Didcot Railway Centre

See our unique collection of Great Western Railway steam engines, coaches, wagons, buildings and small relics; and a recreation of Brunel's broad gauge railway. Join us in our rural setting based around the original 1930s engine shed.

 

The Engine Shed

The shed contains four tracks each providing 200 feet (60m) of covered space. Each track can accommodate three tender engines or around six tank engines.

 

The most striking features inside the shed are the smoke hoods running above the tracks and designed to carry all the smoke from the locomotives out through the wooden chimneys on the roof. Note that the hoods above one of the tracks were removed by British Rail before the Great Western Society arrived at Didcot.

 

Behind the Engine Shed is the small Lifting Shop containing a 50t hoist, where, for example, locomotive boilers can be lifted from the frames. Due to the nature of the work being undertaken inside, it is generally not possible to enter the lifting shop for safety reasons.

 

Coal Stage

This building was designed to make it as easy as possible to coal and water the locomotives before sending them out for their turns on the railway network. The large tank at the top of the building supplies water through large diameter pipes to the water cranes which can be seen in front of the Engine Shed.

 

Coal is brought into the building via rail wagons which are propelled up the long ramp starting near the entrance to the Centre. Coal can then easily be unloaded into wheeled tubs which can then be tipped directly into the tender or bunker of a locomotive. You can often watch a locomotive being coaled during the course of a running day.

 

Turntable

The current turntable is on the site of the 1932 Great Western one but is a replacement table, as the original had been removed by British Rail before the Great Western Society arrived at Didcot. The turntable is 70 feet (21m) long and is capable of accommodating the largest tender engines. It is operated by hand either directly by pushing on extension levers or by operating a geared winding mechanism.

 

A locomotive will often be turned on gala days and special events, and the turntable is also occasionally used to turn locomotives from visiting excursion trains. 

 

Locomotive Workshops

The locomotive workshop is not an original Great Western building, but was built by the Great Western Society in 1988. All our major locomotive restoration is undertaken in the works and the lifting shop.

 

Other Buildings

In addition to the main buildings of the 1932 Engine Shed, there are other original features to look out for as you walk around the centre, such as the sand drying furnace. There are also other features which were necessarily added by the Great Western Railway at a later date, such as the Second World War Air Raid Shelter and the remains of the Ash Shed, used to shield the light from hot ashes, being removed from locomotives, from the gaze of passing hostile aircrew.

 

Full information on the opening hours and pricing can be found on the Didcot Railway centre website.

10.30am – 4pm

Last admission 3.30pm