We did the Vale of Rheidol Railway a few times this year and last, but only in the sense of calling in to visit the stations (and eat in the cafes). This summer, we thought we'd actually ride the line.
One positive of the heatwaves having finally ended, the trains were actually running with steam haulage instead of the two diesel shunters.
No fancy pants first-class for us. But equally, we weren't tempted by the open-sided coaches we'd initially toyed with. Wisely, as it turned out.
This loco was both a blessing and an annoyance. I (Ben) had been really looking forward to the BR Blue tank loco, but it was in the shed. Still, the Garratt is always an impressive beast. Plus, for shots out the window on the way back down, it was really rather impressive.
Waiting to depart Devils Bridge. We didn't get many pics on the way up, as the train was quite busy and we were stuck next to one of the non-opening windows.
As I said, we'd toyed with the open-siders, but decided we'd have one of the near-empty regular coaches for the way back down, as we could poke the cameras out the windows on either side. And this turned out to be the right choice, as the heavens utterly opened just before we got the right-away.
You can't deny, the scenery is stunning.
Moody; might as well have been shooting monochrome.
Waiting for an upcoming service- you can sort of see the rain hammering down.
What you can't see in this shot is the crammed carriages, especially the open-siders full of half-drowned tourists.
Then back down through the woods. This could almost be a line in the tropics, or something like the Puffing Billy in Australia.
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