:GWR Rheidol Tanks

Prior to the railway grouping in 1923, the Vale of Rheidol Railway was operated by Cambrian Railways. The fleet consisted of two locomotives built by Davies and Metcalfe, supplemented by a Bagnall locomotive.

Shortly after taking control of the line, the GWR realised that the original rolling stock was in a poor state of repair. They built three new locomotives (numbered 7, 8 and 1213) at the GWR's Swindon Works. Number 1213 was later renumbered 9.

There are references (in print and online) to the misconception that No. 9 is one of the original Davies & Metcalfe Locomotives,See, for example, Michael Rutherford, 'Railway Reflections No 129', photo caption of No. 8 and 'new' 1213, the latter referenced as 'formerly No 2': photo captions indexed [http://www.steamindex.com/locotype/narrowg.htm at SteamIndex, here]. as some websites and books incorrectly report,See, for example, the incorrect locomotive data catalogued [https://web.archive.org/web/20120614181519/http://www.ngrm.org.uk/Collections/PublicCarriers/ValeOfRheidolRailway archived here] by the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum website. having been misled by Swindon Works.See 'Vale of Rheidol Light Railway', by W J K Davies, published 1964 by Ian Allan Limited, for a discussion of the accounting coverup. Swindon listed the parts that made up the new No. 1213 as 'spares' in their accounting book as the GWR Board had only given them leave to build two new locomotives (No. 7 & No. 8).See British Heritage Railways [http://www.british-heritage-railways.co.uk/vor.html website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194617/http://www.british-heritage-railways.co.uk/vor.html |date=2015-09-23 }}, section headed 'locomotives'.

No. 9 is the same age as No. 7 & No. 8, as shown when comparing the working drawings between it and a Davies and Metcalfe locomotive. Rheidol historian C C Green, who carried out this comparison, said of all three current locomotives that "mechanically they are identical", and when the current No. 9 (the 'new' 1213) is compared with the plans of the original 1213 stated that "no single part" of the original locomotive could possibly have fitted the new one.Green,1986, Page 189.

In 1946, the GWR began a renumbering of the remaining locomotives inherited from pre-Grouping companies, but since it was only carried out as locomotives received heavy repairs, the process took several years.{{sfn|Davies|Firth|Lucking|Thomas|1966|p=K4}} Under this scheme, the 'new' 1213 was renumbered No. 9 in March 1949.{{sfn|Green|1986|p=192}}{{sfn|Davies|Firth|Lucking|Thomas|1966|p=K78}}

File:Adventure In Narrow Gauge - 1 (8656033648).jpg

Along with other ex-GWR locomotives, Nos. 7 and 8 retained their numbers under British Railways ownership, with no. 1213 also initially retaining its number until renumbered in 1949 under the 1946 plan.{{sfn|Davies|Firth|Lucking|Thomas|1966|p=K78}} In June 1956 the three were given the names which they still carry today, being unnamed up to that point; no, 9 received the name Prince of Wales that its predecessor had borne until repainted into Cambrian Railways livery after that company absorbed the locomotive in July 1913.{{sfn|Davies|Firth|Lucking|Thomas|1966|pp=K53, K77}} These three locos were the only steam engines to survive in BR's ownership after the end of main line steam traction in August 1968, excluding steam powered cranes which remained in service until 1995. Under the TOPS numbering arrangements introduced at this time they were allocated Class 98 and were nominally numbered 98007–98009, but these numbers were never actually carried on the locomotives. All three locomotives, and the rolling stock, carried standard British Rail 'rail blue' livery until the 1980s, when the locomotives were given more traditional liveries that they had carried in the past.

The locomotives were originally designed to burn coal, however there was a period spanning over thirty years during which the three locomotives were oil fired. Problems with sparks and unreliability of the coal supplied caused British Railways to look to alternative fuels for the locomotives. Locomotive No. 7 was the first to be converted in 1978, followed by No. 8 in 1979 and No. 9 in 1981.Green, 1986, pages 201–203 This change was later reversed with Locomotive No. 8 returning to coal in 2012 and No. 9 in 2013.Johnson, 2020, pages 171–173

All three Vale of Rheidol tanks are still in service and operating on their original route.

The standard livery is Great Western Railway green and all three locomotives currently carry this livery. The locomotives were named by British Railways in 1956 and currently do not carry their nameplates.

• List of Vale of Rheidol Railway rolling stock

{{Reflist|20em}}

• {{cite book|last=Boyd |first=James I.C.|title=Narrow Gauge Railways in Mid Wales|publisher=Oakwood Press|year=1965|isbn=0-85361-024-X}}
• {{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=F.K. |last2=Firth |first2=J.M. |last3=Lucking |first3=J.H. |last4=Thomas |first4=R.E. |last5=Allcock |first5=N.J. |last6=Sterndale |first6=A.C. |last7=Barrie |first7=D.S.M. |last8=Reed |first8=P.J.T. |last9=Mountford |first9=E.R. |editor-last=White |editor-first=D.E. |title=The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway, part ten: Absorbed Engines, 1922-1947 |date=April 1966 |publisher=RCTS |isbn=0-901115-20-7 }}
• {{Cite book|last=Green|first=CC|title=The Vale of Rheidol Light Railway|publisher=Wild Swan|year=1986|isbn=0-906867-43-6}}
• {{cite book|title=Welsh Narrow Gauge: a view from the past|last=Johnson|first=Peter|publisher=Ian Allan Publishing|year=1999|isbn=0-7110-2654-8}}
• {{cite book|title=An Illustrated History of the Great Western Narrow Gauge|last=Johnson|first=Peter|publisher=OPC|year=2011|isbn=978-0-86093-636-7}}
• {{cite book|title=The Vale of Rheidol Railway: The Story of a Narrow Gauge Survivor|last=Johnson|first=Peter|publisher=Pen and Sword|year=2020|isbn=978-1-52671-805-1}}

• [http://www.rheidolrailway.co.uk/ Vale of Rheidol Railway website]

{{Vale of Rheidol Railway}}

{{GWR Locomotives}}

Category:Vale of Rheidol Railway

Rheidol Tanks

Rheidol Tanks

Category:Preserved narrow-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain

Category:2-6-2T locomotives

Category:1′C1′ steam locomotives

Category:Narrow-gauge locomotives of the United Kingdom

Category:Railway locomotives introduced in 1923