A collection of previously unseen photographs showing the mid-Ceredigion railway lines in their full glory is set to be published.

Quiet Between Trains: Lampeter, the Teifi Valley and the Aberayron Branch in the Final Years of Steam - 1963 to 1965 is set to be launched in Lampeter later this month, which features a collection of photographs from the 1960s along the railway lines in Lampeter, the Teifi Valley and Aberaeron, featuring the final years of steam.

Vernon Parry first photographed the railways around Lampeter in August 1963, when passenger and goods trains were still operating as they had done since Great Western days.

In later visits he travelled on the footplate of locomotives, and took pictures at small stations and in the countryside in the Teifi Valley and on the Aberaeron branch.

The book has been brought to life by Vernon’s godson, David Gowan, with the support of Lampeter History Society.

In early April 1965, Vernon photographed and travelled on the final train to leave Aberaeron and the last steam working to the milk depot at Pont Llanio (near Tregaron).

The pictures show railwaymen and passengers, and depict the role that the railways played in rural Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire. Vernon Parry had an intuitive ability to capture an aspect of life that was about to disappear.

The photographs are previously unpublished. The book features Great Western and 1950s locomotives, and will appeal to railway enthusiasts and to those interested in local history and landscape. Publication has been made possible by the Lampeter History Society.

On Tuesday 21 March, the Lampeter History Society will launch the book at a special event in in the old hall of University of Wales Trinity St David at 7.30pm in the town

David Gowan explained: “The book is sponsored by the Lampeter History Society, and the project was initially suggested by Selwyn Walters, the Chair of the society.

“The quality of the book and the reproduction of the photographs is high, but we have kept the price low in order to encourage as wide a distribution as possible. Any profits will go to the Lampeter History Society.

“The book will be sold at the launch on 21 March and will continue to be available from the Lampeter History Society and Museum. As it is being stocked and distributed by the Books Council of Wales, it will also be readily available from booksellers.”