The Vale of Rheidol Railway is nineteen kilometres (12 miles) long, and was constructed between Aberystwyth, at sea level, rising to 183 metres at Devil's Bridge. The line was built to the narrow-gauge of 600 mm (1ft11?in) to reduce construction costs through the difficult terrain. The original terminus was on the quay at Aberystwyth and the line opened in 1902.
The railway was originally planned to serve the lead mines in the Rheidol Valley although its completion coincided with a decline in the lead industry. During the First World War, the line was used to transport timber for use in the collieries in south Wales. From the 1920s the line became entirely dependent on tourist traffic and it is still operational in this role.
Source: Association for Industrial Archaeology: A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Mid-Wales, 1984.
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 15 June 2011.