The Vale of Rheidol Railway is hosting a Festival of a Steam this coming August Bank Holiday weekend (24th-26th August 2024).
The event is being held to celebrate the centenary of the Rheidol tank locomotives, which have spent their entire working lives travelling between Aberystwyth and Devil’s Bridge. The weekend also celebrates the opening of the Engine Shed Display building in Aberystwyth, which was completed in May 2024.
The three-day Festival of Steam will provide something for all the family, with up to six locomotives in steam each day.
Highlights include:
- A full timetable of trains running all weekend, with extra services and shuttles
- All the home fleet in steam (five locomotives), plus one visiting locomotive: all running on the same day. This is the only time of the year that this happens!
- 160-year old steam locomotive ‘Palmerston’ (visiting from the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways) pulling special trains over the weekend.
- Driver Experience sessions at both Aberystwyth and Devil’s Bridge: pay £7.50 to drive a real steam locomotive!
- Indian locomotive No.762 on static display (first public showing for over forty years).
- Book signings at Aberystwyth with local authors (Saturday and Sunday only)
- Special offers in the Vale Rheidol Railway shop at Aberystwyth station
Standard fares apply for the event, and all tickets are ‘rover’ tickets (meaning that passengers can hop between trains). Child tickets are only £5, meaning that the event is great value for money.
Further event details (and a copy of the event timetable) can be found on the railway’s website: https://www.rheidolrailway.co.uk/2024/08/19/rheidol-steam-festival-event/