The Vale of Rheidol Railway - News

Collection x. People are only custodians if they have the best long term interest of those objects of historical significance at heart, if not you might as well see them as grave goods. Controversial point I know *hides can of petrol with rag sticking out.

 

Mr Rampton must be given credit for saving this stuff from being destroyed, but Nil Points for not allowing anyone except a select few to see it or photograph it for many decades. I think he got fed up with pestering enthusiasts. But at least he set things up so it should hopefully eventually be displayed and hopefully restored where necessary.

 

I agree with you. Mr. Rampton certainly had great concern and made much more provision for the long-term care of his collection, beyond his own lifetime, than many other loco owners I could think of.

 

Can't help but notice where criticism of Mr.Rampton and 'collection x' doesn't tend to come from - and that's from folk with long, hard earned practical knowledge of what restoration entails.

Even with the many projects to store stock under cover, there's more than a little to be genuinely concerned about out there, in the from of unrestored locos, carriages and wagons, which at far greater risk than stuff which, bottom line, is safely and securely stored.

 

It seems to be a certain type of 'enthusiast' who seems to think that they should have free access to everything and everywhere preferably at no cost to themselves. I would have loved to see Collection X myself but am prepared to wait until the Aberystwyth museum opens to the public. As was mentioned previously if Mr.Rampton hadn't put his own money and time into saving the locos and rolling stock over the years most would have ended up as razor blades long ago. Rather than criticizing him for not allowing access to all and sundry these 'enthusiasts' might want to be grateful to the Rampton family for what they have achieved. Rant over.
Ray.

 

Someone broke the cardinal rule of Narrow Gauge Railways, never ever mention the pros and cons of Collection 'X'!
The discussion will never ever be resolved.

 

The owner of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway carriage No 2 at the former Clannaborough Rectory near Bow (15 miles north of Exeter) had similar problems. He inherited the carriage when he bought the house. On one occasion he found people in his garden with the carriage (and it was well off the main road). I would think that, apart from wanting it to go to a good home before it fell to pieces (it had been there nearly 50 years when it went to dry out at the NRM in 1982), he was also glad to get rid of the problem.

 

As somebody who has restored and been involved in the restoration of items of industrial archaeology and transport history (traction engine, mining equipment, and numerous vintage cars), that have been made available for public access and use, I both know the financial and personal costs involved, yet have never waved a flag or prevented access, and actively shared knowledge and resources.
Everyone can have a view, that is yours, and mine is mine.
Going to return to actively doing something rather than being a keyboard warrior.
Cheers and gone

 

Did you really read my post before hitting "reply"? Actually, don't bother replying as you've been set to 'ignore'.
Ray.

 

Dom, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you might not be aware of the full story. Peter Rampton had previously tolerated enthusiasts and indeed opened up his 'home' to interested folk who wanted to see his collection of expensive artefacts. Unfortunately some of these interested folk decided that not only did they want to view Peter's personal artefact, but thought they might as well take a souvenir or two from the day! It's because these so called enthusiasts took liberties with Peter's hospitality and generosity that Peter's treatment of the general enthusiast who contributed nothing towards what he'd worked hard to achieve changed!

Let's face it, if you welcomed an unknown stranger in to your home and they stole from you, then you too would think twice about doing it again! I know I would!

For those who are well known and respected in the hobby, it's possible to gain access to the collection because they had earn't Peter's trust and respect. Now personally I can't see anything wrong with the decision Peter made and why, and for this reason I am fully behind the restrictions to Collection X. The collection will be made available to the public once again, only as and when their security is guaranteed!

Paul

 

Also to add, from his obituaries, he inherited money from his family Freemans buisiness, invested it well in farming, which enabled him to have trains, cars and house restoration as hobbies. From the "Disused Tracks in Surrey" thread, almost started a narrow gauge track at his farm, then decided against it, and then the Government put the Vale of Rheidol Railway up for sale and he part brought it. He did invest in the VoR to help it become the well run railway it is now. Will be good to see "collection X" move there and put securely on display.

 

Changing the subject slightly, does anyone know if work has been continuing onthe Garratt, and are we likely to see it in action this year?

 

The most recent photo (online newsletter) of the Aberystwyth workshops suggests they've not been idle on the Garratt front. Wish I had more to tell you.

 

I was under the impression that prior to the pandemic there was a desire to see the Garratt in steam in 2020, not least because no9 was out of ticket. (That said the VoR has never really had difficulty having only two locomotives operating for many years now) If correct then it can’t be too many months away from steaming. However as no no trains are operating I suspect that (if the workshops are open) they are probably only carrying out contracted work eg the Earl. When fully up and running again I suppose it will come down to whether the railway believes it will have enough demand in 2021 to want to have three locomotives working or whether there is benefit in delaying the start of the boiler ticket on the Garratt. I appreciate the latter is not technically a VoR owned locomotive but as with everything railway orientated, economics come in to play at some stage assuming we have not won the lottery. Irrespective of this I would assume it would be in steam before no9 jumps the queue to replace one of the other Rheidol tanks prior to their own 10 year ticket overhaul (again assuming they do not simply do a boiler swap as has occurred previously)

And then there is the Manning Wardle.......

 

Can anyone shed any light on current thinking at Aber? With reopenings ongoing elsewhere, the VoR's message seems to remain 'keep an eye on our Facebook page'.

 

Good news, we have just opened our bookings system today and published our timetable on our website.

 

Make that several "likes"

Edit: Here's the 2021 Timetable, from the VoR website:
https://www.rheidolrailway.co.uk/timetable/

 

Is there a reason why the website hasn't been updated? Last News was April, last Works News was last year (no mention of the W&LLR contracts). Even with 'because of Covid' that seems a long time.
Pat

 

Sorry for the lack of recent news. We are a small team have all been rather busy lately running the train service. We should be updating the website before too long.

Regards, Will, VoR

 

I recall a story from the 70s which I have no reason to doubt when the IOM railway was still run by the original company. A railway society visiting the island asked to be allowed access to the locomotive sheds. A while later is came to light that a nameplate from the locomotive No 7 TYNWALD was missing. The trip leader would not allow any of the group to return to England on the boat until it was returned.