Mid Wales GOC Members will be attending this event on Saturday 25th October  and welcome others to join us.

Event Details: Steam Spectacular at the Vale of Rheidol Railway

To participate in the event a ticket for £35 can be purchased here, which includes a 12 mile return steam train trip to Devil's Bridge, where you can also explore. We plan to catch the 1100 train to Devil's Bridge, and the tickets are valid for any train. There is the museum to explore at the Aberystwyth station.

Unique BR Blue Steam Loco Returns as All Three Rheidol Tanks Star in Festival Line-Up

The Vale of Rheidol Railway will stage one of its most ambitious events to date this autumn, combining historic repaints, intensive services and visiting attractions for an unmissable Steam Festival on 25th & 26th October 2025.

The headline news is the long-awaited return to service of No. 9 “Prince of Wales”, which has been out of traffic since 2020. Fresh from overhaul, it will be unveiled in later BR Corporate Blue lined livery with cab-side double arrow branding – unique in British railway history. No other steam locomotives in the UK – other than the Rheidol tanks – ever authentically carried this bold corporate image, making No. 9’s repaint a true one-off.  It will also be running, for the first time, with it’s air-pump concealed in the water tanks.

All three of the line’s famous Rheidol Tanks wore BR Blue during British Railways ownership, but this is the first time since 1982 that the colour has been seen on the railway – and the first time in preservation. Its return in 2025, during the Railway200 anniversary year, is a fitting way to celebrate both the Vale of Rheidol’s distinctive BR story and 200 years of innovation on Britain’s railways.

Joining No. 9 in action will be:

• No. 7 “Owain Glyndŵr”, freshly repainted in BR lined green, and reunited with its original nameplates.
• No. 8 “Llywelyn”, in BR black with lion-holding-wheel crest.
• The line’s powerful NGG13 Garratt locomotive No. 60 “Drakensberg”, adding further variety to the roster.

For the first time in many years, all three Rheidol Tanks will appear together in authentic BR liveries with their nameplates fitted, recreating the look of the railway in its closing decades as the last steam-only outpost of British Rail.

An Intensive Weekend of Steam

The festival will feature a special intensive timetable, with five departures each day from Aberystwyth.  Multiple locos will be in steam each day, offering enthusiasts the chance to see a rare variety of combinations in service.

Tickets will be issued as Day Rovers, allowing unlimited travel on all services throughout the day – so visitors can make the most of the intensive timetable and sample different locomotives across multiple trips. (The ticket will not cover admission to the Museum/Waterman layout – a separate ticket will be required).

At Aberystwyth station, visitors will also be able to take the regulator themselves, with driver experience turns on one of the smaller engines – offering a hands-on taste of steam footplate work.