Modern Carriages

The Semi-Opens (Nos. 8, 11, 12 & 13)

The railway has four semi-open carriages, all three compartment four-wheelers. The first such vehicles were Nos. 7 and 8, acquired from the Penrhyn Quarry Railway in 1953. No. 7 was subsequently rebuilt as a tea-van and eventually into its current form (see below). Nos. 11, 12 and 13 entered service in 1955, 1956 and 1957 respectively and are somewhat larger and more substantially-built than the Penrhyn quarrymen's carriages. No. 8 was renewed to a similar design in 1966.

Wheelchair and Guard's Van No. 7

After being used to serve teas at Abergynolwyn from 1963-68, No. 7 was used as a mess van on the construction of the Nant Gwernol extension. Eventually the running gear was used under a new four-wheeled wheelchair saloon designed to match the standard bogie stock but glazed all round in the same way as the Corris coach, entering service in 1992.

The "Cardboard Carriages" (Nos. 9 & 10)

Two bogie underframes were supplied in 1954 by W.G. Allen Ltd of Tipton, based on man-riding cars for the National Coal Board. No. 9 was fitted with Penrhyn quarrymen's carriage bodies, with a new six-compartment body in 1955; No. 10 received a a semi-open body with a small enclosed brake compartment using some parts of two other Penrhyn vehicles. The two, known locally as the "cardboard carriages", received new bodies to the later standard TR design in 1967 (No. 10: 3 compartments and Guard's van) and 1967-68 (No. 9: 5 compartments).

The Stanton (No. 16)

No. 16 started life as a 3ft gauge bogie carriage with end balconies and was purchased in 1957 from Boden's Stone Ltd at Stanton-in-the-Peak, Derbyshire. A new five compartment body was built on the extended underframe, with a guard's compartment being subsequently fitted at the east end and later enlarged. A new body to the standard TR design was fitted in 1981 with 3 compartments and Guard's van. A Guard's look-out was fitted in 1998.

No. 18 and the Standard Bogies

In 1959 it was decided that new carriages would be required to cope with increasing traffic levels, and No. 18 was built between 1961 and 1965. The body design is based on the style of the Glyn Valley Tramway cariages, with six compartments. Subsequent vehicles were built by Raymond Tisdale & Co. Ltd. on underframes by the Midland Furnace Co.; as built, they were:

Nos. 20 and 21 have subsequently had three compartments at the east end converted to form a wheelchair saloon, with an end observation window.