The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four".
The Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) of track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line.
The British Rail Class 98 is a Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) classification that has been used to cover all steam locomotives used on the mainline in Britain, but also has a particular usage for the three Vale of Rheidol Railway-design 2-6-2T locomotives that remained in the ownership of British Rail (BR) after the end of mainline steam traction in August 1968. The locomotives on the Vale of Rheidol Railway were the only steam locomotives ever officially to carry the British Rail corporate blue and the double arrow logo.
The Bala Lake Railway is a narrow-gauge railway along the southern shore of Bala Lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. The line, which is 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) long, is built on a section of the former standard-gauge Ruabon–Barmouth GWR route that closed in 1965. Another section of the former permanent way is used by the Llangollen Railway. The Bala Lake Railway, which runs on 600 mm -gauge preserved rolling stock, is a member of the Great Little Trains of Wales.
The Vale of Rheidol Railway is a 1 ft 11+3⁄4 in narrow gauge heritage railway in Ceredigion, Wales, between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge; a journey of 11+3⁄4 miles (18.9 km).
The Sha Tau Kok Branch was a 2 ft narrow-gauge light rail operated by the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation, running from Fanling to Sha Tau Kok in the northern New Territories of Hong Kong. It was 7.25 miles (11.67 km) long and had eight services a day. The time it took to travel from Fanling to Sha Tau Kok was 55 minutes.
Boston Lodge is situated at Penrhyn Isa, Minffordd, Penrhyndeudraeth, on the A487 road about 1 mile SE across the Afon Glaslyn causeway from Porthmadog, Gwynedd in north-west Wales.
The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway was a 2 ft 3 in gauge narrow gauge railway in Cardiganshire in Mid Wales. It ran from Llanfihangel station on the Cambrian Line, through the village of Tal-y-bont and the valley of the Afon Leri, into the foothills of Plynlimon Fawr. It was built to serve the lead mines at Bwlch Glas and stone quarries around Hafan and opened in 1897, closing just two years later. The line was a little over 7 miles (11 km) long and, despite running a short-lived passenger service, it served no communities of more than 100 people.
Aberystwyth railway station is located in the town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales; it is served by passenger trains operated by Transport for Wales. It is the terminus of both the Cambrian Line and of the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway.
Alan Keef Ltd is a British narrow gauge railway engineering company which manufactures, overhauls, and deals in narrow gauge locomotives, rolling stock and associated equipment.
Manning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Dick, Kerr and Company was a locomotive and tramcar manufacturer based in Kilmarnock, Scotland and Preston, England.
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust is an educational charity supporting the rebuilding and operation of the railway by the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Company, in North Devon, England.
The Statfold Barn Railway is a narrow gauge railway based near Tamworth, Staffordshire and partially in Warwickshire, England. Founded by engineering entrepreneur Graham Lee and his wife Carol at their farm-based home, they originally designed what is still termed the garden railway, in which Graham could run his trains and Carol could design an extensive English country garden around a lake.
Davies and Metcalfe Ltd is a railway equipment and locomotive manufacturer from Romiley, Manchester, England. It was founded in Aberystwyth in 1878. The company is now owned and run by Richard Charles Metcalfe and they continue to manufacture steam locomotive and traction engine parts from original drawings, as well as modern railway parts worldwide.
The GWR Rheidol Tanks are a fleet of 2-6-2T steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway design built between 1923 and 1924. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working services on the Vale of Rheidol Railway between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge (Pontarfynach).
Rheidol, formerly named Treze de Maio and Talybont, was a 2-4-0T steam locomotive built by W.G. Bagnall in Staffordshire, England, in 1896. Originally built to a gauge of 2 ft 5+1⁄2 in, it was for a Brazilian sugar plantation, however the order was cancelled before it was exported. The locomotive was then regauged and renamed for the 2 ft 3 in -gauge Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway, in Wales, where it worked from August 1897 until 1899. It was then regauged and renamed a second time for 1 ft 11+3⁄4 in -gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway, in 1900. It worked on the Vale of Rheidol until 1924, when it was scrapped.
Diana is a narrow gauge 0-4-0T steam locomotive. It was built by Kerr, Stuart and Company in 1909, and was delivered to the Kerry Tramway in Mid Wales, in 1917. After varied service in the Welsh slate industry, Diana was purchased by railway enthusiast Graham Mullis in 1964. After many years at a variety of location, Diana was purchased by a Talyllyn Railway volunteer in 2014, and restored to working order in 2015.
Gloddfa Ganol was a museum dedicated to the Welsh slate industry and narrow-gauge railways, situated in the Oakeley slate quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog. It opened in 1974 and closed in 1998 following an auction of its exhibits.
