, hauling a series of special trains during September to celebrate its association with the VoR, and to commemorate both a century of history since the first world war, and 25 years of VoR independent operation.Coaching stock
Current coaching stock
The Vale of Rheidol Railway has a total of 16 carriages and 1 brake van. All were built by the Great Western Railway at Swindon to replace much older rolling stock built by the Midland Railway Carriage and Wagon Company for the opening of the line. Twelve bogie carriages were built for the opening.All the stock is third class only, unless otherwise stated. All currently carry both their GWR numbers and also their VoR numbers.
| Image | GWR No. | BR No. | BR No. | VoR No. | Year built | Builder | Type | Livery | Notes |
| 4143 | M4143W | 4143 | 1 | 1938 | Swindon | Fully Enclosed Third | Chocolate and Cream with GWR Garter Crest | In Traffic | |
| 4144 | M4144W | 4144 | 2 | 1938 | Swindon | Fully Enclosed Third | British Railways Carmine and Cream | In Traffic | |
| 4145 | M4145W | 4145 | 3 | 1938 | Swindon | Fully Enclosed Third | Chocolate and Cream with GWR Garter Crest | In Traffic | |
| 4146 | M4146W | 4146 | 4 | 1938 | Swindon | Fully Enclosed Third | Chocolate and Cream with GWR Shirt Button | In Traffic | |
| 4147 | M4147W | 4147 | 5 | 1938 | Swindon | Fully Enclosed Third | Chocolate and Cream with GWR Garter Crest | In Traffic | |
| 4148 | M4148W | 4148 | 6 | 1938 | Swindon | Fully Enclosed Third | British Railways Carmine and Cream | In Traffic | |
| 4149 | M4149W | 4149 | 7 | 1938 | Swindon | Open Third "Summer Car" | Chocolate and Cream with GWR Garter Crest | In Traffic | |
| 4150 | M4150W | 4150 | 8 | 1938 | Swindon | Open Third "Summer Car" | British Railways Crimson and Cream | In Traffic | |
| 4151 | M4151W | 4151 | 9 | 1938 | Swindon | Open Third "Summer Car" | Chocolate and Cream with GWR Garter Crest | In Traffic | |
| 4994 | M4994W | 4734 | 10 | 1938 | Swindon | Fully Enclosed Third | British Railways Carmine and Cream | In Traffic | |
| 4995 | M4995W | 4735 | 11 | 1938 | Swindon | Brake / First Observation | Chocolate and Cream with GWR Garter Crest | In Traffic | |
| 4996 | M4996W | 4736 | 12 | 1938 | Swindon | Brake / First Observation | British Railways Carmine and Cream | In Traffic | |
| 4997 | M4997W | 4737 | 13 | 1923 | Swindon | Open Third "Summer Car" | British Railways Carmine and Cream | In Traffic | |
| 4998 | M4998W | 4738 | 14 | 1923 | Swindon | Open Third "Summer Car" | British Railways Carmine and Cream | In Traffic | |
| 4999 | M4999W | 4739 | 15 | 1923 | Swindon | Open Third "Summer Car" - Converted to "Vista Car" in 1985. Out of traffic since approx 1990. Returned to traffic in 2018 as a wheelchair accessible carriage. | Chocolate and Cream with GWR Garter Crest | In Traffic | |
| 5000 | M5000W | 4740 | 16 | 1923 | Swindon | Open Third "Summer Car" | Bodywork removed. Out of traffic since approx 1990. | Stored | |
| 137 | 19 | 1938 | Swindon | Four-wheeled full brake. Constructed new 1938 | GWR Shirt Button | In Traffic |