Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway

Blaenavon's Heritage Railway - A family day out, whatever the weather!

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Locomotives and Rolling Stock

The number of locomotives – both steam and diesel has slowly increased over the years. Descriptions of locos are arranged in tabular ‘registers’. Recently the number of diesel locos has grown to the extent that it seemed sensible to divide them into two registers rather then one. There are also registers of locos that have visited us in the past. This part of the register only describes locomotives. Diesel Multiple Units (whether DMMUs or DEMUs) and Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) are described under ‘Rolling Stock’.

The railway company owns some of the locos at Blaenavon, but the majority are owned by members who purchased them to either for operation or restoration on the railway. Generally speaking, we have tried to avoid more than brief technical details of the class – there are many standard texts already, and a few minutes ‘googling’ will turn up more detail than for which we can provide space. What we have tried to do is say a little about the particular locomotives history and background, particularly in preservation.

To complete the picture we have also tried to include locos that have left the railway after staying with as either for an extended period, or were brief visitors for, perhaps, a single season. Some of the information is a little brief, but we will add to it in due course. If you can help us add to any of the published information we would be pleased to hear from you:

• Steam locomotives
• Steam locos previously at Blaenavon
• ex-BR diesel locomotives at Blaenavon
• ex-Industrial diesel locomotives at Blaenavon
• Diesel locos previously at Blaenavon

The railway has about seventy-odd items of rolling stock (excluding locomotives) at Blaenavon. On this website we have tried to organise them into registers so that you can access the area in which you are interested, select the item of rolling stock, and study it in detail. The main areas are:

British Railways Mk1 carriages

This is the type of stock we use for everyday use, and most of those items that are not in use are planned to appear in service in the foreseeable future. This will allow temporary withdrawal of our current front-line stock for overhaul and refurbishment. To see the list click this link: Mk1 COACHES

Pre-nationalisation carriages

This is stock that was built before the railways were nationalized in 1948. Some of the stock dates back as far as the 1890s and thus pre-dates the ‘grouping’ of the many railway then in the UK into the ‘Big Four’ , that is GWR, LMS, LNER and SR, in 1923. To see the list of pre-nat stock, click this link: PRE-NAT COACHES

Diesel Multiple Units and Diesel Electric Multiple Units (DMUs and DEMUs).

These are self-contained trains that have engines built into them. Although there were one or two earlier varieties, DMUs and DEMUs did not come into service until the late fifties. The GWR championed the use of single units, but these were not multiple units, since they could not be worked in multiple. To see our small collection of such units click this link: DMUs and DEMUs

Wagons

All of our odd wagons are listed in a two-page register. To see the list, click this link: WAGONS

The Vintage Carriages Trust

In compiling this stocklist we have followed the example set by the Vintages Carriage Trust, with whom we work quite closely, and who have compiled a national archive of preserved carriages and of wagons under the name Railway Heritage Register. Registers have been compiled for both carriages, and for wagons. To enter the national register click on this link: Vintage Carriages Trust.

A note on copyright Wherever possible we use photographs taken at Blaenavon, and taken by our members. On occasions we have used photographs taken on site, by others, that have appeared elsewhere, in which case we always try to acknowledge the source, and thank them in advance. In one or two cases photographs from elsewhere than Blaenavon are used. However it is not always possible or practical to track down the photographer and seek written approval to publish on this site. In the case that any photographer objects, please contact us and we will remove the offending image immediately.