Exhibits are prepared for display at new Aberystwyth museum

The first locomotives for the “Wales to the World” exhibition have arrived ready to go on display at the new Aberystwyth museum at the Vale of Rheidol Railway.

The locomotives that have arrived so far include ‘Fire Queen' built in 1848, which is one of the oldest narrow gauge engines in the world.

Dukedog No.9017, visiting from the Bluebell Railway, was a regular loco on the Cambrian lines and has returned to the very building it was based at for the first time in over 60 years.

‘Palmerston' from the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, which helped to build the VoR. It will be on display before it will be overhauled and return to steam at a special event at the Vale of Rheidol later this summer.

Other items going on display include exhibits that have not been on display before that have travelled across the globe to the museum and rolling stock from the VoR collection that was saved by the late Peter Rampton.

In order to get the museum ready for its opening on 23 March, the shunting of the exhibits took place on Tuesday 19 March.

The museum building was originally the shed for the standard gauge locomotives working on the Cambrian lines from 1938 – 1968, it then became the shed for the VoRs narrow gauge locomotives from 1968 and has now become a museum and events space.

The Museum will be open from 9 am each day with the last admission being at 4:15 pm on ‘orange' timetable operating days.

It will be free to customers who have travelled or are planning to travel on the Vale of Rheidol on the day of their museum visit, while a charge will be made to those who are only just visiting the museum. The museum will close for the season on November 3rd.