GeoGraph - photograph every grid square

Aberffrwd Station

This picture dates from the time when the Vale of Rheidol Railway was still in British Rail ownership and the locomotives and rolling stock sported BR corporate blue, complete with logo. This was something of an anomaly because the line was operated purely as a tourist attraction and could hardly have been said to make a serious contribution to the national network - although it did appear on system maps of the period. The trains were crewed by BR drivers from Aberystwyth Depot, which must have made the line costlier to operate than other Welsh narrow gauge systems which relied, as they still do, heavily on volunteer labour. The line was sold in 1989, at a time when BR was actively divesting itself of 'non-core' businesses, but it remains operational and a passing loop has now been installed at Aberffrwd. In this view no 7 takes on water in readiness for the stiff climb to Devil's Bridge.