The Vale of Rheidol Railway is celebrating a remarkable evening of recognition after taking home two major honours at this year’s Heritage Railway Association Awards.

The Aberystwyth railway won Achievement of the Year and the Heritage Railway Magazine Award, recognising the work behind its Collection X project.

The project forms part of the legacy of Peter John Rampton, the private collector who quietly assembled one of the world’s most significant groups of narrow-gauge locomotives.

Hidden for decades on a Surrey farm, more than 50 historic locomotives have now been rescued and are finding a permanent home in Wales at the Vale of Rheidol Railway.

Collection X has captured the imagination of the railway preservation world by revealing and securing an extraordinary group of historic locomotives and railway artefacts that had remained largely hidden from public view for decades.

Judges described the project as ‘a captivating story that has really shone a light on what was one of the most secretive collections in railway preservation’.

The awards recognise the dedication, expertise and vision of the Vale of Rheidol team, who have worked to conserve and interpret the collection while sharing its story with the wider railway community.

In recent years the railway has gained national recognition for its ambitious programme of restoration, conservation and interpretation of historic railway equipment.

The success of Collection X has brought particular attention to the importance of safeguarding railway heritage and uncovering stories that might otherwise have been lost.

Speaking after the awards ceremony, Vale of Rheidol Railway’s Chief Engineer and Managing Director, Llŷr ap Iolo said the recognition was a tribute to the dedication of everyone involved in the project and to the wider heritage railway movement that continues to preserve Britain’s railway history.

For more information visit, the railway website, www.vor.wales.