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Vale of Rheidol Railway - Definition |
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Train taking on water, Vale of Rheidol Railway The Vale of Rheidol Railway is a narrow-gauge (1 foot 11¾ inches) heritage railway that runs for 11¾ miles between Aberystwyth and Devils Bridge (Pont yr Fynach (Welsh) - Bridge over the Mynach) - in Wales, UK. It was the last steam line to be operated as part of the nationalised British Railways network.
Construction was begun in 1901 following an Act of Parliament in 1897 and the line opened in 1902. The primary purpose of the line was to serve the mines in the Rheidol valley, carrying ore, especially lead, to the sea and the main line railway at Aberystwth. It also carried passengers and timber.
In 1913 the line was taken over by Cambrian Railways and subsequently grouped into the Great Western Railway network in 1923 and incorporated into the nationalised network in 1948. The line was finally privatised in 1989 and still operates as a tourist railway offering an hour-long journey through spectacular mountain scenery, much of it at a gradient of 1 in 50. The headquarters of the railway are at Aberystwyth, where it shares a terminus with the standard gauge main line.
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