Aberystwyth, Ceredigion - Station - Vale of Rheidol Railway -postcard c.1970s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Vale of Rheidol line narrow guage railway at Aberystwyth Station
• Publisher: Ian Allan Ltd
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Aberystwyth railway station is a railway station in the seaside and university town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. It is served by passenger trains operated by Transport for Wales: it is the terminus of the Cambrian Line 81 1⁄2 miles (131.2 km) west of Shrewsbury. It is also the terminus of the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway.

The original station was built in 1863 by the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway for the route to Machynlleth. The neighbouring Manchester & Milford railway was to construct a two road platform adjoining this, to create a joint station and provide access south to Carmarthen. The station was greatly extended in 1925 by the Great Western Railway: the original station building on one side of the platforms was replaced by a grand terminus building.

The station in 1952

At that time the station had five platforms: Platform 1 at the south-east end of the station and two island platforms. Platforms 1 and 2 were essentially bay platforms, each of the same length (and shorter than the other three). They were the original Manchester & Milford railway platforms, used for the Carmarthen services (though Platform 2 was occasionally used for main-line trains). The Carmarthen line was closed in 1965. The former Platform 3 is on the other side of Platform 2; it is the only platform still in use for mainline rail and has been redesignated as Platform 1 in recent years. The former Platform 4 (closed in 1982, track removed) is now taken up by the "Craft" freecycling shop. At that time the signal box was also closed and demolished. Access to the station and the station facilities is now primarily via the original 1864 building. The running-around line between these two, for locomotive-hauled trains, still exists. Platform 5 (closed in the 1960s) was an emergency platform on the other side of Platform 4, but little trace remains. The goods yard has become the Rheidol Retail Park.

With the decline of railway usage and of local tourism, the facilities were far too large for their purpose. The railway yard was lifted in the 1980s and the row of shops in front, known as Western Parade, was demolished in the 1990s to allow construction of a new retail park and bus station. The 1925 station building has seen several uses, including as a local museum, but was eventually sold off and converted into a Wetherspoons pub. This conversion maintained the architecture and won awards including a National Railway Heritage Award in 2003.[3] Other parts of the building have become an Indian restaurant, office space and accommodation for a local furniture recycling scheme.

Vale of Rheidol Railway

The platform that was originally used by trains via Lampeter to Carmarthen is now used by the narrow gauge steam-operated Vale of Rheidol Railway. This railway's track runs parallel to and immediately to the south of the main line as far as Llanbadarn Fawr. Opened in 1902, it originally had its own terminus at "Aberystwyth Smithfield" (named after Smithfield Road, now Park Avenue). This closed in 1925 and was replaced by a station a short distance from the main railway station; that station site is now a supermarket car park. In 1968 its track was rerouted into the former standard gauge bay Platforms 1 and 2 of the main station. As their trains unload at ground level, a new ramp and ground-level island platform were built in the space between the two original platforms. There is a runaround loop and access to the former mainline railway shed. This was used as the storage and works area for the Vale of Rheidol Railway. From 2014, the Vale of Rheidol railway, with the help of an EU-funded grant, converted the old platform 1 of the Carmarthen branch to a reduced height. This now allows customers to board coaches from the level of the running board, as opposed to from ground level. The access is invaluable to passengers who have mobility issues. This does not allow wheelchairs to be wheeled onto coaches, but the company is working on a solution by adapting some existing rolling stock to this purpose.

In 2011, a purpose-built railway works was built on the site of the old GWR coaling stage. This now allows the railway to carry out heavy maintenance and restorations on its stock. It also allows contract work to be undertaken. The works has an apprentice school.

Today

As of 2006, the station has a single mainline platform for trains to Machynlleth and beyond, with a loop that is used to reverse locomotive-hauled specials, including steam services and maintenance trains.

There are proposals, by the Vale of Rheidol railway, to establish a railway museum at the station, using structures removed from London Bridge station during modernisation.[4]

Facilities

The station has a staffed ticket office, open six days per week (Mondays to Saturdays 07:10 - 17:40). A self-service ticket machine is also provided for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Other amenities include toilets, a coffee shop, restaurant, waiting room and a customer help point. Train running information is also offered via digital information screens, automatic announcements and timetable posters. Step-free access is available between the entrance, concourse and platform. Many of these improvements came from the Welsh Government with funding from European Regional Development Fund and the UK Government's National Station Improvement Project.[5] [6]