1. The first charter opportunity for over 20 years with No.7 Owain Glyndwr on the highly scenic VoR, Saturday 3rd November 2018
Vale of Rheidol Railway

The first charter opportunity for over 20 years with No.7 Owain Glyndwr on the highly scenic VoR, Saturday 3rd November 2018

Join us for a day's photography on the highly scenic Vale of Rheidol Railway using 1923-built No.7 Owain Glyndwr in Great Western Railway livery fresh from a major overhaul on an authentic GWR mixed train.

£75.00

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About this event

It is over twenty years since Vale of Rheidol Railway No.7 Owain Glyndwr steamed, and the locomotive is now reaching the final stages of its major overhaul at the line’s Aberystwyth workshops. So, with grateful thanks to the staff of the Vale of Rheidol, we are delighted to be able to offer the first charter using No.7 as it re-enters traffic for the first time since 1998.

Owain Glyndwr will be returning to steam over the coming Summer with the more authentic appearance now being applied to locos as they come out of the workshops with the air pumps carefully disguised and no longer visible. No.7 was built at Swindon in 1923 along with its sister locomotive No.8, with No.9 following in 1924 [though it was kept a closely-guarded secret from the GWR accounts department that the locomotive ostensibly overhauled and running as 1213 was, in fact, a brand new loco that would later appear as No.9]. When the locomotives were named in the mid-1950s by British Railways Western Region, No.7 became Owain Glyndwr. It was the first of the engines to be oil-fired in 1978, a process which is now being revised as the Railway’s steam fleet gradually reverts to coal firing.

Our train formation for the day will consist of No.7 hauling two GWR-liveried closed coaches followed by two or three open wagons, the sheep wagon and the recently-repainted van. This will give a mixed train formation that is entirely prototypical of those that would have run during the earlier days of Great Western Railway ownership. We will start as early as possible to make the best use of the available light at that time of year. The light should still be getting into all but one of the prime photo locations and the Autumnal colours should be approaching their best on the surrounding hills and mountainsides. 

Formerly part of the Cambrian Railway before being incorporated into the Great Western Railway in 1923, the Vale of Rheidol survived in British Railways ownership to become the last steam-operated line under BR, operated by them until privatisation in 1989. The VoR is now owned by a charitable trust which has done some fantastic work in providing new station buildings and beginning to restore the locomotives and rolling stock to their more authentic historical appearance.

Event timings
This event will run approximateley 08.00 to Sunset.


Cost £75.00 per person



EVENT REQUIREMENTS


Equipment:

Camera

Lenses- suggest bringing lens lengths between 16-200mm

Spare batteries

Memory cards

 

Photography Knowledge:

Basic to advanced

Fitness Level:

Low - Medium


 

Other

Appropriate outdoor clothing and walking footwear


Event requirements

Event location