TOP TEN VOR FACTS

The Vale of Rheidol Railway opened in 1902. At over 11 miles, it was built to exploit mineral and timber resources in the Rheidol valley. The line was taken over by the Cambrian Railways in 1913 and thus became part of the GWR in 1923. BR’S Western Region management looked kindly on the VOR and painted its locomotives lined green. But the line was transferred to the London Midland Region in 1963. BR management wanted to close the VOR, but Divisional Manager George Dow saw it as a viable tourist attraction. He petitioned government ministers and, after Parliamentary Question Time on November 6 1967, the line was saved. During the spring of 1968, BR converted the redundant Carmarthen bay platforms at Aberystwyth into a new narrow gauge station. BR’S last standard gauge steam train, the ’15 Guinea Special’ ran on August 11 1968 but the VOR kept the flag flying for BR steam for another 20 years until it was privatised in 1988. The Vor’s first new locomotives were designed by William Szlumper, who also designed the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway’s 2-6-2Ts. They were the only locomotives built by injector maker Davies & Metcalfe. The GWR built two new 2‑6‑2Ts in 1923 – Nos. 7 and 8 – and heavily rebuilt one of the originals (No. 9). How much of the original No. 9 survived the rebuild is the subject of debate. The VOR famously hired the Festiniog Railway’s 0-4-0STT Palmerston in 1912 and 1913 to cater for an unexpected upturn in traffic. The Vor’s three 2‑6‑2Ts became Class 98/0 under BR’S TOPS system.