Steam locomotive Palmerston to return to Vale of Rheidol Railway

In a compelling and exciting move to create new reasons to visit Wales in 2024, fellow members of the ‘Great Little Trains of Wales' consortium, The Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) and the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways (Ff&WHR) have announced a rather special locomotive agreement.

‘Palmerston' which was built in 1864, will visit the Vale of Rheidol Railway this year. It is the oldest surviving locomotive to have worked on the line.

It will arrive in Ceredigion in late February, and spend the first half of 2024 in the restored 1938 engine shed as a static exhibit in the new Museum, Display & Events space at Aberystwyth before being overhauled at the VoR workshops in July, so it can return to traffic.

Later this year, the Vale or Rheidol's new museum at Aberystwyth station will open to the public from March 23rd as part of a larger project called “Wales to the World”.

While the ‘behind the scenes' tour will be launched at the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways Boston Lodge Works later in the year, this will enable passengers at both railways to see and view first hand a wide variety of narrow gauge locomotives up close, which also includes some engines that were previously not on public display.

This will create a new visitor experience which both railways have worked hard to create to enable the public to learn more about the narrow gauge locomotives and railways of Wales.

Llŷr ap Iolo, Managing Director of the Vale of Rheidol Railway, said: “We are very grateful to Paul Lewin and the team at the Ff&WHR to agreeing to the loan of ‘Palmerston' for the 2024 season. We are excited to have it running on the Vale of Rheidol Railway at our event in August ‘Palmerston' is one of the original locomotives built for the Ffestiniog Railway, where it worked from the 1860s to the 1930s. During this time, it was hired to the Vale of Rheidol Railway to help with additional traffic generated by the opening of a large Territorial Army camp at Lovesgrove in 1912 and 1913. The loco also helped with moving timber traffic in the Rheidol valley, supporting the war effort of the time”

Paul Lewin, General Manager of the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, said: “The Ff&WHR are striving to bring our railway alive for our visitors in a new way. We have invested heavily in interpretation and conservation of the historic loco works at Boston Lodge, rather than simply catching a fleeting glimpse of our locos and workshops, we will invite our visitors right in to the heart of the place. Similarly, the Rheidol team are making their impressive collection openly available for the first time. This is all great news for visitors, and it makes so much sense for us to work together. For those looking to make the most of precious leisure time, a visit to Wales has never looked more appealing. As we prepare to celebrate our platinum jubilee, we can only begin to imagine how pleased our founders would be to see us working together, striving to continue to be the best place to see narrow gauge steam”.

A highlight of the year will feature ‘Palmerston' in steam as the guest of honour at the' ‘Rheidol Steam Festival' event from 24th-26th August, where it will be hauling trains between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge, alongside the lines home fleet of locomotives.

The weekend will comprise an intensive service timetable, with plenty to see and do across the August Bank Holiday.

Event organizer Phil Budd said: “It will be an exciting weekend to be in the Rheidol valley, with plenty to enjoy: it will be great to see ‘Palmerston' in steam, hauling trains alongside our resident locomotives. With the long Summer evenings and fantastic Aberystwyth sunsets, it will be a brilliant time to visit Ceredigion”.

In late September ‘Palmerston' will head back to Porthmadog in time to play a starring role in the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway's annual ‘Bygones Weekend'. This annual event celebrates the rich heritage of the Ffestiniog Railway, with historically accurate train formations and costumed characters.

Both railways are pleased to be able to work so closely together on this project, which is very much in the ethos of the ‘Great Little Trains of Wales' partnership. The arrangement brings strength and unity to both railways, as well as a shared common goal.

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